Overwhelmed with Purchase Research... help?

ChickenDerby · Apr 9, 2012

Hello! I am preparing to buy my first ever DSLR. I've read Understanding Exposure and I'm doing a ton of Internet research. I'm willing to drop $2,000 to get myself started.

Here's what I think I know:
I'm going to start with a Nikon D7000
Within my 2,000 budget, I'd also like to get 2 nice SD cards, a polarizing filter, some clear filters, an extra battery, a camera bag, and a lens cleaning kit.

What's throwing me for a loop is lenses.
Should I go with just a kit lens to get me started? Can I also spring for another lens? If I spring for another lens, is a 70-3000mm a good choice? Would a kit along the lines of this (Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera & 18-105mm VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens with 70-300mm G Lens + 16GB Card + Filters + Case + Accessory Kit) be a waste of money?

Here is what I plan on doing with my camera (ordered from most common to least common use):
-Primarily pet photography (I'm obsessed with my dog and would also like to take pictures for my local SPCA. These are both portraits and "sporty" shots of agility and fetch)
-Landscape photography when I hike and travel
-Some equestrian sports photography
-Limited macro photography (I really do love taking pictures of bugs)

I know my budget is majorly limited. Especially because I have expensive taste. I keep finding myself ogling thousand dollar glass that just isn't in the cards right now. So, what can I do with what I have?

Obviously I'm not "going pro" or anything, but I like nice stuff!

Thanks for any help at all you may be able to give me.

DorkSterr · Apr 9, 2012

The D7000 is prefect for your needs. I think the 18-105 will be good enough for pet photography, Landscape, some sports but you will be limited to 105mm which is very short. I would get the 11-16mm Tokina for landscape and a Nikon AF-S 55-300mm for your other needs IMO.

ItsssRyne · Apr 9, 2012

Well we all like nice things. Personally I'd kill to have some better glass right about now. But it's not in the cards money wise. So I make due with the lens that I have (the standard kit). I think the kit lens will help most beginners get by with learning the basics. Once you got that down and you know what your doing then I think you can make a better assessment of which lens to buy. On a side note if I had a 2,000$ limit I'd go with a full frame camera and a wide angle lens. And it's also good to have all those extras you mentioned too, seems like you need them when you least expect it.

I took some pictures of my dog this weekend with the kit lens 18-55mm T3i.
Here's one.

It's all based on what you know and how much you've practiced. Practice, Practice, Practice!

cgipson1 · Apr 9, 2012

D7000 is a good choice. I wouldn't go with that kit! The 18-105 is not the best lens Nikon makes.. but it isn't bad. The 70-300 AF included in the kit is not a lens I would recommend (JUNK! What can you expect from a $169.99 lens)!

The 70-300 AF-S Amazon.com: 70-300 nikon is a good lens... has a lot of good reviews, and does a nice job. You can get this one used around $400.. and it rocks for the price.

The 55-300 DorkSterr mentioned isn't too bad.. not as good as the 70-300 AF-S, but far superior to the 70-300 AF.

There are a lot of choices... just avoid the low end kit lenses.. you will hate them!

WhiskeyTango · Apr 9, 2012

Another low cost, but very good, option for the pet photography is the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G.

I'm torn on the recommendation for the 55-300... If you think you'll be shooting mostly outdoors in good light, you'll probably be happy with it in the near term. If you need speed indoors, happiness will elude you...

ChickenDerby · Apr 9, 2012

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to process this some and do some price adding and then probably come back with more questions!

jamesbjenkins · Apr 9, 2012

Your in the right direction with the D7000. It will be very user friendly for the rookie (you) and has plenty of capability to allow you to grow into.

As far as the lenses go, I'd stay away from all the kit lenses offered. They're pretty much all mediocre to garbage. I had the 18-105 with the D90, it is OK. Just OK. I'd recommend prime lenses if you want to get great with the fundamentals. Both the 35 f/1.8 and 50 f/1.8 are really good choices, and very reasonably priced (less than $250) for the image quality and versatility they deliver.

It's just my opinion, but zoom lenses aren't the best for casual photographers who are looking to get serious with their skills. Primes really force you to consider your composition and perspective with every shot.

ChickenDerby · Apr 9, 2012

jamesbjenkins said:
I'd recommend prime lenses if you want to get great with the fundamentals. Both the 35 f/1.8 and 50 f/1.8 are really good choices, and very reasonably priced (less than $250) for the image quality and versatility they deliver.

I hadn't really considered this yet, but I really like this idea. I like that it would push me a bit harder. I'm really in this to improve and get better. Also, it seems like a good prime lens will really do the job for good dog portraits (and, really, anything is an improvement over the pictures that our local SPCA currently takes--when they even have time to get a shot).

I think I may still want to get some sort of zoom lens sooner than later though. My dog is going to be competing in agility by the end of the year. My boyfriend and I will be splitting handling duties and when it's his turn to handle I really want to be able to get some shots of her runs. Nothing special, but something clear enough to show off to my friends. Although, so far she has been so blindingly fast that I don't know if I'll be able to keep her in frame!

Derrel · Apr 9, 2012

Keep in mind that on the D7000, a 50mm lens acts ("is") like a short telephoto lens, with a moderately narrow, selective angle of view. The wide aperture of f/1.8 means that at longer distances like 25-40 feet, you can shoot wide-open or stopped down just a smidgeon to f/2 to f/2.5, and still keep very high shutter speeds to stop motion--and due to distance, focusing is not hyper-critical in the way it is when shooting wide-open or nearly so at close distances like 5-10 feet. The 35mm focal length is a sort of normal-perspective length lens.

ChickenDerby · Apr 10, 2012

Thanks for your help! I just placed my order. Went with only the 50mm f/1.8 for now and I'll just learn with that for the time being. While I bought everything else from Amazon, I got the lens from an ebay seller since I just couldn't wait the 1-2 months that Amazon was saying it would take. Now I just wait!

2WheelPhoto · Apr 10, 2012

ChickenDerby said:
Thanks for your help! I just placed my order. Went with only the 50mm f/1.8 for now and I'll just learn with that for the time being. While I bought everything else from Amazon, I got the lens from an ebay seller since I just couldn't wait the 1-2 months that Amazon was saying it would take. Now I just wait!

Congrats! You're going to love the D7000

djacobox372 · Apr 10, 2012

Get a fast prime, either the 35 or 50mm 1.8. Its the least expensive foray into pro quality lenses, and will give you a yardstick to measure the performance of your other lenses.

morganza · May 29, 2012

ItsssRyne said:
Well we all like nice things. Personally I'd kill to have some better glass right about now. But it's not in the cards money wise. So I make due with the lens that I have (the standard kit). I think the kit lens will help most beginners get by with learning the basics. Once you got that down and you know what your doing then I think you can make a better assessment of which lens to buy. On a side note if I had a 2,000$ limit I'd go with a full frame camera and a wide angle lens. And it's also good to have all those extras you mentioned too, seems like you need them when you least expect it.

I took some pictures of my dog this weekend with the kit lens 18-55mm T3i.
Here's one.

It's all based on what you know and how much you've practiced. Practice, Practice, Practice!

Really good detailed and clear photo, also you have an adorable and cute dog.

sashbar · Apr 22, 2013

50 1.8 G is quite good for shooting pets indoors with a crop camera. And IQ is fantastic for the price.
If you want to completely cover the wide focal range, I would go for Tokina 11-16, Nikon 16-85 and Nikon 70-300
You would probably use 16-85 most of the time and it is made well enough to withstand some hard work.