Need suggestion for D40X lens

Hi,

 

I have a co-worker that was talked into buying a D40X. She had no experience

with a DSLR, and I think she would have been better off with a high-end p&s,

but well....

anyway, after a month of having the camera, she totally hates changing lenses,

and wants a lens that will cover more focal length, so that she wouldn't have

to change it. The camera store told her any lens like this for this camera

would take three months at least to get. I see a few lens on Amazon, but I

know that the D40X only accepts a few lenses, so I didn't know what to tell

her. Would like to pick out a lens for her to get, does NOT need to be a fast

lens, 'kit' quality is fine (in other words, cheap is great!). She has no

clue about F-stops, etc.

 

Debbie

Debbie, she must have at least one lens right now, right? Otherwise, a camera body alone isn't very useful. :-) I am wondering which lens(es) she currently has and how much money she wants to spend.

 

It sure sounds like she would have been better off getting a digicam point and shoot to begin with.

Yes, two lenses, that's why I said she was tired of changing them :)

"kit" lenses, something like 18-55 and 50-200 (that's a guess, I am not familiar with Nikon). I would think something cheap under $300 if possible.

The expensive Nikon 18-200 vr lens until Sigma releases a HSM version of their lens.

 

Nikon 18-135 will work too but it might be too short for your friend's needs.

Yeah, I know about that one. That's it for that camera??? Yikes! I will look up the other one for her. Thing is, she already spent $1200 on this camera (including bag, and extra warranty), and I hate to see her buying the expensive one.

Oh, I see. The store must be suggesting the 18-200mm/f3.5-5.6 AF-S DX to her. That is a $750 lens and at least there used to be a waiting list for it.

 

The 18-135mm AF-S DX is an affordable option.

She will be thrilled with the 18-135!

"The 18-135mm AF-S DX is an affordable option."

 

There really isn't a whole lot of difference between 135mm and 200mm. And then if she needs she can switch to the 55-200mm. I've seen the 18-135 going fairly cheap in the used market.

hi debbie,

lens changeophobia can be cured through time and taking lots and lots of pictures in different situations and environments. if your friend starts out in auto mode (closest to p&s) and sticks to the one lens she has for now, eventually she'll graduate to program, aperture, shutter, and, ultimately, manual modes, which can open up entirely new doors for her.

 

sure, the 18-200 would probably be a suitable all in one lens for her, and $2k isn't unreasonable for an entry-level dslr kit, but i bet there's a lot she can do with that 18-55 she hasnt realized yet. think about it this way: 18-55 is actually one of the most useful ranges, since it covers wide-angle (for group shots and landscapes) to portrait (on a dslr, 55mm = 82.5mm). you can learn a whole lot about the art of photography just by taking those two kinds of shots. again and again.

 

my advice would be to tell her to stick with what she has now, and practice with just the 18-55 for six months. at the end of that time, she'll be ready to expand her focal range to a longer point of view and incoporate telephoto into what she has now. changing lenses isn't that bad; in fact the whole point of a dslr is that you get the ability to do so.

 

of course, for around $300 your friend can can get a 6mp 12x zoom with image stabilization and a range of like 38-420mm equivalent like the canon s3. if she's decided the world of dslrs isnt for her just yet, that camera will deliver 80-90% of the bells and whistles at a much more affordable price, in a compact, all in one package. if that sounds more appealing, put the d40x on ebay and call it a day.

 

still, it's a shame to let a potential fellow nikonian go to waste. if your friend is willing to tackle the d40x learning curve, which is actually fairly intuitive, it could be rewarding. but to do that, some technical know-how would have to be acquired. i'd definitely get "understanding exposure" by bryan peterson, one of the best photographic self-help books out there. that'll help a lot with the basics.

 

good luck!

a 18-130mm will do

Thanks Eric. I have the book, and plenty of knowledge to pass on to her, but I really don't see her as a DSLR person. She takes tons and tons of pics of the grandkids and other relatives. She had a cheap p&s, and I guess when she went to the store they sent her home with tons of Nikon literature, and told her that was the camera she needed. Couldn't talk her out of it, but she is not enjoying it. Likes the pic quality, of course, but she isn't really into photography. Actually, I think a lot of DSLR's are going to end up on ebay soon, as I know many people are just buying them because they are cheaper now, with no real interest in photography.

Time will tell.

Debbie, based on this thread and your previous one on your friend's case, this sure sounds like one of the many cases that the camera store sold the customer what they wanted to sell rather than what the customer needs. Your friend may be better off selling the D40x and lenses for a higher-end point and shoot.

 

As we have discussed before, the difference between 135 and 200mm is big, as the 200mm covers less than half the subject area the 135mm does, but for the average consumer, 135mm should be more than sufficient on the DX sensor.