What lenses do I need to start taking photos?

[El Gato]

You and your finance should consider an 18-300. A bit dear but a good all rounder.

 

[GTi]

You and your finance should consider an 18-300. A bit dear but a good all rounder.

El Gato are you not referring to the Nikon DX VR 18-200 mm F3.5-5.6G Zoom or the Nikon 28-300 VR II f3.5-5.6 G ED lens?
I don't recall seeing such a lens as a 18-300.

 

[Mr K]

The 18-55mm is good for everyday *mik-en-druk* type photography.

I have bought a Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm lense. Can you please advice me off a setting which can used for day to day pirposes?

 

[chau]

I have bought a Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm lense. Can you please advice me off a setting which can used for day to day pirposes?

The green blockie. sorts everything out for you automatically

 

[Mr K]

The green blockie. sorts everything out for you automatically

Thanks. Is there specific setting i must use? id ont have the camera in my hand yet. Waiting for delivary.

 

[binkybozo]

the sigma is nice but yes it is pricey. because you are using a d3100 if you do not get a lens that has AF-S it will not auto focus on the d3100. depending on what your budget is the nikkor AF-S 35 is nice but the AF-S 50 is better but double the price. if you want to go all out and get a very decent but pricey portrait lens then go for the AF-S 85 but it is triple (or more) the price of the AF-S 50. another option that you may like is the AF-S 70-200 it is rather pricey but you get a portrait lens, all around lens, and with a teleconverter you can turn it into a 140-400 for wildlife, it will be a bit slow for shooting birds though.

if your hands are fast enough then all of these come in AF, they will not auto focus on the d3100 but they are all had at very cheap prices. i think the AF 50 f/1.8 goes for about R1000 now which is cheap for such a good lens, then you can take the extra money and get a decent flash because the onboard flash on nikon (imho) is not so great to use as a main flash.

as for books or advice. Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson it is (imho) the best book out there. it taught me so so much and the book is written in plain english so it is easy to understand...

 

[BigAl-sa]

I came from point-and-shoot territory and still use them for ultra-close-up macro photography the DSLR cannot seem to manage...

You do have a proper macro lens, right?

http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/Animals/Bugs/762191_CddR4#134451129_kfVxM

 

[bwana]

You do have a proper macro lens, right?

http://bigal-sa.smugmug.com/Animals/Bugs/762191_CddR4#134451129_kfVxM

I still don't . . . but I get by with the usual tricks.

 

[BigAl-sa]

I still don't . . . but I get by with the usual tricks.

I was thinking maybe he has one of Sigma's so-called macro-zooms, which are nowhere close to macro in IQ or magnification.

 

[Albereth]

You've got 3 different things going there - For landscape, you should be fine with the lense that you have. You'll need to add an alarm clock to your kit because you'll want to be set up taking pictures just before dawn.

Wedding photos - probably 50-100mm or something in that range. Bear in mind that your camera probably isn't full frame so it effectively magnifies.

Live bands - you need some fast glass and probably with image stabilisation. You might find that the camera body will give you some uphill too - it will try and focus on a brighter object and if you are wide open with your appeture setting you'll have a narrow DOF.

 

[Dolby]

Live bands - you need some fast glass and probably with image stabilisation. You might find that the camera body will give you some uphill too - it will try and focus on a brighter object and if you are wide open with your appeture setting you'll have a narrow DOF.

How would one get passed this?
Surely if you close the aperture and bump up ISO, there is little point of the fast glass in the beginning?

 

[RanzB]

How would one get passed this?
Surely if you close the aperture and bump up ISO, there is little point of the fast glass in the beginning?

Depending on your camera, you might not have high enough ISO to deal with the low light, and even if you did, high ISO can result in noise. Faster glass would help with both of those.

 

[chau]

How would one get passed this?
Surely if you close the aperture and bump up ISO, there is little point of the fast glass in the beginning?

I'd say use the camera on Manual and adjust your shutter manually. Therefore your photos won't be over/under exposed. I haven't shot a live gig yet but I think the lightning can be really really bad and sometimes having fast glass just doesn't do it

 

[bwana]

Concerts are tricky due to the lighting - in fact they're one of the few times I find myself switching back to RAW these days (waiting on some remark from ldmelsa ) just so I can correct my white balance in post. Lens wise I choose the fastest glass I have (at the very least it helps when it comes to focusing) and shoot in manual mode. Those damn musicians tend to move fast so keep the shutter speed as high as you can and adjust the ISO to compensate.

I'm not sure of the high ISO capabilities of the D3000 but a little grain never hurt anyone and if you have too much convert to black and white and call it art.

 

[francdore]

Ok so when you say "fast glass", what does that mean exactly?

Is that a type of lens?

 

[Paul_S]

Ok so when you say "fast glass", what does that mean exactly?

Is that a type of lens?

"Fast glass" refers to a lens with a large aperture that allows lots of light through.
Aperture is measured in f-stops. The smaller the number the "faster" the lens.
An f-stop is the focal length divided by the diameter of the lens.

A fast lens is typically f/2.8 or faster although there is no official definition and it depends on the focal length.
Telephoto lenses with an f-stop of 5.6 or less are also sometimes called fast lenses because they're fast for the focal length that they are capable of.
A Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM lens for example can also be referred to as a fast telephoto lens.
f/1.4 is very fast and usually very expensive and normally only found in lenses with a focal length of 200mm or less.

The lens in itself isn't fast but the larger aperture allows for faster shutter speeds hence the term "fast glass" or "fast lens".
Because the lens lets more light through, a slower ISO can be used with a faster shutter speed.
That in turn helps avoid motion blur due to a slow shutter speed and sensor noise problems that are experienced when using high ISO settings (film speed).

This page explains F-Stops quite well: http://www.uscoles.com/fstop.htm
Wikipedia have a page on lens speed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_speed

 

[francdore]

I want to buy a Canon camera. What Canon camera is similar to the Nikon D3000? The Nikon D3000 is around R4500. So what Canon would be in the same price range?

Thanks!

 

[Paul_S]

I want to buy a Canon camera. What Canon camera is similar to the Nikon D3000? The Nikon D3000 is around R4500. So what Canon would be in the same price range?

Thanks!

I'm no camera expert but it looks like the Canon EOS 1000D is the closest equivalent to the Nikon D3000.
They're both 10 MP cameras and have similar specs.
You can purchase Canon 1000D bundle for about R4400 and it includes the Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS Lens and extras.

Basic comparison of differences: http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon_EOS_1000D-vs-Nikon_D3000

 

[francdore]

So what camera would you recommend if I have to choose between the Nikon D3000 and the Canon 1000D?

Thanks!

 

[bwana]

So what camera would you recommend if I have to choose between the Nikon D3000 and the Canon 1000D?

Thanks!

Do you have to? I know it's hard to wait but if you can save and spend a little more you'll probably be happier for longer.