Educate me on starter DSLRs

[Homerboy]

I bought two lexar 8GB professional cards. In my mind, two cards beats one - if one fails, then you've got a second.

I always buy a second battery. If you use a VR lens, the battery will drain fast. If you use live view, it'll drain faster.

Always but ALWAYS buy filters for a lens. I know people who have dropped their lenses and/or cameras and only had a filter shatter - who knows what would have broken without a filter on it. Moreover, if a filter scratches, you're out $20. If a lens scratches, you've gotta fix it.

If you want to, grab a pen brush - great in case dirt gets on the mirror.

Consider a case - I bought the Tamrac explorer 2.

Yeah I planned on getting filters. I used to have a decent 35mm, DV camcorder etc. All had filters for that reason. I still have a decent case.

As the post above shows, I'm still tempted to buy an Amazon "kit" as it comes with all those little addons and cheap or not, it ends up being cheaper (and if I find I use them A LOT maybe I will upgrade them then).

I have to admit too, buying one of those kits with a telephoto ends up being cheaper too!

 

[CptObvious]

Personally, I'd probably skip the Cameta kit. It's about $90 for the extras subtracting the body and lenses, but their quality isn't worth the price. I bought with Cameta when I bought my first DSLR (a Nikon D50) but ended up tossing out the extras within a month later. In the long run you'll save money if you upgrade or sell.

My recommendations for extras:
16GB Sandisk Extreme 30MB/s $30 - the D5100 is compatible with the 45 or 90MB/s UHS-1 cards, but DPreview tests show there is little performance benefit over these 30MB/s cards for this camera. OTOH, this card will smoke the Transcend cards (I have all 3 brands and can attest to this).

For filters, go with a good multicoated filter like Hoya HMC or Marumi DHG. You'll pay more ($15-20 each), but the cheap uncoated filter that Cameta provides will flare like crazy in sunlight and reduce contrast.

Some other useful accessories to have are a Giottos rocket blower ($9), a Lens Pen ($8), maybe a screen protector for the back.

For a first tripod, I'd recommend a Dolica AX620B100 ($40) but it appears to be out of stock at the moment.

For batteries, there's no way around it, you'll have to bend over and pay for a Nikon OEM. They used to sell for $25 but are now at least $40 and in short supply at the moment.

Flash - Yongnuo YN-565EX is what I'd buy. I had the SB-600 but the YN-565EX is cheaper, better built, and has more power.

And of course, the 35mm f/1.8G for $200 is probably the best value lens out there.

 

[twistedlogic]

Personally, I'd probably skip the Cameta kit. It's about $90 for the extras subtracting the body and lenses, but their quality isn't worth the price. I bought with Cameta when I bought my first DSLR (a Nikon D50) but ended up tossing out the extras within a month later. In the long run you'll save money if you upgrade or sell.

My recommendations for extras:
16GB Sandisk Extreme 30MB/s $30 - the D5100 is compatible with the 45 or 90MB/s UHS-1 cards, but DPreview tests show there is little performance benefit over these 30MB/s cards for this camera. OTOH, this card will smoke the Transcend cards (I have all 3 brands and can attest to this).

For filters, go with a good multicoated filter like Hoya HMC or Marumi DHG. You'll pay more ($15-20 each), but the cheap uncoated filter that Cameta provides will flare like crazy in sunlight and reduce contrast.

Some other useful accessories to have are a Giottos rocket blower ($9), a Lens Pen ($8), maybe a screen protector for the back.

For a first tripod, I'd recommend a Dolica AX620B100 ($40) but it appears to be out of stock at the moment.

For batteries, there's no way around it, you'll have to bend over and pay for a Nikon OEM. They used to sell for $25 but are now at least $40 and in short supply at the moment.

Flash - Yongnuo YN-565EX is what I'd buy. I had the SB-600 but the YN-565EX is cheaper, better built, and has more power.

And of course, the 35mm f/1.8G for $200 is probably the best value lens out there.

Awesome advice. Buy cheap, buy twice.

The faster memory card will serve two purposes, one is to clear the camera's buffer quicker and the other is to allow you to upload them to PC quicker.

As for filters, the debate over whether to use them or not is a much heated topic. As CptObvious mentions, a cheaper one will cause more harm than good.

