Camera advice

[no bait nate]

My fiance recently got a new Nikon D3000. We are both fairly new to the photography thing, but she definitely knows much more than I do. Her birthday is coming up and she has been hinting about maybe a new lens or accessory for the camera. I'm wondering what some of you veterans may recommend may be a useful and worthwhile piece.

My sister has had nice cameras for years and has a D5000? or whatever the next model up from ours is. She has a few different accessories that she likes also. She told me to check out a new wide angle lens possibly. She also has an attachment? or maybe just a different lens that she puts on that doubles the magnification. I would like to get my fiance one of these lenses that increases the magnification because she likes taking pictures at a distance sometimes, probably more useful than the wide angle? Also it would be very nice for when I take the camera skiing and see lots of wildlife at a decent distance. Any help or advice would be great, and thanks in advance

[Steve Foss]

Nate:

First of all, big congrats on your upcoming wedding!

The "attachment" you're talking about is a teleconverter (TC for short), in this case a 2x teleconverter (doubles the focal length of the lens).

There are some tricky things about teleconverters. Problem is, most DSLR bodies won't autofocus most consumer grade telephoto zoom lenses with a teleconverter on them, so you have to manual focus. This gets a bit technical, but if your fiancee's zoom lens is an f2.8 aperture zoom, she'll still be able to autofocus it and the TC on her camera. If it's an f4 or f5.6 lens, chances are she won't.

So we really need to know which lenses she already has so we can help you out on the TC, and that'll also help us figure out which lens she might need if you go that route instead of the TC.

So do a little snooping in her camera bag and get back to us.

[Dbl]

Congrats on the new camera! First I would point you to two stickies at the top of the forum.

First link here

2nd link here

These cover a number of questions you might have about using your camera and about looking for lenses for your camera. Don't worry if the talk is about Canon or Sony or whoever, most of the major manufacturers cross over similar lenses in their lineup.

After looking through some of that information try and narrow down how you will be using the camera. I would honestly stay with the basic lenses you have now and get familiar with your camera and how it all works. You will quickly find situations where you will say.."gee I wish I had a lens to shoot this". When that happens a number of times you will start to see a pattern develop allowing you to get more specific on your lens choice.

For now a gift card that can be used at a latter date would be a nice way to give her a more informed choice when the time comes. Good luck with your new camera, you will have fun with it!

[jeffreyd]

I agree with doing the search, i got so much info from the folks on this board about my new camera and from other posts it was amazing. I bought the sony alpha330l with extra lens and battery. great camera, and now have a monopole to help steady my shot. good luck

[yoppdk]

Nate:

A new lens would be a nice gift, though it could get pricey. It depends a lot on how much you have/want to spend. The camera probably came with 18-55mm zoom lens. That has a decent wide angle capability ... so if you choose a lens might consider something in the 70-200 range. Another good accessory for somebody getting started would be a decent camera/gadget bag. If she wants to do some inside photos, like weddings, parties, etc, an auxiliary flash would be a good choice since the flash that came on the camera is somewhat limited in "reach".

Nikon lenses you might consider:

AF-S DX VR Zoom-NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED

AF-S VR Zoom- NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED

These both have VR or vibration reduction ... makes them a bit more expensive but help get sharper images. Each are also available without VR for less $$$.

I'd suggest visiting a few online photo equipment resources, like B&H or Adorama. Non nikon lenses like Tokina, Tamron and Sigma are a bit less expensive. You could also search these sites for camera bags and/or flash units, if desired.

[yakfisher]

I would look at the Nikon 55-200 VR or the Nikon 70-300VR. Either one would be a great compliment to the 18-55VR kit lens that came with that camera. I have owned both. The 70-300 was the second lens that I purchased, and I sill own that one. It is sharp, quick to focus and a spectacular value. Good luck!!!

[no bait nate]

Thanks for the info guys, I'm baffled by the wealth of knowledge you guys have about this. thanks again

[Steve Foss]

But nate, do you know what gear she actually has, so we can offer better advice on what to add?

[Swimmer]

Nate, these guys are, as usual, spot on. We are truly lucky to have Steve and DBL, amongst others, to mentor us. I would add that doing an on-line search is a great way to compare prices and get info (to an extent) on camera equipment. But don't forget to look at the local National Camera shop once you have made up your mind. Their prices seem to be close to the prices of on-line shops when shipping is considered. And, more importantly, you have a place to go directly for customer service or other advice. They have a pretty extensive collection of used lenses for sale/rent and it's a good way to support the local economy.

[Dbl]

Hey Swimmer! Great to see you back!

[Swimmer]

Thanks Dbl. I poke my head in here from time to time to admire the work of you folks. I still get the 30D out once and awhile (can't believe they have a 50D now -- I'm still trying to figure out the metering on mine!). Hopefully I'll have a little more time on my hands going forward.