Need help figuring out what camera is best for me

[jaomul]

Both cameras. D3300 and d5200 are good within their budget. It's your lens will limit you if it's 18-55 it won't really be great for far off subjects.

I suggest again to look at Nikon csc setup. A good halfway house between dslr and bridge. If however dslr is what you want, eeven an entry level will be a major step up. Nikon and Canon do entry level twin lens kit setups. These usually consist of a camera such as d3300, or 1200d for Canon with an 18-55 lens and another, possibly a 55-200mm or a 75-300 mm, have a look at something like that, but do but of research

Oh, a d80 was 1000 years ago, 1000 now will buy a superior camera in every way

 

[Benjamin V]

Thank you guys for all the input.

I decided to buy a Nikon D5200. I'm reading up on lenses and aperture, shutter speed and ISO. I'm hoping I'll have a lot of fun with this one and won't feel like changing it. From what I'm reading though, the lens it comes with is only about a 3x zoom. So I'll probably need a longer lens sooner than later or i'll be cropping a lot shooting at 24 megapixels.

Thank you guys for your help and input

 

[Benjamin V]

HI Jaomul, i missed your last reply. I am looking into a 75-300 mm lens. It seems that would be something more my speed being that I do want to have a longer range...There's a few brands that have that size but I don't yet understand what all the other numeration is so I'll need to research that also

 

[jaomul]

A good 70-300mm lens I can recommend is the tamron 70-300mm vc

 

[weepete]

What you want is a 200 f2.8 mate. And wide angle, so check out the tameron 11-16 f2.8 too

 

[Benjamin V]

Hey guys,

So I got the Nikon D5200, It seems amazing, I am playing with it a lot and loving it but I definitely do need a lens that zooms a lot more.

I am looking at the Tamron 70-300 as suggested - but I have questions about it because I don't understand a few things. Maybe if I describe more closely what I want to be shooting you guys can once again give me a hand

I want to be able to photograph landscapes, animals, rocks, flowers, trees, paths, trails, mountains, forests, the sky, sunsets, buildings, streets in the city....etc etc. Basically, I want to photograph all these things in wide angle and get as much as I can into a picture, but also zoom into specific things- for example where I work there are a lot of hawks sitting on top of power poles warming up in the sun and I'd like to zoom in on those and take a close up picture of them. I am able to get to about 60 to 80 feet from those poles before they take flight because I'm too close. I also spot jack rabbits out in fields, sometimes with in 50 yards, 100 or further away.

There are a lot of watering pools where there are birds who swim in them and again, sometimes they are at a great distance and sometimes closer, with in 20 to 30 feet of me. I want to be able to isolate them or photograph them in a wider angle and also get their surroundings.

The Tamron 70-300 I am looking at is this one
Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens with Built In Motor for Nikon Digital SLR (Model A17NII)

Which runs at about 165, is this compatible with my camera?

I also found this one


Tamron 28-200mm F/3.8-5.6 Aspherical Lens for Nikon

and this, lol

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Ultra Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (Model A061N)

The 28 means that it'll give me a wider focus than the 70 right? and zoom out to 300mm, its got a focal ratio of 3.5 VS the 4.0 on the tamron 70-300... I don't quite understand what this means, but I think I read that a lower number is better because it means the lens is faster?

Also- why Don't any lenses start at 0 mm? ( instead of 18-55 or 70-300 why not 0-55mm or 70 - 300mm ?) I really don't understand what the xr di ld asphrical (if) macro ultra zoom etc etc mumbo jumbo is =\

All help is appreciated

I am reading so much you guys, I am so confused most of the time... this Shutter speed, ISO and aperture thing is so confusing...

 

[jaomul]

Are you getting any lens included with your camera?

 

[Benjamin V]

Yes, it came with a 18-55

 

[Benjamin V]

nikon DX VR AF-S Nikkor 18-55 1:3.5-5.6G to be exact

 

[jaomul]

Ok, if you get the tamrin 70-300 your looking at you have an awful lot covered. I suggest you go with that for the moment. As you use the camera and said lenses you'll realise if you need something else for your shooting style

 

[Benjamin V]

Thank you for replying- is there a reason why I would benefit more from a 18-200, which was suggested to me....

would a lens that is 70-300 not work if i want to take close up shots? lets say of insects, or flowers, or other animals that have fine detail ?

 

[jaomul]

Do it all lenses like an 18-300 generally are not as good quality as a pair. Every lens has a closest distance to focus, that's written in the lens specs. Also it may give a macro number such as 1:5, which means that at closest focussing distance the size of the object that the sensor sees is 5 times the size of the sensor approximately. A true macro does 1:1, so to some extent all lenses do close ups, just how close depends on lens

 

[Benjamin V]

I ordered it! should be here today, I am excited to start taking some pictures of the buildings in downtown Los Angeles, california. There are some awesome streets to walk down and see some really cool things, hehe

Thank you very much for your help, it helped me make up my mind

 

[Benjamin V]

So.... I ended up ordering this as well

Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR

The price difference isn't too much and this lens has VR as the other does not- also its a 55-300 giving me a bit more range up close. I figure if I"m spending money ( and seeing a lot of reviews and sample pictures on the other lens that were very negative as far as build quality and camera shake goes) I decided it was a better choice! Now to get more familiar with all this other stuff that's been giving me head aches, lol

 

[Benjamin V]

Hey guys,

So I've been toying around with the nikon d5300 and decided I didn't like how it felt. It felt very flimsy and cheap. The battery cover broke on me when I pulled the battery out to recharge so I called Amazon and returned it.

I've now purchased a Canon eos 70d, which feels so much sturdier, has better battery life, shoots 7fps and focuses a lot better.

While reading the comments from you guys, i looked into crop sensors and read that the 50mm 1.8 lens that I bought shoots more like an 80mm, and I kind of don't like that. I want to have a wider image when I'm walking around down town Los Angeles and taking pictures in China towns alleys.

There is a 24mm and a 40mm lens at 2.8 that I have been suggested. Which do you guys recommend for street shooting and landscapes, as well as sun rise and sunsets?

Being that the 70d has a crop sensor, when I multiply by 1.6 the 24mm puts me at 38.4mm and the 40mm at 64mm

The 35mm puts me at 56mm, which is what I keep reading, is ideal for an all around lens, the problem is; I can get the 24 and the 40 under $150, while the 35mm is close to $450

Should I save and get the 35mm later, or am I better of with the 24 or the 40? If so, which?