Which lens for starter camera?

blackmaskm16 · Apr 15, 2013

I'm looking to buy a Nikon d3200. I've came across two good bundle deals. The only differences are second pair of lens and I wondering which to pick. I'm using it for every type for picture you can think of: sports, nature, close-ups, etc. The camera comes with four lens. I'll list those and then the details of the two I'm trying to choose from.
Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens

Bower 52mm 2X Professional Telephoto Lens

Bower High Def. 52mm Wide Angle Lens

Nikon Normal-Telephoto 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor Autofocus Lens for Nikon Digital Cameras

Versatile and compact 3.6 Zoom-Nikkor brings the action to the photographer. Ideal for portraiture, family, sports, nature and wildlife. Approximates the picture angle characteristic of an 82-300mm lens in the 35mm format. Nikon's VR (Vibration Reduction) reduces the effects of camera shake, allowing hand-held shooting at up to 3 shutter speeds slower than would otherwise be possible for dramatically sharper images. An ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) Glass element minimizes chromatic aberration, contributing to superior optical performance. New compact rod-type Silent Wave Motor (SW) enables ultra-high speed autofocusing with exceptional accuracy and super-quiet operation. Enables quick switching between A (Autofocus) and M (Manual Focus).

Nikon Zoom Telephoto 70-300mm f/4-5.6G Zoom-Nikkor Autofocus Lens

Please note that the lens will only autofocus with a camera body that contains a motor, and will therefore work with the Nikon D3100, D3200, and D5100 in manual mode only.

For anyone seeking a high quality telephoto zoom lens for portraits and action photography at a very affordable price, this new Nikkor extends great performance and excellent value. This very compact telephoto zoom lens is fully compatible with the newly introduced Nikon N65 as well as Nikon's Professional D-series Digital SLR, 35mm Professional F5, F100, N80, N75 and Advanced Photo System Pronea cameras. Compact and lightweight, with a comfortable, well-balanced feel, the 4.3x zoom lens is ideal for candid shots, portraits, travel and sports photography. A key design element considered that the newest Nikon SLR models have built-in aperture control (via the Command Dial), and therefore do not require that the lens have an aperture control ring. With this point in mind, the G lenses omit the aperture ring, resulting a llighter and more compact lens. Note: G-type Nikkor lenses are fully compatible with the F5, F100, N80, N65, N60, N50, N4004-series, PRONEA 6i, PRONEA S, D100 and D-series (or any newer model) cameras.

Benco · Apr 15, 2013

I'd say the 55-200 should serve well. That with the 18-55 gives you a good focal range.

Designer · Apr 15, 2013

Yup, I got those two lenses in my kit when I bought mine. They're fine for most people starting out.

I have not tried the 70-300 so no comment. Nor have I used either of the convertors, so no comment on those either.

What exactly is your question, again?

blackmaskm16 · Apr 15, 2013

Designer said:
Yup, I got those two lenses in my kit when I bought mine. They're fine for most people starting out.

I have not tried the 70-300 so no comment. Nor have I used either of the convertors, so no comment on those either.

What exactly is your question, again?

There are two different bundle package and the only difference is the 55-200mm lens in is one and the 70-300mm is in the other. The package are the same price so I'm asking to see which one to get

runnah · Apr 15, 2013

50mm 1.8.

A good prime lens will make you work harder and learn more.

gregtallica · Apr 15, 2013

Amazon.com: Bower UPC VL252 Bower 2x Pro HD 52mm Telephoto Conversion Lens: Camera & Photo = those bowers aren't quite what you think they are. The wide angle one is kind of fun for a day, but that's about it. A fun tool as a beginner, but you'll never really get decent image quality out of them.

As for the packages and picking between the 55-200 or the 70-300, it depends on how much range you want. If you are getting the 18-55 either way in either kit, I'd probably go the 70-300 for the additional range. You're missing the 55-70 range, but you have so much additional range you probably won't find yourself missing it.

TCampbell · Apr 15, 2013

BTW, those Bower "lenses" aren't really lenses in the way you may be thinking...

On the front of most any real lens, there are threads designed to allow you to screw on filters. To use a "real" lens, you'd normally remove the lens currently on your camera and attach the lens you want to use. To use the Bower "lens", you actually leave your current lens on, and then screw the Bower "lens" onto those filter threads at the front of your real lens.

They are _very_ low-quality. I would never buy one nor recommend them. I know someone screwed it onto his camera lens, then couldn't get it off (the threads jammed). It ended up coming apart trying to get it off the lens. These are the sorts of things added to camera bundles to create the appearance that they've increased the value of the deal -- but the extras are usually _very_ low grade items.

