Sigma or Nikon Lens?

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Cally

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Cally
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Hiya Guys

Very new in photography but I've fallen head over heals. I purchased a D3200 to help with my tax bill and I wanted a decent camera for holidays and things but my camera has barely left my side since.

Now my problem is I am still new...and I want more lens..ofc I do! but don't want to be spending £400 on a lens for me to later decide down the line that I want a better camera (I plan on going into children's portrait photography in the long run although I do mean long run I have two kids under 2 myself so no time for this even if I wanted to do it right now)

I'm assuming as my camera is an F mount I can only purchase F mount lens but the one I wanted is £90 for a Sigma or £420 for the Nikon official lens...

£420 http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/camera...d-vr-if-telephoto-zoom-lens-00734762-pdt.html

£90 one http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/camera...m-lens-with-macro-for-nikon-01565856-pdt.html

Just wanted some advice, would people recommend I buy the cheaper stuff for now, and then look to invest in the bigger stuff once I have found my feet (and perhaps got myself a better camera for the years to come?) or will I find that the cheaper stuff just doesn't cut it and I would be better of just putting the money down and re cooping the money back later through re sale?

I've been advised to get a 50mm prime lens for my second lens but personally I just feel the 70mm-300mm would be a little more fun to start with although shoot me if I am wrong free free...all advice is welcome!
 
Pete, why are you after the 200-300mm length? are you likely to be on those focal length a lot? if so, i would recommend a Tamron 70-300 VC. it is an very very good lens indeed and you are likely to keep it for a long time. i had one for a while and it keeps the value well as it is relatively cheap. lastly the VC (vibration compensation) system is second to none...the best imo between nikon/tamron/sigma

https://www.parkcameras.com/p/92421...bLaGPz7LUF5Ai9osaOm3Oy_UklLt_KZnakhoCVgDw_wcB

in terms of 18-70mm range, i don't know if you have anything to cover that range, but starting out a prime will be quite limiting. but if you really want a lens consider nikon's 16-85mm VR, it is a rock solid lens, and can be had 2nd hand in classified for very little amount (relatively).

alternatively you can always live with a kit lens 18-55mm VR1 or 2.

reason for deterring you from buying 18-200mm is that it is a massive compromise as the lens has to do a lot to get that zoom range and for that size. therefore the design of the lens needs to cut a lot of corners and almost 100% of that is on the quality of the glass, its films etc, resulting lack of image quality in terms of sharpness and contrast, as well as colour reproduction etc.
 
Honestly I am a bit of a collector and I just see the 200mm-300mm length being handy and a lot of fun! I do think the 50mm looks more practical for me considering I want to to portraits mainly (planning on building a portfolio by doing free photo shoots for friends and family once I find my feet) Ideally I would want to go up to 300mm.

I'm struggling to get my head around what lens I can and can't have, I read another place that I can use any Nikon lens with my camera but some aren't 100% compatible so you can't use things like auto focus?

I feel out of my depth but I suppose I have a steep learning curve ahead of me, not only do I need to learn photography & using my camera in manual mode I have to bump my photoshop skills and techie knowledge of the cameras lens and accessories.. I wish I could take a proper course but the on line degree is £12,000 and I have two little kids so I can't do much outside the house.

Luckily my photoshop skills are above average but I haven't had much dealing with photos rather the artwork side if that makes sense.

I really appreciate the replies!
 
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I think that Sigma lens is the older version, perhaps this sigma may be a better comparison of price? It's a sigma 70-300 OS version. I think the older sigma is slow to focus if it's the same one my friend has. The nikon 70-300 vr is a fantastic lens for it's price, much better than I expected.

http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk/sigma-70-300mm-f4-5-6-dg-os-nikon-fit.html

Places like MPB are worth trying for second hand equipment with warranty.

Cally said:
I feel out of my depth but I suppose I have a steep learning curve ahead of me, not only do I need to learn photography & using my camera in manual mode I have to bump my photoshop skills and techie knowledge of the cameras lens and accessories.. I wish I could take a proper course but the on line degree is £12,000 and I have two little kids so I can't do much outside the house.
Click to expand...

You don't need to do a degree to learn photography, many are self taught through books, websites, workshops and forums. To be honest you would be better off doing a business course than a photography degree as business skills are more important to the outcome of a photography business. You could be the best photographer in the world but fail due to poor business sense/knowledge.

There was a great thread on here recently with links to various photography websites for learning.

https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/best-lightroom-and-photoshop-blogs-and-tutorials.583879/
 
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Very roughly, almost any lens (that you can afford) available new should be fully compatible. If you're looking at secondhand you need AF-S from Nikon or HSM from Sigma. This means they have built-in focussing motors which your camera doesn't have to let it drive the earlier AF and AF-D lenses.
Also remember that good lenses bought now will not be wasted if you buy a better camera. When someone asks if they should upgrade camera or lens, the advice is almost always 'lens'.
 
Snapsh0t said:
Very roughly, almost any lens (that you can afford) available new should be fully compatible. If you're looking at secondhand you need AF-S from Nikon or HSM from Sigma. This means they have built-in focussing motors which your camera doesn't have to let it drive the earlier AF and AF-D lenses.
Also remember that good lenses bought now will not be wasted if you buy a better camera. When someone asks if they should upgrade camera or lens, the advice is almost always 'lens'.
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This very good advice, I forgot about the AF motor issue in the D3200.
 
Thanks guys, much appreciated. Business and marketing wise is the part I would actually be good at, I have a whole portrait business built in my head and how I would market it and get customers in but don't have the experience, and time to put it into action. I guess it's just practice practice practice right now. I'm going to pick as many books as I can up and go from their, nothing more I can really do right now anyway around my business and kids.

Originally my plan was to buy ;
(Prime Lens 50mm Nikon £275)
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/camer...mm-f-1-4g-swm-standard-lens-08616502-pdt.html

And this as my zoom;
(55mm-300mm Nikon Zoom £270)
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/camer...m-ed-vr-telephoto-zoom-lens-07908141-pdt.html

But the second one is a dx mount and mine was an F mount so I assumed that wouldn't be compatible, I don't have £550 to spend right now on two lens but if I knew this was the over all goal , it's just a case of deciding which one to go for first and to save for the other one. The shock came when I realised the F mount one was over £400... (tbh I don't see the difference between the two either!)
Thank you for the link I will check it out :-)
 
There's no such thing as a DX mount; every Nikon lens (apart from 1 Series) is F mount. DX means that the lens has a smaller image circle, suitable for smaller sensor cameras like your D3200. Your existing zoom is a DX lens - it should say so somewhere on it. FX, i.e. full frame, lenses will fit your camera perfectly but are larger than they need to be for your use. You can buy to the specification you need without worrying whether the lens is FX or DX. A unique feature of the Nikon system is that FX cameras automatically switch to DX mode when DX lenses are mounted on them.

Cally said:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nikon-AF-...682?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item339d93a782

This is only £160?

Sorry it won't let me edit the last post keeps coming up with some spam pop up.
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Read the sellers feedback - not the best.
The 55-300 isn't as good as the 70-300 VR but isn't dreadful.
 
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