Here is a great article to let you decide for yourself:
http://www.gdanmitchell.com/2007/12/27/uv-filter-or-not

A snippet from the article "While there are stories of lens accidents that resulted in damaged filters and (relatively) undamaged lenses, there are also stories of broken filter shards damaging the lens and the observation that some filter-damaging impacts would not have affected the lens that had a hood in place."

And +1 on the 35 1.8 and a speedlight. Bounce flash and fast glass make a DSLR much more versatile.

 

[Homerboy]

Ok order placed:

1 "Marumi DHG Super MC Lens Protect Slim Safety Filter 52mm 52"
Electronics; $20.89
In Stock
Sold by: OEC Camera Accessories
1 "Nikon D5100 16.2MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens"
Camera; $749.00
In Stock
Sold by: Amazon.com
1 "SanDisk Extreme HD Video 16 GB SDHC Class 10 Memory Card (SDSDRX3-016G-A21)"
Personal Computers; $28.99
In Stock
Sold by: BlueProton

Order Total: $798.88

I stopped there as I have a $800 limit on my amazon credit (I will abuse their free 24 month financing for a while)

I will dig around now for a TP lens and a spare battery....

I don't need to bother with a battery grip do I?

 

[twistedlogic]

I don't need to bother with a battery grip do I?

I <3 my battery grip. It offers the use of AA batteries or two stock Nikon batteries(2x battery life), gives you a vertical shutter release button, and helps stabilize larger lenses.

How big are your hands?

 

[Homerboy]

I <3 my battery grip. It offers the use of AA batteries or two stock Nikon batteries(2x battery life), gives you a vertical shutter release button, and helps stabilize larger lenses.

How big are your hands?

Big (I'm 6'2")
The use of standard AA batteries is what really grabbed my attention more than anything. Seems if stock battery costs $40 I may be better off getting a grip and using any of the many rechargeable AAs I have.

Whats the comparison in number of snapshots between using AAs and a brad name battery for the camera?

 

[JohnnyRebel]

Concerning protective filters:

I use them because I don't use lens caps in the field. I just feel a lot better cleaning "stuff" off a filter than off the lens. My filter of choice is the Hoya Super-Multicoated. Gently cleaned with moisture from my breath and a 3M Microfiber Lens Cleaning Cloth; ONLY after blowing with the Giottos rocket blower and perhaps brushing has failed to clean the filter.

If I am expecting seaspray or such I use an uncoated UV filter (Hoya usually) as there is no coating to damage with harder cleaning. I like the Zeiss Pre-Moistened Lens Cloths Wipes, used after blowing with the Giottos rocket blower and brushing away loose stuff.

JR

 

[Silenus]

As has been mentioned the filter debate has raged for along time and is still going strong. You will need to decide if they are something you want.

I will throw in my opinion here as a counterpoint to some others. I don't use filters at all, even on my quite expensive 70-200 lens. I consider them a waste of money...in no small part because I always shoot with a lens HOOD (for both protection and IQ), and I do use my lens caps when not shooting.

For me the chances of a filter protecting against something that the lens hood wouldn't are practically non existent. Also consider this: Yes filter could possibly protect you lens against an impact...but only if you hit it/drop it right on the front of the lens where the filter is! What if it gets hit on the barrel, or the back end? Filter can't help you there...and really neither will a hood. Just some food for thought!

As for cleaning and junk getting on the lens...I have found that for my use I just don't get to much stuff on my lenses, so I don't need to clean them too often. But when I do I find they are not nearly as fragile as some think. Use care when cleaning (blow or brush off loose stuff then gently wet clean) and you will find you lenses should do just fine. I have cleaned mine many times and they still look new.

Having said all that....even I would use a filter temporarily if I knew I was needing to shoot in an extremely harsh environment where there would be hard blowing sand or something else that I know would be beating on the front lens element. But that would be extremely rare (for me).

 

[RobDickinson]

I dont use protective filters either. But knock yourself out if you want to , and hope they dont mess up some images.