The 18-55mm Nikon lens that comes with the camera is a moderate wide angle to moderate (very moderate) telephoto... nothing dramatic, but it's a great "walking around" lens for general use photography (which is why just about every camera maker offers that same focal length zoom as their "kit" lens with most entry-level bodies.)

As for the two Nikon zoom lenses... those are entry-level zooms (which is fine) with "variable focal ratio" ... meaning the focal ratio does not stay the same as you zoom. The "f/4-5.6" value you see in the name is the lenses widest possible focal ratio -- but the reason they list a range (f/4 through f/5.6) is because as the lens gets longer, the focal ratio increases. Lower focal ratio values means the lens collects more light and that means you can shoot with faster shutter speeds or shoot at the same shutter speeds when there's less available light. The ratio is the diameter of the clear aperture (through which the light can pass) divided into the focal length of the lens. In the same way that a tunnel gets darker as you go deeper into it (less light reaches farther in), the same principal is true of a lens... if the lens focal length is getting longer, but the diameter is not also getting larger, then the amount of light that makes it to the far end is decreased ... and this affects how long the shutter needs to be open to collect enough light for an adequate exposure. You can compensate by increasing the sensitivity of the camera sensor (increasing the ISO setting), but this increases the amount of digital "noise" in your image.

I mentioned this because you said you were interested in using it for sports and the lens mentions that it's good for sports... let's amend that to say it's good for "daytime sports" (outdoor games played during the day.) For nighttime sports or indoor sports ... not so good.

This is because to use the lens for sports, you'll mostly be zoomed all the way in to the 200 or 300mm limit and at that point it's an f/5.6 lens. That's not a lot of light. Cameras take longer to lock focus at f/5.6 and it requires longer exposures. f/5.6 collects only 1/4 of the light that, say, an f/2.8 lens would collect.

I'm not trying to talk you out of buying one of these lenses... I'm really just trying to set your expectations. That's because the price tag for an f/2.8 zoom is pretty steep... Nikons 70-200mm f/2.8 lens lists for $2400... and the _really_ ideal sports lens, a 400mm f/2.8 (which doesn't zoom) lists for about $9500!! So I'd suggest that, as a consumer, you buy the affordable consumer grade lens... but set your expectations accordingly and use it for sports when the sports are outdoor daytime games with plenty of light.

blackmaskm16 · Apr 15, 2013

TCampbell said:
BTW, those Bower "lenses" aren't really lenses in the way you may be thinking...

On the front of most any real lens, there are threads designed to allow you to screw on filters. To use a "real" lens, you'd normally remove the lens currently on your camera and attach the lens you want to use. To use the Bower "lens", you actually leave your current lens on, and then screw the Bower "lens" onto those filter threads at the front of your real lens.

They are _very_ low-quality. I would never buy one nor recommend them. I know someone screwed it onto his camera lens, then couldn't get it off (the threads jammed). It ended up coming apart trying to get it off the lens. These are the sorts of things added to camera bundles to create the appearance that they've increased the value of the deal -- but the extras are usually _very_ low grade items.

The 18-55mm Nikon lens that comes with the camera is a moderate wide angle to moderate (very moderate) telephoto... nothing dramatic, but it's a great "walking around" lens for general use photography (which is why just about every camera maker offers that same focal length zoom as their "kit" lens with most entry-level bodies.)

As for the two Nikon zoom lenses... those are entry-level zooms (which is fine) with "variable focal ratio" ... meaning the focal ratio does not stay the same as you zoom. The "f/4-5.6" value you see in the name is the lenses widest possible focal ratio -- but the reason they list a range (f/4 through f/5.6) is because as the lens gets longer, the focal ratio increases. Lower focal ratio values means the lens collects more light and that means you can shoot with faster shutter speeds or shoot at the same shutter speeds when there's less available light. The ratio is the diameter of the clear aperture (through which the light can pass) divided into the focal length of the lens. In the same way that a tunnel gets darker as you go deeper into it (less light reaches farther in), the same principal is true of a lens... if the lens focal length is getting longer, but the diameter is not also getting larger, then the amount of light that makes it to the far end is decreased ... and this affects how long the shutter needs to be open to collect enough light for an adequate exposure. You can compensate by increasing the sensitivity of the camera sensor (increasing the ISO setting), but this increases the amount of digital "noise" in your image.

