Which kit lens for beginner with no equipment... Which kit lens would you recommend?
774987
Hi Mr. Hewitt (I wonder if we have any relation?) Anyway, for a true beginner (as in you've never used anything but a point-and-shoot) I'd recommend you get a Nikon D40 and an 18-200 VR. Keep the 18-55 kit lens, you'll find it lighter when your just taking snapshots of the family or whatever. The D40 is an excellent starter camera, it has almost all the tweaks of this much more expensive camera without the weight and cost. The D300 has many advantages over it, but I really feel you'll learn a lot faster with a simpler camera, and step up to this when your ready. I actually started out with a D40 a bit over a year ago, it made starting out quite fun. The 18-200VR will follow you as a great lens on the D300 too, and you can use any newer AF-S lenses on it. If you have older AF-D Nikon lenses lying around that you want to use, a D80 is also a good place to start. It's easier to make the custom tweaks you'll learn about in your photography classes on the D80, but it still has Auto modes as well to get you started. Checkout www.kenrockwell.com, especially his recommended camera page. He's a bit more eloquent than I am. And I wouldn't be so fast to recommend the D60 to anyone, it's just the D40x's guts (plus active D-Lighting, but without the other enhancements of the D300/D3) with a different name stamped on it. I wouldn't recommend the D40x or D60 to anyone, they exist to fill a price point to compete with Canon. If your eyeballing either, jump to the D80 and don't look back.
582817
"best DSLR for begginers under 400$" The ONLY DSLR for beginners under $400! ;-)
1163547
Fixed lens are ALWAYS sharper and the 1.8 is great in low light situation. Kit lens are not as sharp and usually slower (3.5 or 5.6) and therefore limit ur shooting possibilites. If u want a zoom spend the money for a fast one (2.8). I never buy kit lens. I bought d3200 body and 50mm 1.8vs and i have used it very often for newspaper gigs recently in a variety of lighting situations. The extra sharpness and speed payed off. My shots were crisp and clear when printed in the newspaper.
1825170
I agree with the previous comment. The Tamron lens is a good 'general' lens for your bag. The kit lens is worthless in my opinion and should be avoided at all cost. Your 50mm 1.4 is my recommendation.
1721288
I'd have to agree with J.W Kennedy, it is very quirky. I'd suggest the Fisheye or La Sardina cameras for a true beginner. Even the Holga would be a bit easier (although that uses 120 film).
1019877
I did NOT buy the kit lens...bought camera with the 18-200mm lens instead....love this lens....a bit heavy but just great....no need for multiple lenses.
982739
If you can afford it, buy the 28/200 or the 28/300 macro lens. It is much more convenient as you do not have to change lenses when shifting from one type of shot to another. It is ideal for the amateur / semi-pro who wants excellent photos. Of course, if you are a professional, you already know that you need many more types of lenses and filters for every situation conceivable.
1907928
I am sorry - I did not even investigate the kit lens. I had a 24-70 f2.8 and a 70-200 f2.8 which I was going to use with the camera. (But I opted for the 24-70 2.8 rather than the f4 because I do a lot of indoor work (I am NOT a pro), and am VERY happy. I recently shot at a conference with high ISO and both these lenses, without a flash. Very pleased with the results).
681557
My recommendation is Tokina 11-16mm (sharpest UWA lens)+ 18-55mm + 70-200mm f/4 IS for most of traveling and hiking in the mountain, kit lens is actually very good and light. If you are in vacation you also need fast prime for indoor activity like 50mm f/1.8 and dedicated flash like 430EX or bigger. If you only need to bring 1 lens, get 18-200mm IS, very useful and acceptable sharpness in whole range compared to any third party superzoom lenses.
1463261
Did you ever get a lens? I'm making the same decision now. If so, what did you buy? Are you happy with your decision? Is there anything else you would add that would help me make a decision. Thanks!
2240583
I have got the 17-85mm for less than two year and is really a fantastic beginners lens. But it has a very weak and poor mechanical construction. The internal tapes conducting the electronic signals are bad located and over the time the thin conductors break away and you will get err.1. So at that time the beatifull and affordable lens is unusable. My advise go with 17-40mm L lens that is optically superior and far far superior mechanical construction.
1820407
Get the EF 50mm f/1.4 for a few hundred bucks. Give the kit lens to a friend, or if you haven't bought your camera yet, just buy the body like I did. The 50mm is the MUST HAVE LENS. Every professional photographer will tell you this. You can practically take pictures in the dark without a flash. There's tons of information online about the 50mm lens. If you get one, you will never put the kit lens back on your camera. Prime lenses take amazing pictures. I have a 28-135 that I wish I hadn't bought. Go for shorter ranges in zooms and buy primes. If your rich, try some L glass out.
425346
This your basic kit lens that comes with just about every kit Nikon sells. We have bought several kits and as professionals, rarely use them.
32352
If money is a concern, try the "fantastic plastic" or sometimes called the "nifty fifty". That's the Canon EOS 50mm f/1.8. Great lens. Best optics per dollar, for sure. Only complaint people have had has been about the quality of background blur when shooting wide open. I haven't had an issue personally, it's acceptable for the price. It IS rather ugly compared to the quality of bokeh on the f/1.2L .. But you can buy 15 of the 1.8s for the price of the 1.2, so that's to be expected.The 1.4 has had some great reviews as well.
494446
I have no experience with the SL1, so I will only comment on the lens. The 18-135 is what you want. It is almost good enough to have only that one lens, at least to start with. I highly recommend it. I have other lenses that I use as well, but the 18-135 can cover ~90% of what I want to shoot in any random situation.
1907927
Anytime you can get a Canon L-Series lens, you are probably going to do pretty well. I noticed a lot of the "answers" didn't really address your question, just stated they already HAD lenses. I had NON-L series lenses before buying this camera, and when I had the chance to get the camera with an L-series lens, I definitely went for it. I have not been disappointed. The only lenses I have used that have ever been sharper than this one are the L-series Prime lenses. Otherwise, the kit lens is quick, sharp, has a nice bokeh to the pictures at the low F-stops, all in all, a nice lens.
450058
To be honest, you should get the 50mm 1.8 lens first. You can take absolutely stunning photos with that lens that don't come close to the lenses you mentioned. The 18-55mm kit lens would be my last choice.