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First Time SLR Buyer...

(8 posts) (6 voices)

Started 6 months ago by sosoqqqaa
Latest reply from sevencrossing
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sarrold

junior member
Joined: Nov '12
Posts: 5
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HI all,

Am a first time SLR buyer - and have been doing my product research (as I always do when buying something of value) and am enamored by the D600.

Love photography and I get to travel a LOT as I work for an international luxury hotel company...so I get to go to some very nice places several times a year.

Have built up a wonderful collection of beautiful images on my old Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50 which I bought back in 2008 such as Myanmar, 2010

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38042740@N06/sets/72157625995728300/

My problem is, I have tried to print these in to large sizes eg 16*20 to hang on the walls and the resolution is horrible...(unsurprisingly)

So, I have decided to take the plunge and invest in a really great camera...D600!

I obviously have no lenses...so I am starting from scratch and am looking for advice.

I will be taking pics of landscapes, cityscapes, people, family and also am an advid surfer...so would like to also have something to cover some surfing photography (which requires decent zoom). Lastly, I also want to do some HD video (family / surfing).

And lastly, my pockets are far from endless...so there is budget to consider. I read that you should spend 50/50 spilt on camera vs lens. I get that...But I can't do this all at once.

The camera will be a big upfront cost and I am fine with that as I see this as an investment which is probably beyond what I need now at my current level...but something I will grow in to and keep for years.

I can stretch to about $1000 on lenses right now...and have been looking at the Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm...which I must say is pretty tempting given it "covers all bases" and will be great to travel with BUT I also understand it has its limitations...and is there any point getting such a great camera to be let down by the lens? (by all means correct me if I am wrong if you think that at my level this would be a good starter point).

Or do I really do the camera full justice and look at getting 2 specialized lenses. If this is the case, then I would need to get a starter lens...then later buy the 2nd one (something with longer length) when the bank account recovers.

Love to hear your opinions,

Cheers,

S

Posted 6 months ago #
sevencrossing

preferred member
Joined: Sep '10
Posts: 1,265
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Welcombe to NR

the AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm is "OK" but far from being one of Nikons sharpest or best lenes

IMHO Nikon best "do everything lens" is the 24-120 f4 VR. Start with this and decide what specialist lens you need later
options for a specalis lens are

f1.4 prime eg 50mm
ultra wide eg 16 -35 f 4
macro eg 105 mm f 2.8
super tele eg 200-400 f 4

Posted 6 months ago #
adamz

The Predator
Joined: Mar '09
Posts: 3,461
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@sarrold - You make me jealous with the ballon over bagan shots :) I guess it's really worth it it's price.
as for Your main question, well d600 is certainly a good choice for Your style of photography. I would start with this what sevencrossing suggested, N24-120/f4 vr (the new version) and I would add a N70-300/vr to it to have a nice travel set up. If You want to spend more, there's always the option to go with three lenses. N16-35/f4, than the new 24-80/vr and than add to it the new N70-200/f4vr.

Posted 6 months ago #
msmoto

big gun cougar
Joined: Mar '10
Posts: 2,736
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@ adamz ....could not have said this better....great recommendation....

Posted 6 months ago #
heartyfisher

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Joined: Apr '09
Posts: 1,701
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Hmmm ... D600 = FX 18-300 is a DX lens. Do you mean the 28-300.

if it is the 18-300 . it does work on the D600 in crop mode. Then its probably better that you get a dx camera with it .. say the D7000. or the D5200..

If it is the 28-300 for the D600. I think it is a good choice for a first DSLR & Lens combo. It gives a great range and capability. After a few thousand shots you will start to see what focal lengths you like best. Then you can get a specific lens around that range. Either a high quality shorter range F2.8 zoom or even a prime. People generally suggest a 50mm prime.. and its a good general suggestion .. but for me the 50mm is useless as i never seem to take photos in that range... you will find as i did that certain focal lengths just fit your vision.

Posted 6 months ago #
sarrold

junior member
Joined: Nov '12
Posts: 5
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Dear all, thanks very much for your great suggestions.

@ adamz - yes, balloons over Bagan is simply an incredible experience and one i highly recommend. Myanmar is an incredible destination and the jewel in Sth East Asia IMO. Go before the rest of the world does...and the floodgates have already opened (there are not enough hotels to handle the demand but they are building). Thanks also for the advice...glad to hear the D600 is a good camera for my sort of photography (which I sincerely hope evolves enough to do the camera justice).

@ heartyfisher - yes, you are correct and it was my mistake - I did actually mean the 28-300 and actually took the plunge last night and bought the D600 & 28-300 combination as I think this will cover "most bases" at least at a level where I am at at the moment. And yes, I had also read that adding a 50mm Prime is a good idea esp if in low light so I will probably look at that.

@ sevencrossing and adamz - thanks also for the advice - which I know makes perfect sense. Hopefully I can get some decent results from the 28-300mm...and then as heartyfisher suggests, maybe as I progress in skill (and start getting fussy about the quality the 28-300mm can deliver) I can then start really getting specific about individual lenses I will know which focal lengths I use the most.

Thanks very much all, appreciate you taking the time to dumb down some answers for a newbie.

Posted 6 months ago #
ericbowles

senior member
Joined: Jun '09
Posts: 56
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Congrats on the new camera. You'll really like it. My guess is you will want an ultrawide angle lens next - maybe something like the 16-35 f/4 VR.

You can guide future purchases by using software to graph the focal lengths you use most frequently. I use Wega2 - and its free. It will take a folder of JPEG files and provide a wide range of information on the images - Aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and focal length.
http://www.vandel.nl/

Posted 6 months ago #
sevencrossing

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Joined: Sep '10
Posts: 1,265
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sarrold said:

@ severncrossing and adams - thanks also for the advice - which I know makes perfect sense. Hopefully I can get some decent results from the 28-300mm

looking at your photos, I think you could benefit from something fairly wide

if you are also getting, or thinking of getting, the 16-35 then the 28-300 should be fine

otherwise I would still recommend the 24 -120; ask your self. How often are your photos, take above the equivalent of 120mm, worth keeping

Posted 6 months ago #