Nikon D5200 but what Lens?

Dyssyra · Dec 22, 2013

Hi, I've been having this class on school for couple of months now and there I've used a Nikon D90 with a 18-105mm lens. Now I want my own camera and my eyes are looking at the Nikon D5200 as the title of this thread.

I'm not sure if I should buy a package with a 18-55mm VR DX AF-S, 18-140 or 18-200. Will I really need a telephoto or will I just be fine with a "normal one"?

The price class i was thinking of was something like half the camera it self since I have to buy a memmory card, bag and all the little things.

PS: ATM you get a free wi-fi adapter and a light/flash(don't know english word for it)

robbins.photo · Dec 22, 2013

Dyssyra said:
Hi, I've been having this class on school for couple of months now and there I've used a Nikon D90 with a 18-105mm lens. Now I want my own camera and my eyes are looking at the Nikon D5200 as the title of this thread.

I'm not sure if I should buy a package with a 18-55mm VR DX AF-S, 18-140 or 18-200. Will I really need a telephoto or will I just be fine with a "normal one"?

The price class i was thinking of was something like half the camera it self since I have to buy a memmory card, bag and all the little things.

PS: ATM you get a free wi-fi adapter and a light/flash(don't know english word for it)

I guess it sort of depends on what your looking to do with the camera. If it were me I'd buy the 18-55 and purchase a separate telephoto lens - I'm a huge fan of the 70-300 mm Nikkor VR, it is a spectacular lens. Lenses that cover longer focal lengths such as the 18-140 or 18-200 make compromises as a matter of there design and as a result they are not generally as good at various focal lengths as lenses that don't cover as much focal length. Lenses like that are generally ok at most of those focal lengths but really not great at any of them.

That having been said I have heard some pretty good reviews of the Nikkor 18-200 VR II but I've never tried it myself. Maybe someone who actually owns one can weigh in on that particular lens.

Dyssyra · Dec 23, 2013

I guess it sort of depends on what your looking to do with the camera. If it were me I'd buy the 18-55 and purchase a separate telephoto lens - I'm a huge fan of the 70-300 mm Nikkor VR, it is a spectacular lens. Lenses that cover longer focal lengths such as the 18-140 or 18-200 make compromises as a matter of there design and as a result they are not generally as good at various focal lengths as lenses that don't cover as much focal length. Lenses like that are generally ok at most of those focal lengths but really not great at any of them.

That having been said I have heard some pretty good reviews of the Nikkor 18-200 VR II but I've never tried it myself. Maybe someone who actually owns one can weigh in on that particular lens.[/QUOTE]

Ok because the Nikkor 18-200mm VR II is 10% more than the 70-300mm, but (I don't know so much about camera's so please excuse me) the Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm VR IF-ED is all the way from 2006 while the 18-200mm is still old from my point of view, 2009. But will I be able to do what i please (I mainly take pictures of the nature, a old barn that's across a field, the mountains far away and so on.

So do the age of the lens matters?

Do you think me as a newbie, will I be able to settle my needs with a 18-55mm at the start, then 6-12 months later(or when I get more money) buy a telephoto lens like the 70-300mm you mentioned.

Thanks for the response you give me, it is really nice to have people helping you when you're in need.

PaulWog · Dec 23, 2013

There's two functional things to look at when it comes to a lens: What aperture is the lens capable of, and what focal lengths the lens is capable of. Then there comes other things (bokeh quality, sharpness, other technical things, etc).

The first thing you need to know is what focal range you want, and what aperture you want out of your lens. If I could have only one lens on my D5200, it would be a well-calibrated 17-50mm f2.8 lens with some form of vibration control (whichever one has the best sharpness & other technical aspects). However, for others, they might want an 18-105mm, or an 18-200mm -- which serve different purposes. Don't forget prime lenses as well.