 

[you2]

I tend to use hoya mc filters; the problem is that if you don't use a coated filter then flare can be a real problem. Avoid green-glass filters (tifen used to fall into this category).
-
I don't think a high quality filter degrade image quality (resolution) but flare; esp side flare can cause a significant loss of contrast. On the other hand I noticed after a year or two that the amount of grit the filter picked up while walking around the city was quite significant; and I rather toss a $25 filter than a $1000 lens.
-
For night shots I often removed the filter though barrel and middle elements reflection can still be an issue (depending on lens design).

 

[JohnnyRebel]

even I would use a filter temporarily if I knew I was needing to shoot in an extremely harsh environment

I forgot to mention my 5 kids and the ubiquitous finger prints that "appear" on many of my lenses...

JR

 

[radhak]

You might already know this, but still : Nikon does not have battery grips for the 5100. You will need to buy from third-party manufacturers that may or may not keep you happy. (Going by reviews; I only have the D90)

Big (I'm 6'2")
The use of standard AA batteries is what really grabbed my attention more than anything. Seems if stock battery costs $40 I may be better off getting a grip and using any of the many rechargeable AAs I have.

Whats the comparison in number of snapshots between using AAs and a brad name battery for the camera?

 

[RampantAndroid]

Ok order placed:

1 "Marumi DHG Super MC Lens Protect Slim Safety Filter 52mm 52"
Electronics; $20.89
In Stock
Sold by: OEC Camera Accessories
1 "Nikon D5100 16.2MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens"
Camera; $749.00
In Stock
Sold by: Amazon.com
1 "SanDisk Extreme HD Video 16 GB SDHC Class 10 Memory Card (SDSDRX3-016G-A21)"
Personal Computers; $28.99
In Stock
Sold by: BlueProton

Order Total: $798.88

I stopped there as I have a $800 limit on my amazon credit (I will abuse their free 24 month financing for a while)

I will dig around now for a TP lens and a spare battery....

I don't need to bother with a battery grip do I?

So how is the D5100? If it's anywhere near as awesome as the D7000....well, it's awesome

 

[currahee440]

You know it's funny homerboy... I was contemplating getting a D3100 and ended up gettng the D5100 instead I just said to myself, "It's only $150 more and it offers a crapton more features... I made a comparison shot of the D5100 against my P500. If you're interested to see the difference between a DSLR and a Superzoom let me know

So how is the D5100? If it's anywhere near as awesome as the D7000....well, it's awesome

D5100 is amazing. From the reviews, it seems the sensor is derived from the D7000 and I love how it has some neat post-processing effects like silhouettes.

I have a question for you guys ... I want another lens. Though I'm not sure if I want a wide angle (35mm) lens or a telephoto lens (55-200mm)... if you could choose one of the two which one would you go with?

 

[Silenus]

It all depends what you shoot and how often. You need to decide what you like and will use more often.They are very different lenses. By the way 35 is really not considered wide angle on the DX cameras. The field of view you get is more 'normal' similar to a 50mm on an FX/film camera.

If you are talking about Nikon 35/1.8...I'd go with that, but that is just me. I use WAY more than any other lens I have. It is a fantastic lens for the price. If you have never shot with a fast prime before you may not know what your missing! Combined with a great high ISO camera like the 5100 it will be incredible what you can do compared to your old superzoom.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

You know it's funny homerboy... I was contemplating getting a D3100 and ended up gettng the D5100 instead I just said to myself, "It's only $150 more and it offers a crapton more features... I made a comparison shot of the D5100 against my P500. If you're interested to see the difference between a DSLR and a Superzoom let me know



D5100 is amazing. From the reviews, it seems the sensor is derived from the D7000 and I love how it has some neat post-processing effects like silhouettes.

I have a question for you guys ... I want another lens. Though I'm not sure if I want a wide angle (35mm) lens or a telephoto lens (55-200mm)... if you could choose one of the two which one would you go with?

On the D5100, 35mm is "normal". The 18mm side of your kit lens is pretty wide. Now, that being said, the 35mm is f/1.8 and will do much better in low light. It is a real "no-brainer" for Nikon DX cameras. You will also want something longer than the kit lens, but think about when you'll shoot telephoto. The 55-200 is great, but not awesome in low light. Inside during a concert when you'd like close-up shots of the kids its going to be really tough to get performance you'd be happy with.

