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Camera Question - lens

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JPSmit

JPSmit

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Well photography friends. Quick question. My daughter is studying at college taking Interactive Media Design - website design/ photography/ coding etc. etc. This is mostly going to end up (I think) in project management but she needs to know about the actual hands on stuff also. She also loves photography.

For this course, she bought a Nikon D5100. It came with a "stock" lens. On the lense it says: Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm 1:3.5 - 5.6 G

Mrs JP & I are contemplating buying her another lens for Christmas. In light of the type of work she is doing above - any suggestions for a "next lens?"

thanks all
JP
 
JP, I shoot Canon, but the principles are the same. FWIW, I have a set of very decent tutorials from Michael Andrews and one of the DVDs is about accessories, including lenses - more about that later.

From your description above, it's hard to tell exactly what kind of photography she will be mostly doing, which of course will help dictate what lens would be best. There are hundreds of lens choices, but the general types would be dictated by the types of photography she'd be doing. For example, if she was into shooting sports and wildlife, then a good telephoto (or zoom) would be in order (say 300mm or bigger). As a general rule (not always hard rule), prime lenses give you better image quality (IQ), although in recent years, lens manufacturers are developing zooms (variable focal length) that have IQ nearly as good as the prime equivalent. If her interest in landscapes, then look for a good wide angle (like 15-35mm zoom). For portraits, you want a decent prime lens of 50mm - 85mm (or equiv). Since that camera is a "crop-frame" (DX) sensor and not full frame, it is important to remember that the "effective" focal length is going to be about 1.5x greater than if the same lens were sitting on a full frame camera (Full frame means (basically) that the sensor size is approximately the same as 35mm film camera. A crop sensor has a smaller sensor. So, for example, a 50mm lens would look like an 75mm lens on a DX sensor camera (more telephoto effect with respect to field of view). This is why many sports and wild life photographers these days opt for crop from sensors - they get more "reach" (my 300mm prime is like a 420mm )(The crop factor on Canons is about 1.6x)

With all that said, assuming you want to get a good "all around" lens, I will tell you one that Michael Andrew highly recommends and a good, light, versatile lens, which is available in a Nikon mount. That is, the Tamron 18-270mm zoom. It's a decent lens that is not super heavy and has decent image quality. Now, I have not used this lens myself, but he really sings its praises as a good, inexpensive, all around lens. And, it gets mostly good reviews on Amazon. With 18-270 focal length you have decent wide angle, all the way to decent telephoto capability all in one lens. 18-270 on her 1.5 crop sensor would be about 27 to 405. That would give her a lot of versatility.

Here it is on Amazon <<

Basil
 
With all that said, assuming you want to get a good "all around" lens, I will tell you one that Michael Andrew highly recommends and a good, light, versatile lens, which is available in a Nikon mount. That is, the Tamron 18-270mm zoom. It's a decent lens that is not super heavy and has decent image quality. Now, I have not used this lens myself, but he really sings its praises as a good, inexpensive, all around lens. And, it gets mostly good reviews on Amazon. With 18-270 focal length you have decent wide angle, all the way to decent telephoto capability all in one lens. 18-270 on her 1.5 crop sensor would be about 27 to 405. That would give her a lot of versatility.
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this comment is fwiw:

I've worked in the optics industry for 30+ years. ( Olympus & Carl Zeiss): but my experience is restricted to the surgical microscope optics industry.
however, I believe I can state this as fact, [because most of the quality optics out there are supplied by 3 major manufactures. ( & not necessarily the brand names you've come to trust). ] The difference in quality is not something you will experience or appreciate in the first 3-5 years of use. True quality optics are dependent on the quality of the proprietary coatings that the high end manufacturers use. It is true, a lot of what you pay for is "name brand", but what you get with that name is long term quality (20-30+ years of non yellowing, non oxidized glass). Glass purity almost as good as the day it was manufactured .

so if you are looking for 3-5 years of quality optics, the cheap stuff will answer. If you want lifetime optics, then you have to pay for it.
 
Thanks for this guys - I suspect the "good all around lens" as per Basil's recommendation - would be best for her, but, the thread did jog my memory that she likes Macro photography. we check them out! (I appreciate this forum!)
 
JPSmit said:
Thanks for this guys - I suspect the "good all around lens" as per Basil's recommendation - would be best for her, but, the thread did jog my memory that she likes Macro photography. we check them out! (I appreciate this forum!)
Click to expand...

JP, a macro lens, while it can be used for other things, is really a very specialized lens. I would like to try macro photography one of these days, and may eventually buy a good macro lens. But, if you wanted to kill two birds - get her a good all around lens AND facilitate her ability for macro photography, you might consider something like this >> Macro Extension Tube Kit
 
You might also consider getting her a good tripod (very useful for macro and other photography) and/or a good travel bag - I bought one recently that holds the camera, 2 lenses, a laptop computer, and a bit of other stuff and easily fits under an airplane seat.
 
coldplugs said:
You might also consider getting her a good tripod (very useful for macro and other photography) and/or a good travel bag - I bought one recently that holds the camera, 2 lenses, a laptop computer, and a bit of other stuff and easily fits under an airplane seat.
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Good idea - though she just bought a cool backpack with an internal (and hidden) camera bag. Likewise there is a tripod floating around the basement - though we need to replace the shoe - that said, keep the ideas coming please!
 
One of THESE with what they call a "Super Clamp" is worth its weight in precious metals. I've used this combo for decades. When you can't or don't want to haul a tripod around, this thing will clamp onto about anything and will hold up to about 30 pounds of weight. It'll fit in her backpack.
 
DrEntropy said:
One of THESE with what they call a "Super Clamp" is worth its weight in precious metals. I've used this combo for decades. When you can't or don't want to haul a tripod around, this thing will clamp onto about anything and will hold up to about 30 pounds of weight. It'll fit in her backpack.
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that's very cool Doc! thanks
 
Speaking of lenses, I just rented a Sigma 150-600mm Super Telephoto for a trip this weekend to Bosque Del Apache wildlife / bird refuge. Going to try this lens on my Canon 7DM2 with a tripod and a gimbal head.
 
Basil said:
Speaking of lenses, I just rented a Sigma 150-600mm Super Telephoto for a trip this weekend to Bosque Del Apache wildlife / bird refuge. Going to try this lens on my Canon 7DM2 with a tripod and a gimbal head.
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always interested to see your results, boss
 
There are so many different lenses out there, you aren't a mind reader, I'd offer the money - whatever you're willing to spend - and go shopping with her at a "proper" camera shop, I believe Henry's Photo in Toronto has a very strong reputation, and once there be firm on your price limit, those guys love to up sell the product... :single_eye:
 
There is a piece of video somewhere in NASA's library where a MagicArm is seen floating thru frame on the shuttle. Even NASA thought them useful!
 
Sherlock said:
There are so many different lenses out there, you aren't a mind reader, I'd offer the money - whatever you're willing to spend - and go shopping with her at a "proper" camera shop, I believe Henry's Photo in Toronto has a very strong reputation, and once there be firm on your price limit, those guys love to up sell the product... :single_eye:
Click to expand...

My daughter bought her camera at Henry's - and they were actually very good
 
Difference? Hmmmm.... $50? :devilgrin:

Seriously, though - looks like the pricier one has built-in vibration reduction. Helps when shooting at slower speeds.
 
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