The 18-55mm would have been a bad investment for me when I first purchased my D5200. For others, it's a great starting lens & helps you grow. Personally I think the 18-105mm might be a better starting lens over the 18-55mm despite the price difference (the 18-200mm is something you'd really have to want to go for & know you want due to its price).

Dyssyra · Dec 23, 2013

PaulWog said:
There's two functional things to look at when it comes to a lens: What aperture is the lens capable of, and what focal lengths the lens is capable of. Then there comes other things (bokeh quality, sharpness, other technical things, etc).

The first thing you need to know is what focal range you want, and what aperture you want out of your lens. If I could have only one lens on my D5200, it would be a well-calibrated 17-50mm f2.8 lens with some form of vibration control (whichever one has the best sharpness & other technical aspects). However, for others, they might want an 18-105mm, or an 18-200mm -- which serve different purposes. Don't forget prime lenses as well.

The 18-55mm would have been a bad investment for me when I first purchased my D5200. For others, it's a great starting lens & helps you grow. Personally I think the 18-105mm might be a better starting lens over the 18-55mm despite the price difference (the 18-200mm is something you'd really have to want to go for & know you want due to its price).

Now when you mentioned the 18-105mm, in the store i am looking at i can get it for 6690SEK(1020 USD) and if I pay 2300SEK(345 USD) more I get a 18-55mm and a 55-200mm and atm NIKON got the special december package where you get freestuff worth close to 300 USD, though you can probably buy it for less than half from any retail seller.

And my wallet is small, so I would really like to stay below 1000-1100 USD if possible, must be below 1200 USD since that is all I have for the moment.

Thanks again for helping me in the moment of need!

Braineack · Dec 23, 2013

If you're going to bother with those kit lenses, buy them used. I sold my 18-55 VRII kit lens for pennies; around 5,000 to be exact.

You can get both used today for $170 USD, shipping from the states to almost anywhere in the world would be around $20-30USD on top of that, if the vendor would be willing to use USPS priority international in a Medium Flat Rate Box.

goodguy · Dec 23, 2013

First I want to say Nikon D5200 is a fantastic camera.

As for lenses, I would buy the 18-105mm and add the 70-300mm VR which is an excellent telephoto lens.

Buy them used, you will save a whole lot of money, ALL my lenses I bought used!

Designer · Dec 23, 2013

Hi, Dyssyra, and welcome!

First of all, the 18-55 will most likely be packaged with the camera body anyway, as this is a very common package to offer for those getting their first camera. It's not a bad lens, just not quite professional. I have mine, and use it quite often. So unless you can save around $150 or more by NOT including that lens, you will end up with it anyway.

As to the next choice, I would not advise the 18-200, because the quality is not any better. I don't have experience with the 18-140, so no recommendation either way.

If you want to enhance your kit, I might recommend a 50mm 1.8G, or something like that depending on your budget.

Designer · Dec 23, 2013

Dyssyra said:
Do you think me as a newbie, will I be able to settle my needs with a 18-55mm at the start, then 6-12 months later(or when I get more money) buy a telephoto lens like the 70-300mm you mentioned.

Yes. Exactly. Do that.

Dyssyra · Dec 23, 2013

Braineack said:
If you're going to bother with those kit lenses, buy them used. I sold my 18-55 VRII kit lens for pennies; around 5,000 to be exact.

You can get both used today for $170 USD, shipping from the states to almost anywhere in the world would be around $20-30USD on top of that, if the vendor would be willing to use USPS priority international in a Medium Flat Rate Box.

Well, the problem ain't the shipping, it's all the fax and import fees, when i calculated the first time, I would save 2000sek(300 USD) but then I looked up on the taxes. I'm not 100% sure that I need to pay all that but I know friends that have had to pay a lot when they buy from the US.

And I will try to buy it used but the problem that some people have(happened to me and my family) is that you really buy them used, sometimes stuff almost fall apart that you buy used, but that being said, there is a lot of good sellers out there that sell items cheap and that is worth to buy. problem n2. is that it might be hard to find a seller that's close enough so I can go there and see how good shape the lens is in. But I will try to do that, maybe i could ask my teacher if she wanna sell some of hers.

goodguy said:
First I want to say Nikon D5200 is a fantastic camera.

