Some lense advice please for my holidays and beyond

[sinky72]

Hi guys,
1st timer so be gentle with me please :sillysmi:

I've had my Nikon D5000 for around 4 months now (bought with the 18-55mm kit lens) and have to say i'm really pleased with it.
We (my family and I) are off on holiday to Malaysia in 5 weeks and i'm obviously wanting the best photo's possible on our trip.
What i'm looking for is some advice on whether I should get another lens to go alongside the kit lens I already have? I would mostly be taken family portraits and landscapes (both at day and night).
The more I have been reading, the more complicated I have found it
Will I be better getting a prime lens like the 35mm 1.8 or something like a 55-200mm VR lens?. Or would it be better just to keep and use my kit lens only?.
I'm not normally this picky but I really want some great photo's of our trip to Malaysia.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[eccs19]

I don't know the Nikon lenses at all, so I can't comment, but one thing that you may want to mention is what you like to shoot. For example, if you like doing landscapes, then your kit lens would probably work great, but if you like doing birds, etc, then something like a 70-300 would be what you want.

 

[KmH]

The 18-55 will suit your needs quite well.

Use it at 18 mm for the landscape shots. To get lots of depth-of-field use a small lens opening like f/11 or f/16 (ISO 200). At those apertures the shutter speed will be slow soyou will need a tripod and a wireless remote release. Nikon makes an inexpensive one that works with your camera, the ML-L3.

The sensor for the remote release is on the front of the camera so don't get your hand in the shot when you use it.

For family shots set the lens to about 35 mm and open the lens up to f/5.6 (ISO 200). That will give you enough shutter speed to stop motion in daylight and to also minimize camera shake. With the tripod and using the remote release you can be in the photo too!