What To Do Now?

LewisScrafton

LewisScrafton

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Name
Lewis
Edit My Images
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So I've had my D40 for just under a year now and feel relatively comfortable with it. I'm in my first year at college, aswell as my first year in my photography course. I feel like I need to step my game up a little for the next year and to overall improve my photos.

What lenses, accessories or style of shooting would you recommend I try/buy?
You can see what I've done so far on my Flickr.

Thanks in advance. :)
 
How about the 55-200 VR then, it's a great wee lens and compliments the kit lens perfectly. Costs about £200 for a new one.
 
the 55-200 will give you extra reach i.e. you can get close-up shots of things that are further away. if you imagine how much closer you go from 18mm to 55mm you have another 145mm more zoom. Other than that it won't give you much difference or step up in terms of image quality, though its certainly not bad anyway. at longer lengths you also need to consider that camera shake will have more effect so things like VR (vibration reduction) become very useful which the 55-200 has.

it really depends on how you want to improve your photos. Do you want to take more of the same shots you do now, only with better quality or are you finding the reach of the lens too restrictive? if its the latter then by all means the 55-200 is well worth considering.

other options are to just change your current lens to one that gives one or both of the following in the same focal length range - if you need faster glass (better low light performance) and/or sharper photos. For just more sharpness you could look at replacing the 18-55 with the nikon 18-70. if you need faster glass consider the sigma 17-70 hsm or tamron 17-50 f/2.8 (though it gets pricy).

if you dont need zoom at all then look at a 50mm or 35mm prime lens which will be very fast and very sharp.
 
Or get your wallet out and buy a D90??!:D

I know it greatly depends on what subjects you shoot, but my 55-200mm stays on my camera 90% of the time. I think you should go down the longer lens route. It might open up a whole new world of photography for you!!
 
If you dont want to spend loads theres the Nikon 50mm 1.8 or as mentioned the 55-200mm VR which if you look at Onestop Digital there hong kong based but the likes of the 55-200mm VR is under £150 there

http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24_27&products_id=412

If get hit for import duty they also appear to refund it i haven't used them myself but there seems a few good reviews about them so i would consider using them myself on next lens purchase
 
Hi Lewis

Just looked through your flickr and to me if you are going to continue to shoot urban landscapes then I would think buying a wide angled lens such as a 10-20mm for your next lens would be the natural choice. But Im no expert, Ive been self learning photography for 18 months using a 300d myself, just bought a 450d.

Do you want to stick with the style you have found and develop it further or would you like to branch out and try new things? Answering this will help you in choosing an appropriate lens.

Why not discuss this with your tutor?

By the way I like you style.
 
Thanks guys for all the comments. I'm considering getting a wide angled lens in the short term and eventually going to purchase the 50-200mm VR.
 
If your looking at wide angle lenses your going to be paying double the price of a Nikon 55-200 VR as the likes of a Sigma 10-20mm is £300+ so depends on what your looking at spending as just mentioned a external flash like the SB400 or SB600 may be worthwhile if your looking at paying less.
 
I have had a look through your photostream on flickr and you have some real good shots.
Checking what focal lengths you were shooting at, I feel you could still get a lot more out of the lens you have.
Just by changing the focal length and then recomposing by moving closer or further from the subject will create a completely new perspective.
I would recommend the following lenses to add to your kit as and when your funds allow
Sigma HSM 10-20mm Nikon AFS 55-200mm and a SB400 possible followed up with a 50mm f1.8 or 35mm f1.8 or f2.0 lens
Looking at the work you have shot so far I would lean towards a wide angle lens first.
But saying that you are capturing some excellent images with the kit you have right now.
Keep snapping and keep up the good work :-)
Phil
 
Another vote here for a wide angle lens :thumbs: Great fun lens to use that gives a totally different perspective to your photos. Sigma 10-20mm seems to be the best value vs quality, or the Tokina 11-16mm.
 
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