Which lens for Nikon D40

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Which one of these lens' listed would be a good replacement for the stock 18-55mm lens?

I have no idea what anything means when it comes to lens' and photography

Nikon Lens'

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Sounds like you are better off with a point and shoot camera. Why bother with an SLR if you are going to blind buy a lens and not know anything about photography. I doubt anyone could feel comfortable making a recommendation without knowing what you are planning on using the camera for, what your budget is, etc.

BTW, Lenses can go from $100-$5000.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Does it make sense to you that I bought a Nikon D40 rather than a D90? or some other expensive camera? I started off with an entry level DSLR camera. The last point n shoot was a Panasonic LX3.. I wanted to try a DSLR camera

 

[shortylickens]

I got a 18-135 lens when I still had my D40.
Was very nice and let me take pics of birds & stuff at the last second.

 

[jpeyton]

The stock 18-55mm is actually a pretty good lens for general photography.

I would supplement it with the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G: http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-35mm-1-8.../dp/B001S2PPT0

And get something with more zoom range, like the 55-300mm VR: http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-55-300mm.../dp/B003ZSHNCC

Nikon also makes some great "all-in-one" lenses like the 18-200mm and 18-300mm. Definitely get the 35mm 1.8G first, before making any more purchases. It's relatively inexpensive and it will probably stay on your camera most of the time.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

The stock 18-55mm is actually a pretty good lens for general photography.

I would supplement it with the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G: http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-35mm-1-8.../dp/B001S2PPT0

And get something with more zoom range, like the 55-300mm VR: http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-55-300mm.../dp/B003ZSHNCC

Nikon also makes some great "all-in-one" lenses like the 18-200mm and 18-300mm. Definitely get the 35mm 1.8G first, before making any more purchases. It's relatively inexpensive and it will probably stay on your camera most of the time.

Is the Nikon 35mm Ff/1.8G good for close up shots too? And wide enough for within 1-4' ?

 

[jpeyton]

Close focus is 1 foot. Here is some more info: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/35mm-f18.htm

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

What lens is good for wide close ups?

 

[jpeyton]

How wide? Wider than your current 18mm? Maybe the Sigma 10-20mm.

 

[slashbinslashbash]

I second the recommendation for the 35mm.

 

[shortylickens]

What lens is good for wide close ups?

A fisheye lens, but they're freakin expensive.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

429$ is a little expensive for just ameture picture taking. I went ahead with the stock for 99$ I will keep the 35mm and the Simga 10-20mm in mind though, thanks for the help

 

[Berliner]

So you did not already have the 18-55mm?

I hope you bought the VR version?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

So you did not already have the 18-55mm?

I hope you bought the VR version?

Well I had the stock one and my camera fell over and broke.

What does the VR do over the ED II ??

 

[slashbinslashbash]

Well I had the stock one and my camera fell over and broke.

What does the VR do over the ED II ??

VR = Vibration Reduction, aka Image Stabilization. It has a part inside that moves back and forth to cancel out any shakes that come from your hands when you're holding it. Usually works pretty well, and most people can use VR lenses to hand-hold up to 1/4 second or sometimes even slower (with good technique and bracing, speeds of 1/2 second or slower are achievable with some lenses); shutter speeds where a non-VR lens would give a blurry photo just because of the tiny movements of your body.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

VR = Vibration Reduction, aka Image Stabilization. It has a part inside that moves back and forth to cancel out any shakes that come from your hands when you're holding it. Usually works pretty well, and most people can use VR lenses to hand-hold up to 1/4 second or sometimes even slower (with good technique and bracing, speeds of 1/2 second or slower are achievable with some lenses); shutter speeds where a non-VR lens would give a blurry photo just because of the tiny movements of your body.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Scooby Doo]

A fisheye lens, but they're freakin expensive.

Amazon just had a 8mm Bower f/3.5 on lighting sale last week for $175
It's fully manual but it's a wonderful lens.

 

[blastingcap]

35mm/1.8 and zoom with your feet

 

[tdawg]

Sounds like you already bought the replacement, but I would have suggested a used 18-70 as it's arguably a better lens and can be had for cheap. That's if your only goal was to straight replace the broken lens.

You'll definitely want to study up on f/stop, iso, and shutter speed to get the basic concepts of photography and allow you to make more informed decisions regarding lenses and what they can do for you.

Once those concepts are solid, you'll want to figure out what sort of shots you'd want to capture that you aren't able to get with the stock lens (low light, wide angle, quality telephoto, macro etc). Then you can target your search on lenses that will help you get those shots you weren't able to get. Who knows, your search may even direct you to a flash/speedlight to get the shots you want over a lens.

Then, if you really want to, you can read up on lens technologies (not necessarily MFT graphs) to understand what makes a lens "worth" $1k or more. This isn't particularly required to make buying decisions on lenses.

 

[ElFenix]

What lens is good for wide close ups?

wide closeup?

if you mean taking a picture of someone sitting across a table from you, and the 18mm wide end of your current lens isn't wide enough, the sigma 10-20 wouldn't be bad.

if you issue is, instead, that the image comes out blurry due to camera shake or subject movement, a faster lens like the 35 f/1.8 would help, though keep in mind 35 mm is about halfway through your current lens's zoom range so it might be a bit tight. and traditionally it'd be thought of as a normal lens, not a wide lens, on a crop camera.

if by closeup you mean pictures of something the size of a penny filling up the image, you need a macro lens.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

+1 on the 18-70. I still use on on my D7000 when I'm not using primes. I've seen them pretty cheap used or refurbished. Check ebay, Adorama, KEH, etc....

This shot used the 18-70 on my old D200. The vignetting you see is the only real optical flaw, shows up when shooting wide open. Sometimes, like here, it is a tool rather than a flaw. This is unedited, jpg straight from camera.

 

[CuriousMike]

^- Nice photo.

Sometimes you really don't need a $2200 lens to deliver a nice photo.

 

[zCypher]

^- Nice photo.

Sometimes you really don't need a $2200 lens to deliver a nice photo.

100% true. expensive lenses may do nicer things than cheaper ones in the right hands in certain circumstances, but you have to know what you're doing and know what type of shot you're trying to get! to a random person, that expensive lens could be a giant waste at best.

i've had a lot of fun with my 18-55 kit lens, teh gf just got me a macro extension tube set for it for xmas (<3 <3 <3 !!), I'm nowhere near being done learning and figuring stuff out, and I'd say I have the 'basics' down pat (it's not that hard)

after taking my DSLR on its first vacation, I really want a zoom lens for bird pics. but the 18-55 kit lens is fantastic for most pics I've taken. I will definitely keep it!!! i would say that after close to 6 months of use, I still haven't *quite* outgrown the kit lens. there are a LOT of times that I really would have liked a wider lens. I think a wider lens would have been nicer, more often for me compared to a zoom lens (except for on vacation, dem birdz...!!)

not sure if helpful

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Well the lens finally came in. The reason why I replaced the lens is because i dropped my camera about a yr ago and the lens broke off. Now the problem.

I attached the new lens and turned on the camera, with a very low battery, and the LCD lit up and flashed "lens not attached" ??? could the camera have sustained damage and managed to still work?

EDIT: NM, ..let it charge for about 15 min and it seems fine.. thanks everyone for your replies!