JR

 

[CuriousMike]

I have a question for you guys ... I want another lens. Though I'm not sure if I want a wide angle (35mm) lens or a telephoto lens (55-200mm)... if you could choose one of the two which one would you go with?

The 35mm is not wide.

The 35mm is a great walk around lens; when you put you want a nice, shallow DOF the 35 f1.8 can't be beat.

The 55-200 is great if you're dealing with far off subjects in good light. I use it extensively at my sons baseball games, but thats about it.

 

[RampantAndroid]

You know it's funny homerboy... I was contemplating getting a D3100 and ended up gettng the D5100 instead I just said to myself, "It's only $150 more and it offers a crapton more features... I made a comparison shot of the D5100 against my P500. If you're interested to see the difference between a DSLR and a Superzoom let me know



D5100 is amazing. From the reviews, it seems the sensor is derived from the D7000 and I love how it has some neat post-processing effects like silhouettes.

I have a question for you guys ... I want another lens. Though I'm not sure if I want a wide angle (35mm) lens or a telephoto lens (55-200mm)... if you could choose one of the two which one would you go with?

A friend of mine has the FX wide angle 14-24 f/2.8 lens. On her FX, it looks great. On my DX/APS-C camera, it gets barely more viewing angle than my 18-200mm lens does. I'll upload the comparison shots tonight.

As for the D5100's sensor, it's the same Sony sensor that's in the D7000.

On the D5100, 35mm is "normal". The 18mm side of your kit lens is pretty wide. Now, that being said, the 35mm is f/1.8 and will do much better in low light. It is a real "no-brainer" for Nikon DX cameras. You will also want something longer than the kit lens, but think about when you'll shoot telephoto. The 55-200 is great, but not awesome in low light. Inside during a concert when you'd like close-up shots of the kids its going to be really tough to get performance you'd be happy with.

JR

The 35mm prime is a lens if you want no DOF. It's not a low light lens. It'll work well in low light, but again, no DOF.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

The 35mm prime is a lens if you want no DOF. It's not a low light lens. It'll work well in low light, but again, no DOF.

A pinhole lens would be the best choice for infinate DOF. I guess a really OOF shot would have no DOF. .

If you are talking about limited DOF to isolate your subject, or creamy bokeh then the 35mm f/1.8 is fairish. I sometimes really like how it just slightly and pleasantly puts the background OOF and the subject pops out just a bit.

JR

 

[Homerboy]

Sorry I haven't updated.
Thus far I love the D5100. Admittedly I haven't had a chance to use it too much. I took it to a few kids basketball games here, a baseball camp etc and played with the settings. Still trying to figure out the ideal. "Auto" worked fine, but as you know it's just not quite right for stopping the action.

I can TOTALLY see the need for a bounce flash or SOMETHING at basketball. The lights in the gyms are just too yellow and disgusting.

I still gotta scoop up a telephoto too. But all in all loving my decision thus far with no regrets. Just need some nice weather here in WI to take advantage of it now.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

I can TOTALLY see the need for a bounce flash or SOMETHING at basketball. The lights in the gyms are just too yellow and disgusting.

Get an $9.00 18% gray card and set custom white balance. If you don't mind spending another $70, the ExpoDisc makes this super easy.

http://www.adorama.com/DKGCP.html

http://www.adorama.com/EXWH52.html

JR

 

[twistedlogic]

I can TOTALLY see the need for a bounce flash or SOMETHING at basketball. The lights in the gyms are just too yellow and disgusting.

I'm glad your liking your D5100. I'm thinking of picking one up to replace my aging D40.

The yellow you see is a White Balance issue. Try setting it to custom and dialing it in before the game starts, or shoot RAW. You will also have to be aware that at certain shutter speeds, the colors will change because you might not pick up the entire cycle of the lights.

As for a telephoto, you can find refurbished 55-200 VR for $150, non-vr for $100 if you want something cheap to get you started. One of my favorite shots came from my 55-200mm.

 

[RampantAndroid]

A pinhole lens would be the best choice for infinate DOF. I guess a really OOF shot would have no DOF. .

If you are talking about limited DOF to isolate your subject, or creamy bokeh then the 35mm f/1.8 is fairish. I sometimes really like how it just slightly and pleasantly puts the background OOF and the subject pops out just a bit.

