Posted: 9/26/2012 11:08:19 AM EDT
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I got interested in photography some 25 yrs ago, and then life got in the way. Well things are a little slower nowadays and the photography bug is biting again. I have decided to get a Nikon D7000 camera and need some lens advice.
Should I get the D7000 kit with a 18-105mm lens or just buy the body and get a better lens with it? Is the 18-105 mm a good starting point? I know I will get more lenses as the need arises and was just wondering about the kit. |
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Quoted:
I got interested in photography some 25 yrs ago, and then life got in the way. Well things are a little slower nowadays and the photography bug is biting again. I have decided to get a Nikon D7000 camera and need some lens advice. Should I get the D7000 kit with a 18-105mm lens or just buy the body and get a better lens with it? Is the 18-105 mm a good starting point? I know I will get more lenses as the need arises and was just wondering about the kit. Get the body only. The 18-105 is a step above the 18-55 kit lens. |
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If you're going to be a 'hobbyist' and not do a lot of serious shooting, the 18-105mm lens is probably pretty good. That gets you a pretty good range of zoom that should fit well within practical hobbyist uses.
I got a Canon with the 18-55mm kit lens, but replaced that with the new version of Sigma's 18-250mm lens. It's a good 'walking around' lens and covers a lot of range without having to swap out lenses often. It's pretty damn good for what it is, and Sigma did a great job at mitigating a lot of the common problems with 'superzoom' lenses. I also have in my bag a 10-20mm for wide angle stuff, and a 50mm f/1.8. The 50mm lenses are cheap enough to consider it almost not worth it NOT to have one. If you want to do more serious stuff, you'd probably want to get the body only, and then look at some quality glass. I'm not that familiar with the Nikon glass, so I can't be specific, but you can probably find really good lenses used for decent prices. |
| I'm definitely in the hobbyist class, but want to take decent photo. I think the kit lens will satisfy my needs for a while. I can get better lenses in the future. I've got a lot to learn about which lenses will even mount to a D7000. Things have definitely changed since I last used the old Pextax K1000. Lot more bells and whistles nowadays. |
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What do you plan on shooting? Just anything that catches my eye. I would like to be able to do family events, portraits, landscapes, etc. I just always liked taking pictures of stuff. I was just wanting to get a decent lens to start with and learn the new camera. |
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The D7000 can use just about any lens that Nikon has ever made. (Just check here before you plunk down your money on an older lens.)
If you are going for an all round experience there is much glass to be had. Initially, I'd suggest that you look at the 35mm f/1.8. It's fast prime glass that mimics the focal length of the Nifty-Fifty on crop sensors like the D7000, and it's only $200-220. Don't forget that Nifty-Fifty. You can get one with a 1.8 f-stop for a little over a hundred used. The D7000 will autofocus it just fine. Other than that, let your interests guide you, and don't be afraid of third party glass, some are better than OEM, especially considering cost to value. Just do your research. In case you're wondering, yes, I have a D7000. 
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Quoted: I'm definitely in the hobbyist class, but want to take decent photo. I think the kit lens will satisfy my needs for a while. I can get better lenses in the future. I've got a lot to learn about which lenses will even mount to a D7000. Things have definitely changed since I last used the old Pextax K1000. Lot more bells and whistles nowadays. deleted - covered by previous poster |
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Never buy cheap glass, the bodies are disposable, the quality lenses are forever. What he said, I have wasted money on cheap glass, ended up with a bunch of lenses I never used because they were junk. Invest in a good qualtiy lenses and you wont be disappointed. |
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Point and shoot cameras are really pretty good, I wanted a 70-300 zoom, but did not have the scratch for the 2.8 I needed, I picked up a pocketable canon sx110 for 130 bucks. It's not the l glass I wanted but I have it with me, and it can make nice images. 36-360 is really a huge range in a 9 meg pocket cam At 36 it's 2.8 F8 and be there  |