D90 body + 50mm lens. What else for us?

<p>Receiving a dSLR as a wedding gift and am close to ordering a D90 body as a start to better photography, starting with the wedding itself and honeymoon in Phuket/Hawaii. I've read good things about the Nikon 50mm (f/1.8D?) lens, so I'm thinking that will be a great value lens for my brother to use at the wedding (festivities will be mix of out and indoors but mostly at night).</p>

<p>What is a more versatile yet affordable lens we can use on the rest of our travels? Should we get the kit lens (18-105mm VR?) or something like a Tamron 18-200mm (http://reviews.cnet.com/lenses/tamron-af18-200mm-f/4505-13038_7-33319141.html)? They're both in the same price ballpark, adding about ~$230 to the price of the D90 body.</p>

<p>PS: I'm also fortunate enough to live close to a large city (NYC) with a ton of lenses offered in the local CL classifieds, so there may be some great value there, but I'm not educated enough (yet?) to separate the good from the ordinary. A search today for Nikon lens brought about 3 pages of hits on CL. I will post a couple ads that caught my eye later if anyone is interested in giving feedback.</p>

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<p>I'm take the kit lens over the Tamron. The 18-105 is actually quite good as kit lenses go. What's your budget?</p>

<p>I just bought the D90 and received the kit lens with it. The price on Amazon at the time last month was $1081, and it just went down to $1,029, so I called them and told them I wanted the difference. They said they were not price matching due to the holidays, so I told them to give me an RMA so that I can return it under their 30 day return policy. She then said they'd give a 1 time exception, and issued a refund of $50! <br>

Anyhow, in addition to that setup, I also bought a Tamron 90mm Macro lens so that I could take some macro shots (insects, flowers, etc.). I bought the Tamron lens new off of eBay from Beach Camera, where I got a rebate of 8% from search engine Bing.com through their cashback program, plus I received a $60 rebate from Tamron, bring the total cost down to $354. Not too bad.<br>

BTW - I'd love to go to Phuket and Hawaii! Congratulations! I'm into tropical gardening, and those are certainly inspirational places. Best of luck in marriage and have a wonderful honeymoon!</p>

<p>Around $1,500 but I want to save some of it for more/better lenses later on. Right now I'm looking at $800 for the body (Newegg) and 125 for the 50mm lens. Adding the kit adds another ~200</p>

<p>Thanks, Steve! Yeah I also noticed the kit price went down on Amazon. I'll price compare over the next couple days and probably pull the trigger on (black) Friday</p>

<p>The 18-105 is a great lens. For travel it might be nice to have the versatility of a zoom.</p>

<p>There are quite a few pros who are packing D90s and variable aperture zooms with them to cut down on weight. So don't discount the combo of the D90 and kit 18-105.</p>

<p>I'd take that lens at $200. The 50/1.8 is a great value and very sharp, good for the indoor use. Those lenses will get you a lot of mileage and you can decide whether there's anything else you want after you've had some experience using the camera.</p>

<p>Thanks guys. I'm def getting the 50/1.8. Should I pair it with (A) the kit lens, or (B) something like the Nikon 55-200mm VR?</p>

<p>I must be double-guessing because of reading/skimming so many reviews over the years on various Canon/Nikon DSLRs which criticize the kit lenses. I guess the D90's 18-105 is the exception!</p>

<p>For going to Hawaii, a Tokina 12-24/4 lens may be more useful. This is also a lens to keep for the long run. It will set you back for about $400. The 50/1.8 can be found abundantly in the used market for less than $100. I sold mine in mint conditions in three days for $85. For the money you save, get a small tripod. I don't recommend kit lenses as they are too limited in ability. </p>

<p> I'll go along with the 18-105. It will serve you well in tandem with the 50/1.8.</p>

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<p>Thanks everyone for the feedback</p>

<p>I find the 18-105 that came with my d90 to be good and very sharp. Some edge fuzzyness at the wide end. <br />For wide angle shots I bought a tokina 12-24 f/4</p>

<p>16-85! GREAT vacation range with a D90!</p>