NEED suggestion on Lenses with NikonD5100

[svarmasagi]

Hi Everyone,

I am planning to buy a new DSLR which would be my first. After lot of search i ended up with 2 deals in my budget. Can you please tell me which combination works good for a beginner. Here are the two combinations i found interesting:

Nikon D5100 body + Nikon AF-S VR DX 18 - 55 mm + Nikkor 18 - 200 mm F 3.5 -5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR DX + 4 GB SD CARD + Digital Case + High speed SD CARD Reader + Full-size Tripod.

Nikon D5100 + 18-55 & 55-300mm VR Lenses + Case + 4 GB 30MB/s SD Card.

Thanks a lot in advance,
Please do suggest me any other descent lenses with this. I can afford $1150 including everything.

Thanks,
Sandeep Sagi.

 

[480sparky]

Why would you consider the first kit, with the 18-55 and 18-200? The latter simply duplicates the coverage of former.

 

[svarmasagi]

Thanks for quick reply, What you said was exactly right. Both Deals are coming as a whole package. I thought if i am picking the deal you were talking about, then i would surely sell 18-55 mm. The real confusion here for me was between 18 - 200 mm or (18-55 & 55-300). Few guys were asking me to go for 18 - 200 because it has better "F". Is that a point to be considered.

 

[analog.universe]

Personally I feel that both of those packages are quite unbalanced. I would recommend spending a much larger portion of your budget on the lens, even if that means possibly picking up a used body. Lenses will stay with you over the years, and none of the ones you've mentioned are particularly impressive. If I had $1150 to spend, I'd be looking at like a used $400 body and probably two prime lenses to start. If you really want a zoom lens, look for one with a constant f/2.8 aperture. (even if it means going third party or used)

 

[MLeeK]

The thing about buying a couple of lenses with your initial investment is that you don't know what you don't know yet. And neither do we...
We can't tell you what your shooting style will be and what you will want and need in a couple of months after you begin to learn how to use your camera-*properly.*
By properly I mean how to control the image using your own exposure settings. Not put it in auto and let it shoot.
You may be a prime kind of guy, you may be a zoom kind of guy. You could be content with consumer lenses or you could hate consumer lenses. You could need an ultra wide or a super telephoto-or both-or neither... You simply don't know yet.
As for RIGHT now if you purchase anything with your kit make it the 50mm f/1.8 AF-s lens. It'll give you a taste of prime lenses, sharp lenses, fixed aperture, low light ability... And it's SUPREMELY cheap for what it is. You will need the more expensive one with the D5100 as there is no auto focus motor in the body.

Which leads me to....
If I were you I'd not purchase the D5100, but instead go with the D7000 refurb which runs $999 and the 50mm f/1.8D for $125
25468B Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera Body - Refurbished by Nikon U.S.A.
25468B Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera Body - Refurbished by Nikon U.S.A.
WHY? you ask? Because the D7000 is quite a bit of improvement over the D5100, however the biggest deal will be down the road in lenses. With the D5100 you have to purchase the lenses with the motor in them resulting in a quite a difference in price and limiting you from using some of the lineup. For example the 50mm f/1.8D is $125, but the one you'll need for the D5100 runs just under $100 more at $220. That will be a rather large savings down the road if you invest in 3 or 4 lenses. Added bonus is that the D7000 is a better camera.

 

[KmH]

With the D5100 you have to purchase the lenses with the motor in them resulting in a quite a difference in price and limiting you from using some of the lineup. For example the 50mm f/1.8D is $125, but the one you'll need for the D5100 runs just under $100 more at $220. That will be a rather large savings down the road if you invest in 3 or 4 lenses.

That is not entirely correct.

The Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras is a new lens, which accounts for most of the price difference, not the focus motor that is in the lens. Actually, this newer lens has a lower build quality than the nearly 10 year old AF version.

The Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras was introduced on February 21, 2002.

Note that the Nikon 35mm f/2D AF Wide-Angle Nikkor Lens for Nikon 35mm and Digital SLR Cameras that has no focus motor costs more than the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras that does have a focus motor.

Compare the price of an Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR [Vibration Reduction] Nikkor Zoom Lens that has a focus motor and VR, to an older, no focus motor Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Many of Nikon's Prosumer lenses used to be Nikon Professional grade lenses and do not have a focus motor in them, and cost a lot more than comparable Nikon consumer lenses that do have a focus motor in them.

The fact is - Nikon offers 3 grades of lenses:

1. Consumer or Kit lenses
2. Prosumer lenses
3. Professional lenses

In general the lens maximum aperture and the quality of the optics determines the lens cost, not if it does, or doesn't have a focus motor in it.

Nikon decided to make most of their entry-level cameras smaller so they would better appeal to the growing number of women buyers. One way to make the cameras smaller was to eliminate the auto focus motor and screw drive mechanism. So the so called "Baby Nikon's" - D40/D40x/D60/D3000/D3100/D5000/D5100 don't have a focus motor in them and can only auto focus if AF-S or AF-I lenses are mounted on them.

None of Canon's SLR & DSLR cameras have had a focus motor in them since 1987, when Canon introduced their EOS system. You can't buy a Canon lens made after 1987 that doesn't have a focus motor in it. EDIT: Except the ones analog.univese mentions below.

 

[analog.universe]

You can't buy a Canon lens made after 1987 that doesn't have a focus motor in it.

Very informative post! But I just want to clear up this last bit...

Whether or not a Canon lens contains a focus motor is denoted by an "F" in the lens name. The vast majority, well over 90% of Canon's lenses, have this designation (either as EF or EF-S) and contain motors. The tilt shift series of lenses designated TS-E, as well as the 5x macro-photo lens designated MP-E, are current production lenses, and are manual focus only. A true minority, but best to be clear. : )

 

[svarmasagi]

Do you think i should go for better body like Nikon D7000 with cheaper lens or I should go for Used Nikon D5100 with better lens. How good is canon t3i compared to Nikon d5100. Video's are not my consideration. So do you Nikon is the better choice.

 

[MLeeK]

Do you think i should go for better body like Nikon D7000 with cheaper lens or I should go for Used Nikon D5100 with better lens. How good is canon t3i compared to Nikon d5100. Video's are not my consideration. So do you Nikon is the better choice.

Its hard to tell you which to choose. As you can see I am a canon fan, but that doesn't make canon better, it just works better for me. The upgrades to the d7000 are much more than just the AF motor. Its an all around better camera.
This is my opinion, so take it as that... if you buy the beat possible body you can purchase now you won't want or need to upgrade as soon as you will if you buy the weaker/entry level/older body. That way your money going forward can be invested in good lenses and accessories. Otherwise you will find yourself re-investing in another camera body when you could have dropped that cash into a lens.

 

[svarmasagi]

Ok thanks a lot for your time.

 

[KmH]

This is my opinion, so take it as that... if you buy the beat possible body you can purchase now you won't want or need to upgrade as soon as you will if you buy the weaker/entry level/older body. That way your money going forward can be invested in good lenses and accessories. Otherwise you will find yourself re-investing in another camera body when you could have dropped that cash into a lens.

But, you can sell the "weaker/entry level/older body" to help defray the cost of upgrading the body later. The same holds true for consumer/kit lenses, and upgrading the glass.

in fact, a camera body is usually upgraded much more often than good lenses are, because camera technology advances far faster than lens technology..

 

[MLeeK]

That first body is rarely sold, though. It's used as a backup for the better one. And the going price on the D5100 is a good indicator what you are going to get out of it in 2 years. Not going to defray the costs much if you do sell. You lose in the end.