Basic kit

[mechawombat]

Ok Nikonites,

I am coming to join your ranks after serving my apprenticeship with Sony/Minolta

I am getting a D7000 next month and TBH I have no idea what I should be looking for apart from a nifty (which I will obtain a G series)

I do shoot everything and anything, so any one know of some great, cheap, and did I mention cheap glass to go with my new camera?

[ricktas]

If you want cheap glass, and something that short of gives you a bit of everything. Get an 18-200. Its a good general purpose lens that goes reasonably wide, and zooms quite well. Once you start to explore and experiment and find what genre you enjoy the most, then look at high quality lenses to suit that genre.

[geoffsta]

You will love the D7000 Mechawombat. With all it's features.
My Suggestions as a basic Kit are:
18-2ooVRII $900 (Fleebay)
ND8 Filter 72mm Cokin P series $40.00 (Fleabay)
Timer Remote $20.00 (Fleabay)

These items will get you through most genres without any hassle.

[gw.toad]

Not knowing your budget....Have a look at these....18-55mm and the 80-200mm ED AF F2.8...If you cant afford the 80-200mm maybe the 70-300mm

http://www.d-d-photographics.com.au/...kkor-Lens.html

http://www.d-d-photographics.com.au/...D-IF-Lens.html

http://www.d-d-photographics.com.au/...D-IF-Lens.html

[WhoDo]

Looks like you need to read my Sig line, mate!

[mechawombat]

Cheers for the responses everyone

I am looking at a 18-250 from Sigma or 18-270 from Tamron
but have heard only good things from my mate who has a Nikon 18-200 VR on his D80

Cheers for the suggestions guys

my eventual kit will probably be

11-16mm f2.8
35mm f1.8
50mm f1.8
55-200mm F3.5-5.6
18-2XXmm
50-500mm f4

plus all the extra bits that come with being a photographer

[salnel]

Another vote for the 18-200mm..a very good general lens!

[rodw]

Cheers for the responses everyone

I am looking at a 18-250 from Sigma or 18-270 from Tamron
but have heard only good things from my mate who has a Nikon 18-200 VR on his D80

Cheers for the suggestions guys

my eventual kit will probably be

11-16mm f2.8
35mm f1.8
50mm f1.8
55-200mm F3.5-5.6
18-2XXmm
50-500mm f4

plus all the extra bits that come with being a photographer

Unless you do portraits I would not bother with the 50mm as it is too long for me on a DX and has barely been used but I can't wait to get it on my D800 body when it arrives. My 50mm 1.4 is a beautiful lens. I've got a 17-35 which is a very nice lens on a DX camera and gets the most use.

[mechawombat]

So it begins

The power of the Dark side has consumed me and I ordered my D7000 with a 18-105mm tonight

Now to wait for the man from Fedex or DHL to drop it off for me

[WhoDo]

So it begins

The power of the Dark side has consumed me and I ordered my D7000 with a 18-105mm tonight ]

Welcome to the land of the enlightened!

[Puzz1e]

I was in the exact same situation as you last year. Bought the d7000 with a 50mm 1.4g and am still using just this lens. It is excellent for portraits on a DX body, but find myself almost always wanting to go wider. So right now I'm saving for a 24-70 2.8.

It all depends where you want to go with your photography and what you want to do. My plan was to go DX with my body and to learn lots about photography then move into FX. I know I will be going to FX so I don't buy any DX glass. If you are going to be staying with DX then you have lots of options. The lens ricktas mentioned is a pretty nice general purpose. I personally like the idea of starting out with prime lenses and learn to use your feet/body movement to get the frame you want. Obviously this depends on what you are shooting.

[Chayelle]

Whatever you find lens-wise, do enjoy your lovely Nikon D7000...

[rodw]

I was in the exact same situation as you last year. Bought the d7000 with a 50mm 1.4g and am still using just this lens. It is excellent for portraits on a DX body, but find myself almost always wanting to go wider. So right now I'm saving for a 24-70 2.8.