I mentioned this because you said you were interested in using it for sports and the lens mentions that it's good for sports... let's amend that to say it's good for "daytime sports" (outdoor games played during the day.) For nighttime sports or indoor sports ... not so good.

This is because to use the lens for sports, you'll mostly be zoomed all the way in to the 200 or 300mm limit and at that point it's an f/5.6 lens. That's not a lot of light. Cameras take longer to lock focus at f/5.6 and it requires longer exposures. f/5.6 collects only 1/4 of the light that, say, an f/2.8 lens would collect.

I'm not trying to talk you out of buying one of these lenses... I'm really just trying to set your expectations. That's because the price tag for an f/2.8 zoom is pretty steep... Nikons 70-200mm f/2.8 lens lists for $2400... and the _really_ ideal sports lens, a 400mm f/2.8 (which doesn't zoom) lists for about $9500!! So I'd suggest that, as a consumer, you buy the affordable consumer grade lens... but set your expectations accordingly and use it for sports when the sports are outdoor daytime games with plenty of light.

Thank you, that was some helpful info. I'm only looking for a starter point, and was trying to stay under $800 and get a good starter set. I'll post the link to what i was looking at, but if you have any other recommendation on a starter set please let me know.
Nikon D3200 24 2 MP SLR Camera 4 Lens 18 55mm 70 300mm 16GB Kit Black USA 018208254927 | eBay

Rafterman · Apr 15, 2013

Yeah, skip those Bower lenses. They're just extra "fluff" so they can charge you more for the package deal.

Here's what you're looking for: Nikon D3200 DSLR Camera, 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX VR Lens, USA 25492 L1. $745 and free shipping. Throw in another $15 for a memory card and you're ready to rock. Adorama is a solid company to buy from as well. Done business w/them several times.

If you want more reach for a bit more cash, you can get the 55-300 instead for an extra $100: Nikon D3200 DSLR Camera, 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED AF-S DX VR II Lens, USA 25492 L2

jrizal · Apr 15, 2013

The Nikon Zoom Telephoto 70-300mm f/4-5.6G Zoom-Nikkor Autofocus Lens will not focus in your camera as your camera does not have a built-in focus motor nor that lens has one as you already. What you need in order to auto-focus is a lens with a focus motor. The 18-55mm kit lens has one and so is the 55-200mm. So you are better off with the 200mm bundle. Also, the 70-300mm G is not known for sharpness and does not have VR (vibration reduction). Sharpness wise, the 200mm beats this 300mm hands down. Value wise the 300mm is half the price the 200mm. ($124 against $249) The other lenses have VR BTW.

Here are other suggested bundled deals for the D3200. Costco Nikon D3200 DSLR Camera 2 Lens Bundle Sam's Club Search Results

I am not aware if Costco will accept non-members but AFAIK Sam's Club does by adding extra for a one-time purchase. But the Costco bundle is the sweeter deal because of the Wi-Fi dongle. Nice but not really essential.

PS The bundled bag may not suit your tastes but build quality is very decent. And if this will be your first DSLR, you're gonna need one right away. And might as well get one for "free" until you get one that you really like. Also, the video is of some help for newbies too. And that's a $50 value from Best Buy.

jrizal · Apr 15, 2013

@Tim Stop intimidating the OP! Haha! Seriously, that's good info for newbs. And I always appreciate your time and effort in providing lengthy but informative responses to others.

Designer · Apr 15, 2013

blackmaskm16 said:
There are two different bundle package and the only difference is the 55-200mm lens in is one and the 70-300mm is in the other. The package are the same price so I'm asking to see which one to get

Oh, o.k. Get the 55-200 for reasons stated above. It will auto focus, and it has VR (presumably, I didn't read the link). Mine has VR and you will like it on the telephoto lens.

If I were you, I'd keep on looking for the deal without the Bowers and without the bag that someone mentioned. Call or shop online for the same exact deal that you want at several outlets, so you know which one has the best price.

jrizal · Apr 15, 2013

If the bag is free why not? I would consider shops that do not include sales tax for a further $70 savings. Cameta offer the similar freebies but you can get it without sales tax. Sell the freebies if you don't want.

Amazon.com: nikon d3200 bundle

I have both the 200mm and 300mm lenses. Aside from the focal length, the 200mm beats the 300mm hands down. Sharper pictures, VR and AF. Value wise the 300mm is half the price, so the 200mm bundle will be the better value too.

When purchasing high ticket items online, just be aware of warranties. Some lower priced items may be gray market items meaning warranty may not be included hence the lower price.