Nikon D80 lens question

Max001

Hi guys (and ladies)

Treated myself to a D80 about 12 months ago as a first SLR.
Works been manic since and only been using it intermittently
so far. Bought it from the US and specified Sigma lenses but got
Tamron instead, specifically an AF 28-80mm, AF 70-300 and a
Digital Concepts 0.5X wide angle lens. Just bought myself David
Busch's D80 Field Guide and am working my way through it slowly,
as the D80 user manual is a bit of a handful! I've no real preferences
yet in terms of subject matter and am trying to learn the basics.

My question is: Do you think the lenses I have are sufficient for a novice
and should I hold off buying some more expensive glass until I master
the camera, say in another year or so. Or, if there is a lens I should consider now,
what would you suggest and why. I'm keen to do medium size enlargements
of my best images, frame them and hang them at home.
(Kind of positive re-inforcement!)

Know this is a noob kinda question and I have been researching on the web,
but frankly the choice of lenses and opinions is a challenge.

Really appreciate any suggestions and advice anyone might have.

Cheers, Max

CabanSail

It sounds like you have a really good kit to allow you to learn. What you have should cover most general situations.

Get to know how to operate the camera & how to get the image which is in your head on a print. Play around with composition & see what works.

If money is burning a hole in your pocket then there are a few things that you may consider. Do you have UV filters on each lens? How about Polarising filters? Do you have a decent tripod? A spare battery & some extra memory will also be handy.

Wait until you find that the glass you have is a limitation for the photography you want to do & then look at what gear you need.

Too many people get caught up in getting lots of gear & forget about the basics. A good understanding of the fundamentals will serve you well with whatever camera you have.

Good luck.

Max001

CabanSail wrote: »

It sounds like you have a really good kit to allow you to learn. What you have should cover most general situations.

Get to know how to operate the camera & how to get the image which is in your head on a print. Play around with composition & see what works.

If money is burning a hole in your pocket then there are a few things that you may consider. Do you have UV filters on each lens? How about Polarising filters? Do you have a decent tripod? A spare battery & some extra memory will also be handy.

Wait until you find that the glass you have is a limitation for the photography you want to do & then look at what gear you need.

Too many people get caught up in getting lots of gear & forget about the basics. A good understanding of the fundamentals will serve you well with whatever camera you have.

Good luck.

Cheers for your comments - very reassuring.
Aye, got one each of UV, PL & FLD 58mm filters as part of the original kit but not used 'em yet.
Not got the that chapter !
First things I did buy was the MD-80 (I think) attachment for the D80 that takes two batteries, as well as a tripod......the latter essential I found, for night shots. Got a 2MB memory card that gives me 500 plus exposures on a default (I think) setting, which seems like plenty as I empty the camera onto my PC after each 'assignment'.
Fortunately I have a couple of mates who got similar DSLRs same time as me and we get together bout once a month to try different venues / subjects.
Been reading a lot about the Nikon D3 and as I have an ambition to take my photography as far as I can, & thought this might be a good (once and for all) upgrade, but have come to the conclusion that I'd do better working with what I have for now and mastering the basics. Seems I nearly fell foul of your caveat about going mad on gear!

Thanks again ! Will try out the filters this w'end !

CabanSail

The UV Filters should live on your lenses. In digital they are there to protect the front element from scratches.

500 images on a 2GB card sounds like you are shooting jpeg. If I were you I would shoot RAW. When i got my frirst DSLR I was shooting jpeg. Memory was expensive then. Some of the shots I got with then would be useful if I had them in RAW.

Max001

CabanSail wrote: »

The UV Filters should live on your lenses. In digital they are there to protect the front element from scratches.

500 images on a 2GB card sounds like you are shooting jpeg. If I were you I would shoot RAW. When i got my frirst DSLR I was shooting jpeg. Memory was expensive then. Some of the shots I got with then would be useful if I had them in RAW.

Aye, funny enough, been reading about shooting in RAW recently and was gonna switch. Yr correct, been using jpeg so far. Appreciate your point about using filters - cheers.

CrowdedHouse

My 2 cents...

If you think you're going to stick with Nikon buy Nikkor(Nikon) lenses,even if it means waiting longer.Good glass will always be good.Digital bodies have a 2 year lifespan !

I can use Nikkor lenses today that I first bought nearly 20 years ago.My present day SB 800 flash works perfectly with my 1990 F4s film body.

No kit should be without a 50mm 1.8 - and only about €100 or so.

PopeBuckfastXVI

Hi Max,

Have a read of Ken Rockwells guide aswell, I got a couple of nice little pointers out of it myself.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d80/users-guide/index.htm

Also if you wanna spend more money pick up a decent flash (SB600 or above). The pop up flash on the d80 is rubbish, you'll want something you can bounce of a ceiling or wall. I have the SB600, and it does the trick nicely, but for someone who is actually considering a d3 I'd say you're not short of a buck, so you might wanna think about the SB900 which is Nikons latest top end flash.

Oh and welcome to the d80 club, you'll love it!

Bui

All the advice you have been given so far is good, one thing I'd just say to you is maybe have a good think about what it is you are /will be shooting before splashing out on glass you might not necessarily get the use out of. Especially as someone starting out, have a good think about what you will get the most use out of. I would recommend investing in one or two good solid primes perhaps, as already mentioned the 50mm is a staple standard for any camera bag, and you'll find will come in handy in most scenarios as it is closest to what your normal field of vision is.

It's very easy to fall into the "gear" trap, but try to avoid buying gear just for the sake of it. There are plenty of other things worth investing in other than glass which you will find are just as important, for example, as also previously mentioned, a flash would also be a good investment, let you play around with lighting etc and make your shots with what you have a bit more interesting.

And last but not least, always have filters on your lenses!!! (shudder)

Max001

Cheers guys, for all your advice. First thing I did was fit a UV filter, after switching over to RAW and also bidding on eBay for a 50mm Nikkor lens.
Not only do I listen, but I act too

No doubt I'll be back with more questions at some point, but in the meantime, really appreciate you all taking the time to help.