It all depends where you want to go with your photography and what you want to do. My plan was to go DX with my body and to learn lots about photography then move into FX. I know I will be going to FX so I don't buy any DX glass. If you are going to be staying with DX then you have lots of options. The lens ricktas mentioned is a pretty nice general purpose. I personally like the idea of starting out with prime lenses and learn to use your feet/body movement to get the frame you want. Obviously this depends on what you are shooting.

24mm will still not be wide enough on DX. I have a 24-85 that I had on my F80 film body and then bought a D40 with the 18-55 kit lens. For a lot of scenic shots I found myself reluctantly swapping to the wider kit lens as the 24mm just does not do it. With these two lenses, I was always frustrated to let shots pass because I did not have the reach but now I can take those shots, I use my 70-200 less than the wide 17-35. I think you need to be able to shoot wide to at least 18mm on DX.

The path from DX to FX is not easy as for the most part the FX lenses will be the wrong focal length so it will be a compromise.

If I was going to buy DX from scratch today and budget was limited, I think I'd get the D7000 with either the 18-25 kit alone or get the two lens kit with the 55-200 kit lens in addition. The reason I say this is that I could not pick any difference between the kit lens and the lens I paid $800 or so for in photos I took.

Then, I'd suggest getting one low light lens and I'd go for the 35mm f1.8 which is cheap enough to trade out of down the track. My next purchase would be a wide and if I was going to stay with DX, the 12-24 would be the way to go. Later, grab the 18-200 and you are done.

If FX was in the future for you, get the 17-35 f2.8 followed by a 70-200 f2.8. When you finally had the coin for an FX body, trade out the 35mm DX and replace it with a 50mm f1.4. You should only be out of pocket $100 or so on the changeover and you should have captured some great pics at 35mm to compensate for the loss.

The FX strategy is the similar path to I took. I deliberated on the 35 mm vs 50mm decision and wnt with 50mm which I think was the wrong choice but my pending D800 will fix that.

I think this strategy would maximize your investment in DX and only see you spend the cash when you were really certain FX was the way to go after taking at least 10-20000 photos on your DX camera.

[mechawombat]

I was in the exact same situation as you last year. Bought the d7000 with a 50mm 1.4g and am still using just this lens. It is excellent for portraits on a DX body, but find myself almost always wanting to go wider. So right now I'm saving for a 24-70 2.8.

It all depends where you want to go with your photography and what you want to do. My plan was to go DX with my body and to learn lots about photography then move into FX. I know I will be going to FX so I don't buy any DX glass. If you are going to be staying with DX then you have lots of options. The lens ricktas mentioned is a pretty nice general purpose. I personally like the idea of starting out with prime lenses and learn to use your feet/body movement to get the frame you want. Obviously this depends on what you are shooting.

Hey puzzle I have been shooting with my Sony a350 for a fair bit and will continue using it for portrait and candids as it really shoots great pics of people. So I know a fair bit more than the basics.

Coming to a new brand is a little daunting but I am doing it as my night photography is what was suffering and being a shift worker I spend lots of time awake when others are asleep and the Sony was #$%^ with crazy noise

@Rodw

Grrr now you got me in a state of will I wont I HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[rodw]

@Rodw

Grrr now you got me in a state of will I wont I HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Sorry about that!

Would a used D700 be worth considering for your low light conditions? Thay might be similar in price to the D7000 once the D800 gets here!

[Puzz1e]

Hey puzzle I have been shooting with my Sony a350 for a fair bit and will continue using it for portrait and candids as it really shoots great pics of people. So I know a fair bit more than the basics.

Coming to a new brand is a little daunting but I am doing it as my night photography is what was suffering and being a shift worker I spend lots of time awake when others are asleep and the Sony was #$%^ with crazy noise

The low light performance is great for a camera of the price, but I personally don't like pushing it much further than ISO 1600.

[mechawombat]

On an a350 you can go ISO 400 before major noise

4X effective increase yep tick DONE!

@ Rodw nah I will stick to the D7000 DX format for now but will get a 35mm f1.8 most definitely

got a email today it is going to be delayed 7-10 days NOT HAPPY

[mechawombat]

Its here and my wife brought me a 11-16 Tokina as well for my upcoming B'day!

Thanks for the advice I just need a telephoto and the 35mm prime to feel my NAS (Nikon acquirement syndrome) go into remission