JR

Agreed - the 35 prime is a great lens for some very specific shots. I'm just trying to warn against people buying it as an all purpose lens - it's anything but that.

Also, being so used to corporate speak/outlook abbreviations, I took OOF to mean "Out of OFfice." What is an out of office shot? Oh, wait. Focus. Hah! ;-)

Sorry I haven't updated.
Thus far I love the D5100. Admittedly I haven't had a chance to use it too much. I took it to a few kids basketball games here, a baseball camp etc and played with the settings. Still trying to figure out the ideal. "Auto" worked fine, but as you know it's just not quite right for stopping the action.

I can TOTALLY see the need for a bounce flash or SOMETHING at basketball. The lights in the gyms are just too yellow and disgusting.

I still gotta scoop up a telephoto too. But all in all loving my decision thus far with no regrets. Just need some nice weather here in WI to take advantage of it now.

I took yesterday off work because it was a sunny day and I was itching to take my D7000 out for a test run. The result was...amazing. I imagine you'll very quickly graduate past auto mode. I don't think I've ever used it on my D70 or D7000. Program sometimes, but even then, I've since moved to using aperture almost all the time. I'm currently playing with bracketing shots to make HDR shots.

I'm glad your liking your D5100. I'm thinking of picking one up to replace my aging D40.

The yellow you see is a White Balance issue. Try setting it to custom and dialing it in before the game starts, or shoot RAW. You will also have to be aware that at certain shutter speeds, the colors will change because you might not pick up the entire cycle of the lights.

As for a telephoto, you can find refurbished 55-200 VR for $150, non-vr for $100 if you want something cheap to get you started. One of my favorite shots came from my 55-200mm.

Exactly. I always shoot RAW, set the white balance to auto and go from there. Auto + RAW makes it simple to adjust in lightroom later. Heck, I took some photos on a cloudy day with white balance set to incandescent light. Everything looked blue, but some work in lightroom fixed it.

 

[iGas]

A pinhole lens would be the best choice for infinate DOF. I guess a really OOF shot would have no DOF. .

If you are talking about limited DOF to isolate your subject, or creamy bokeh then the 35mm f/1.8 is fairish. I sometimes really like how it just slightly and pleasantly puts the background OOF and the subject pops out just a bit.

JR

You are not going to get infinite DOF because diffraction is a caveat.

APS-C maximum optimal aperture is f/16, and FF camera is f/22. You will give up quality if stop down beyond these aperture size.

<--- use to shoot 8x10 & 16x20 pinhole cameras, and I found out that f/128 is the limit of 8x10 film plane, f/256 is the limit for 16x20 (you don't get more DOF/sharper image just because you use smaller f-stop...it correlate with the size of film plane as well).

Optimum Aperture - Format size and diffraction

 

[iGas]

Agreed - the 35 prime is a great lens for some very specific shots. I'm just trying to warn against people buying it as an all purpose lens - it's anything but that.

Also, being so used to corporate speak/outlook abbreviations, I took OOF to mean "Out of OFfice." What is an out of office shot? Oh, wait. Focus. Hah! ;-)



I took yesterday off work because it was a sunny day and I was itching to take my D7000 out for a test run. The result was...amazing. I imagine you'll very quickly graduate past auto mode. I don't think I've ever used it on my D70 or D7000. Program sometimes, but even then, I've since moved to using aperture almost all the time. I'm currently playing with bracketing shots to make HDR shots.



Exactly. I always shoot RAW, set the white balance to auto and go from there. Auto + RAW makes it simple to adjust in lightroom later. Heck, I took some photos on a cloudy day with white balance set to incandescent light. Everything looked blue, but some work in lightroom fixed it.

I'm from an old school of though, hence I prefer a 40mm lens for FF camera or a 35mm for standard work. I found 85mm is a bit long and prefer 70~75mm for FF camera, however I can work with 85mm focal length. I found that I rarely use greater focal length than 100~105mm. To me a 24mm is a much more useful focal length than any thing that is greater than 85mm.

IMHO, an all purpose lens would be a 24~70mm or 24~105mm, and then add a 200mm or greater as well as a 20mm wide if the user have the need for more dedicated focal length. Perhaps a macro lens would a good addition if the user want to play around with macro subject.