My first steps in dSLR

[werries2]

So I finally have a decent camera body (D90)... Thanks again to the people here recommending it, so far I have just enjoyed taking photos with it and the quality still amazes me.

Taking mostly nature shots (and enjoying to take photos of animals) I bought myself a nice little zoom lens (Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Nikkor). I am still pretty much a newbie when it comes to choosing lenses though, so the high f values may be problematic taking shots at fast moving animals...
I did take quite a nice photo of a black bear during my trip to Sequoia National park in California last week and were quite impressed with the detail! Even the small droplets of water falling of its back!
(I will post the photo up here when I am get the chance)

I did however realize while walking among the great Sequoia trees that I really need a wide angle lens as well! So any recommendations for a lens to take landscape photos or things that is simply larger than life would be really appreciated!
Also should I save up for another telephoto zoom lens in the future with other criteria or is the one I have sufficient?

I have also stored the images as RAW, but now need to find some software to edit it. A lot of learning to do!

 

[SubliminalThought]

Congrats werries. I can't really speak for the Nikon kit. What lens combo did you get with the body?

Before investing in a faster lens don't be afraid to raise the ISO on your camera as well. DSLRs have pretty good ISO to 800 with 1600 and above generating noticeable noise. On the canon side, I pretty much love the 70-300 IS and don't feel the need to really go to anything faster for outdoors shooting during the day.

 

[werries2]

No kit lens with the body. Still have an old 28-50mm and a 50-300mm I got with my first SLR nikon though. Not really good lenses but they did the trick back then.
I really enjoy the VR technology they have on the new nikkor lenses as most of my photos will be from the hand.

And the photo I took can be found here. http://yfrog.com/0vblackbearj

 

[synapseZA]

The 70-300 is a VERY good lens especially considering its R5k price tag. It is, however, a light-hungry beast. But when you are outside you will be able to get very good shots all the way up to 300mm. It might be a bit softer above 250mm depending on your copy.
The next logical tele lens for Nikon is the 70-200 f2.8 but at R23k a bit steep. I think the similar Sigma is around R10k. With a 1.4x or 2x TC you have more range with still functioning AF.

 

[werries2]

Thanks for the advice, will have a look at the Sigma. The R23k is just a bit of an overkill for an amateur photographer...
I have not even thought of tele-converters yet, I will definitely look into that a bit deeper.

 

[synapseZA]

Thanks for the advice, will have a look at the Sigma. The R23k is just a bit of an overkill for an amateur photographer...
I have not even thought of tele-converters yet, I will definitely look into that a bit deeper.

This is the Sigma I had in mind when I replied yesterday - http://www.orms.co.za/product.php?a=view&product=1529. Just keep in mind that with a TC you will sacrifice some lens speed.