what is it all....

[samirmainali]

hello friens

i have just started photography and purchaed nikon d50 now i ll like to

add up my gears ....it ll be lense first a telephoto or zoom i m confused it

is just for fun to take distant pics ..

 

i ll probably go for the cheapest one can u help me to get the correct lense .

and suggest some web sites messaging for beginners.

[leicaglow]

You could do a lot worse for websites to gather info. See the Learning section and view all the videos. Don't put cheap glass on your Nikon. That's the best advice I could give you. If you want shots to look like they were taken with a professional Nikon camera, then buy decent Nikon lenses. The 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 Nikon zoom is incredibly good, and the USA distributor has rebates on it all the time that brings the price down to about $300. If you need a longer lens, the 55-200mm "kit" lens isn't too bad. It's probably in the $250 range. Not the best optics, but not bad for the money.

[tim_knight]

Samir, What lenses do you already have? How much does your budget allow to be spent for a lens? Once everyone is clear on the above information you will get a lot of helpful advice. Welcome to the DSLR world, I got started last February with the D50 and I haven't stopped having fun since. I started out with the Nikon 18-70mm lens and now have the Nikon 50mm/1.8 lens. I hope to get a faster zoom 2.8 someday.

[samirmainali]

thanks guys for sincere sugetion and warm welcome .

 

i ve kit lense of 18- 55 is keeping me busy right now but i ll opt.

for some longer lense and probably ill spend 2 300 bucks.

[janvanlaethem]

Hi Samir,

 

The 18-55mm zoom lens you have right now will let you take loads of pictures, as it gives you the angles of view of a wide angle at one extreme to a small telelens at the other extreme.

 

When I started out in photography, I only had two prime lenses: a 24mm wide angle and 50mm standard. That is roughly equivalent to a 16mm and 33mm on your digital sensor. At a later stage I added a 105mm and with those three lenses I can take about 90% of my pictures.

 

Before you go and spend your money, ask yourself three questions: (1) What is it that I can't do right now with the equipment I own ? (2) What kind of pictures will I probably take with the equipment I want to buy ? and (3) How much am I willing to spend ?

 

You say you want to take 'distant pictures', so you will need a telelens or telezoom. But you need to be more specific: do you want to take candid pictures of people on the street, pictures of a big sports event, or pictures of birds and animals ? For the first kind of subjects, a 135mm on your DSLR will equal roughly a 200mm for the film format. I would suggest you do not go beyond that, as for candids you will be shooting hand held, without a tripod, and it is quite difficult to hold a long lens steady. In very bright light outdoors you will be able to get sharp pictures, but in dim light you will need a longer exposure time and any movement you make when you press the shutter or just holding the camera gets magnified with a telelens. You will need to watch out for blurry pictures.

 

If you would like to go beyond that and sports and animal photography is more your thing, you may check out a zoom lens that goes up to 200mm or 300mm. And you will need to spend a bit more to get a faster aperture, especially with sports. But be prepared to use it on a tripod to get the best image quality.

 

Which lens you buy is up to you, although a zoom lens will give you more flexibility. I would also budget for a good tripod to make the best of your purchase. Ultimately, the best advice I can give you is to get the most out of your 18-55mm first and only get a second lens when you're ready to move up.

 

Jan