Beginner First SLR help please.

Hi so ive been looking and ive thought maybe i would look to get these.

D7000 with 18-105 Lens kit for £540

The NIKON 50mm f/1.8D AF LENS £75

And Nikon 70-300mm AF F4-5.6G - £79.00

I know these lenses wont be top quality but im thinking i can upgrade in time, think i would rather put my money to the camera body at the moment and save for better lenses in time.

Does this look ok?
 
It's a good starting set up, but I'm not so sure on the 70-300. If it's the old lens, it's not rated too well and soft from 200-300mm from reviews I have read. But for the price, if you can live with it's short comings while you save for something better you will have that focal length covered. If you don't mind secondhand, the old Sigma APO 70-300 lenses are reported to offer good value for money.

What you have to remember with the above 70-300mm lenses, they won't have Vibration Reduction / Optical Stabalisation (VR or OS etc) so you will need to be steady with your hands.

A lens which I have had previously owned and regreted selling is the Nikon 75-300mm. It's very sharp and you will be pleased by the results. This lens is a push pull zoom lens and was desigined for full frame cameras so you are usually in the sweet spot of lens and it's sharp corner to corner. This lens doesn't have VR either. Google the reviews for the lens, I loved mine when i had a D7000

A link to one if you can afford the little extra. > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nikon-Nik...=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item1e920e41f5

Hope the above helps.
 
That's a decent setup. The 70-300 isn't a "great lens," but it's pretty versatile and cheap. The older 75-300 is better...

But, what I usually recommend for a budget wildlife starter lens is a used 300mm f/4... yes, it's at least 2x the cost of the 70-300, but that *IS* budget prices for wildlife. Plus you can add short TC's to it later for more reach.
 
To add to above: When I had the 75-300mm I found it to perform better IQ wise than the Nikon 70-300mm VR lens and the Tamron 70-300mm VC lens which I have owned, it was that good. I just bought the VR lenses due to shoulder disabilities after an operation, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered.
 
sk66 said:
That's a decent setup. The 70-300 isn't a "great lens," but it's pretty versatile and cheap. The older 75-300 is better...

But, what I usually recommend for a budget wildlife starter lens is a used 300mm f/4... yes, it's at least 2x the cost of the 70-300, but that *IS* budget prices for wildlife. Plus you can add short TC's to it later for more reach.
Click to expand...

I think the f4 is going to be way over budget at the present time, after reading previous comments. I just had a quick look around and the cheapest I can find is currently @ £500.00 on ebay with two days of the auction left.
linky> http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nikon-Nik...=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item2c8c0d8010
 
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Im testing my hubbys patience with the budget as it is to be honest lol. Hes not tight but we have been here many times with the hobbys (i usually get fed up after a few months) photography though i always come back to!

Im going to look at the D7000 in Jessops tommorow when i go to pick my daughters tripod up (shes only 9 and mad on photography!) so hopefully will have a decision made at least on the camera!
 
Would echo what others have said about the 70-300 AF. It's okay at best. There are better alternatives for similar money. If wildlife is of particular importance to you, I'd be tempted to splurge more of your budget on the long lens (Nikon and Tamron both do very good stabalised 70-300 lenses) and maybe pick up a D90 instead of a D7000 but everything is a compromise, in this case you'll lose a little in terms of high iso noise handling which could be a concern with long lenses. If you would rather stick with the D7000, take a look at the 55-200 vr lens. It's obviously a lot shorter but is better optically. Or the Sigma mentioned above.
 
I forgot to add, I sold my D7000 last week. There's some really good features on that body. I was shooting on auto when I got it with the sole aim of learning manual. I found the D7000 did everything I needed it to do the entire time I had it and never felt the need to upgrade until a D3 came by that I couldn't pass on.

As for the 50mm, I truly love(d) my Nikon 50mm G. It took me quite a while to actually use it but once I'd forced myself, I love it more than my 70-200 2.8!! I know you're getting the D and not the G bit it's still a very good lens for the price. I'm now ready to buy the Sigma 50mm ART for about 5 x the cost of the Nikon even though it won't perform 5 x better. What I'm trying to say is, If you give the 50mm Nikon a chance, you'll see it's very decent lens.

I've seen some stunning shots with the 18-105, magazine worthy in fact. I met someone on Tuesday who I was selling my 17-50 2.8 to and was shown the work he does with the 18-105..really, really good.

So my only doubt is your tele lens. I had a non stabilised version of a 70-300 and I struggled with it. I lost an awful lot of shots especially at the long end due to hand shake. I wasn't keen on the (largest) aperture either.

Anyway, good luck and happy shopping!!
 
I purchased my first DSLR nikon 3200 from an local bargain site nextonly. Since functions were huge and i wnted to learn more so i started watching youtube videos.Since my handling was really rough that was the precise reason i bought it second hand.you dont have to agree with me but go with Nikon 3200 or Cannon 1200D best choices for beginners.Satrt watching youtube videos to learn how to work like an professional.
 
Sooooo went to Jessops to 'look' and came out with a camera lol! got the D7000 with Nikon 50mm AF lens and Tamron 18-200mm AF lens i know the lenses probably are not the best but they will do me (the 50mm came with the camera) i will look to upgrade them eventually but for now they will be fine for me!

Got it for £749 with a camera bag, memory card, uv filter and cleaning kit thrown in on a managers special deal im pretty happy with that!

Cant wait to use it!

My hubby has gone or a lay down as he feels like he has been mugged.

Not sure if i have got a good deal or not but feel more comfortable knowing i have got it from somewhere where i can go to with any problems rather than ordering via internet.
 
Get that battery charged and take hubby out to practice with camera.:D

You have got a deal you are comfortable with and that's the main thing. You will have fun learning, you will notice a big improvement in IQ with just your nifty fifty. The 18-200 will be great when you want to travel light and just take camera and one lens. Have fun.

:nikon:
 
Im fiddling with it at moment but im a little confused about the busrt mode, it seems to work when i point it at my laptop but when i try taking a photo of my dog (asleep on sofa) it will only take one photo! maybe i just need to fiddle around more.
 
I know it's a pain, but allways try and read the manual, it's there for a reason. My prefrence is to download the manual to my computer and read from monitor whilst adjusting and learning what the camera can and cant do. It's easier with camera in hand and monitor in front of you rather than flicking pages.
 
Yeh ive been looking at manual, i might do the same and put it on laptop! seems ok now though! been practising taking photos of pegs on my washing line from my sofa and strawberries too! my daughter is home soon so you can bet she will model for me (shes a complete diva!)
 
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