As for lenses, I would buy the 18-105mm and add the 70-300mm VR which is an excellent telephoto lens.

Buy them used, you will save a whole lot of money, ALL my lenses I bought used!

I'll try to look out for a good price and see if i can buy a used one!

CaptainNapalm · Dec 23, 2013

I've used both the nikkor 18-200 vr1 and nikkor 18-55 VR/70-300 VR combo and would recommend the latter simply for the longer reach. IMage quality wise I noticed little difference among all these lenses. Recognize also that a new 18-200 nikkor will cost you more than the 18-55 and 70-300 combo.

hamlet · Dec 23, 2013

If you are on a tight budget then don't bother with zoom lenses unless you are planning to sell it when you think its a good time to upgrade. Prime lenses give you the quality and the low price. 50mm 1.8g or 1.4g are a perfect start.

amolitor · Dec 23, 2013

If you have some specific goal in mind for taking pictures, if there's some kind of pictures you want to take, then that should be considered when trying to buy a lens.

If you don't know what you want to take pictures of, if you don't know what kind of pictures you want to take, then it doesn't matter what you buy. Buy anything. If you don't know where you're going, you don't need a map.

Everything else is going to disintegrate into "well, I bought this lens and it was awesome so you should buy it too" which is ridiculous. I am not you, and you are not me.

robbins.photo · Dec 23, 2013

Dyssyra said:
I guess it sort of depends on what your looking to do with the camera. If it were me I'd buy the 18-55 and purchase a separate telephoto lens - I'm a huge fan of the 70-300 mm Nikkor VR, it is a spectacular lens. Lenses that cover longer focal lengths such as the 18-140 or 18-200 make compromises as a matter of there design and as a result they are not generally as good at various focal lengths as lenses that don't cover as much focal length. Lenses like that are generally ok at most of those focal lengths but really not great at any of them.

That having been said I have heard some pretty good reviews of the Nikkor 18-200 VR II but I've never tried it myself. Maybe someone who actually owns one can weigh in on that particular lens
Ok because the Nikkor 18-200mm VR II is 10% more than the 70-300mm, but (I don't know so much about camera's so please excuse me) the Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm VR IF-ED is all the way from 2006 while the 18-200mm is still old from my point of view, 2009. But will I be able to do what i please (I mainly take pictures of the nature, a old barn that's across a field, the mountains far away and so on..

So do the age of the lens matters?

Do you think me as a newbie, will I be able to settle my needs with a 18-55mm at the start, then 6-12 months later(or when I get more money) buy a telephoto lens like the 70-300mm you mentioned.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the response you give me, it is really nice to have people helping you when you're in need.

Does the age matter? No, not really. All of my lenses I purchased used, as long as they are in good working order that's what is important. One thing to consider though is that you'll want a lens that has a built in autofocus motor if you want to be able to autofocus on a D5200, because just like my trusty D5100 it doesn't have a focus motor built into the camera body - the lens has to have it's own motor. So if your looking at a Nikkor lens look for an AF-S G, if your looking at sigma their designation is HSM, can't recall what Tamron uses off the top of my head.

I think the 18-55 will probably suit your needs fine at least to start with, it is works fine for portraits and landscapes. It's a good, basic starter lens, I still get a lot of use out of mine. If the 18-140 isn't too much more expensive that might be a good option as well, it would give you a bit more reach - but really I think it would depend a lot on your budget and the price difference between the two.

DanielLewis76 · Dec 24, 2013

I have a d5200 and the 18-200 and whilst I am not professional I find it a good lens. Its not the greatest quality but I find it a good enough for my needs. For higher quality shots you can always stick on a prime. It does however suffer from lens creep a bit which can be a bit annoying.

A few random examples at different lengths: