What body lens combo would you buy under $800 to start out?

[HerkFE]

my primary shooting will be people especially my soon to be new kid and wife. I like to shoot landscapes, creatures, and nature. I also like to snap pics of food and other things that catch my eye.

For indoor people photography, The D7000 +50mm 1.8 + Manual flash can take you a very long way.
As far as landscapes and nature, 50mm is too wide or too narrow. For landscapes there's the Tokina 11-16mm which will cost you between 4-500 dollars.
For Nature and animals and pretty much any other single living subject outdoors, the Sigma 70-200mm lens can run you around $1000 used.
For hobbyist wildlife, there are lenses in the $1000 range that zoom up to 500mm, but the quality isn't the best.

What about one of the 18-105/200/250mm lens and a nifty 50? Is there anything I would be limited on aside from super wide, macro, and long zoom ability?

 

[amolitor]

bhphoto has some excellent search capabilities, and should have pretty much competitive prices. There's basically one camera that is body+kit lens that comes in at about $800, and that's a Sony. Everything else is either under $700 or over $800.

 

[Ballistics]

my primary shooting will be people especially my soon to be new kid and wife. I like to shoot landscapes, creatures, and nature. I also like to snap pics of food and other things that catch my eye.

For indoor people photography, The D7000 +50mm 1.8 + Manual flash can take you a very long way.
As far as landscapes and nature, 50mm is too wide or too narrow. For landscapes there's the Tokina 11-16mm which will cost you between 4-500 dollars.
For Nature and animals and pretty much any other single living subject outdoors, the Sigma 70-200mm lens can run you around $1000 used.
For hobbyist wildlife, there are lenses in the $1000 range that zoom up to 500mm, but the quality isn't the best.

What about one of the 18-105/200/250mm lens and a nifty 50? Is there anything I would be limited on aside from super wide, macro, and long zoom ability?

The 50 1.8 I recommended is the nifty fifty. I have the 18-105mm and while the zoom is convenient, I haven't used it in a very long time just because the quality is mediocre. Again it comes down
to the seriousness of your photography. If you want to take it to the next level, those cheap zoom lenses are not the way to go. Also again, how and what you shoot will determine how much the pros will outweigh the cons.

 

[djacobox372]

I'd buy a used d90 with a tamron 28-75mm f2.8 af lens.

Should be able to swing both for $800.

One trick is to buy multiple camera bundles used off eBay and resell what u don't want. For example: instead of buying a lens by itself look for someone selling a camera with that lens and then resell the camera--you can save as much as 50% by doing this.

 

[greybeard37 9]

This is what I would buy.