paul_justin

I agree that the 80-200mm 2.8d is a bit slower at times to auto focus, but as far as image quality, ive never had any issues. As far as comparing it to the 70-200, I woukd hope the latter is better it's newer and costs four times as much. The tripod collar or lack thereof could be an issue for some, but again, I don't shoot from a tripod so my experience is different than others. Even though there are modifications that can be made to add a ring to use it on tripods, I don't find it necessary. I do agree with you that the 50mm afs is superior to the d version at minimally more money, and overall I wasn't necessarily stating these are the lenses he shoukd get with his current setup, simply stating that in my situation, I ended up spending more in the long run by not knowing what it is I was actually trying to accomplish with my shooting. On the plus side, I now have a setup that suits me, as well as a backup camera and a plethora of lenses to be able to teach my son how to take pictures and have fun doing it. Lol

Being a new amateur photographer myself and starting with the same setup as you did not too long ago, I will throw my two cents in on your questions. Again, this is just how I personally came to my decisions and by no means reflects what the pro photographers might choose to do. I took one 10 hour workshop with my 3300 before I decided it wasn't good enough to suit my needs. The picture quality is great but the lack of functionality and having to access the menu for features all of the time drove me nuts. I also purchased some older cheap ais lenses and some dandelion chips to offer metering on the 3300 with the older lenses. I purchased a 35-135 and a 100-300. I also purchased a 50mm 1.8d, which did not auto focus on my 3300.mind you my kit came with the 18-55 and the 55-200 lenses. This setup lasted me about a month.. Then I scrapped it all. I went out and purchased a D7200 that allowed me to have more control over the camera and also allowed the option to use those older lenses without being chipped. I also purchased a new sigma 17-50mm 2.8 which was just under 300 on eBay brand new. I then purchased an older but in great shape nikkor 80-200mm 2.8d. Those two lenses allow me to shoot pretty much anything I want. The 80-200mm lens was about 350, also on eBay. They both offer great versatility along with great picture quality. I set the 100-300 ais lens up with a nikon 6t achromatic lens filter for macro, in case the desire arose. So for me, I woukd recommend the sigma and the 80- 200mm 2.8. Both can be had for just around 600 or so if you are patient and shop around. The moral of my story is.. Don't buy a bunch of stuff, you'll outgrow quickly. You'll be better off getting now what you will grow into in the future. If you're unsure early what you want to shoot, take the advice of others on here, shoot with what you have until you know it's no longer good enough before rushing out to buy something just for the sake of buying it.