I'm going to be jumping into the DSLR market in the coming weeks and am leaning heavily on buying a Nikon D90.
My only photography experience is with point and shoots (both film and digital). Right now I'm trying to decide on what lenses would be the best to start my kit with. I will likely be shooting alot of everything from wildlife to landscapes to bugs and flowers to lowlight portraits, so i think i need a jack of all trades type of kit. My budget for the body and lenses is around $1500 CAD.

the lenses I'm considering and the local prices (the body retails for about $850 CAD)

Nikkor AF 28mm f2.8D $259.99

Nikkor AF 50mm f1.8D $144.99

Nikkor AF-S 35mm f1.8G DX $259.99

Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G ED II $129.99

Nikkor AF-S DX 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR $259.99

Nikkor AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II $779.99

Nikkor AF-S DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED VR $719.99


I'm thinking right now to pick up the 18-55 and the 55-200, the 35mm and the 50mm total damage is about 850.

Please feel free to bash my selections, and anyone with the 18-200 VR please let me know if it's worth the extra 350 over the pair of zooms.

You got PM.

congrads on the new hobby here is what I reccomend


Nikkor AF 50mm f1.8D $144.99 Very good lens and fantastic for macro if you get the adaptor to flip it



Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G ED II $129.99 Another very good lense esp for the price can be a good starting point for macro (not as good as a flipped 50mm)


Nikkor AF-S DX 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR $259.99 Good as well however if sports/action shooting is in your future i recommend
Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon (this is the ideal lens used these are around 1K us $)
More down to earth and still very good Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor around 550.00 US$

Bodies
Nikon D90, D70, N80 and FE2
Minolta XD-7
Seagull DF1

Lenses
Nikon DX 18-200mm VR f3.5-5.6 G ED-IF
Nikon DX 18-55mm
Nikon AF 50mm f1.8D
Nikon AF 85mm f1.8D
Sigma 70-200 HSM f2.8 II
Tamron AF 70-300mm f4-5.6
Tamron AF 28-80mm f3.5-5.6 (Broken mount)
Nikon MF 50mm f1.8
Soligor MF 28mm f2.8 (Jammed)

Bags
Tamrac 608 Pro Bag
Tamrac 603 Bag
LowePro Fastback 250
Thinktank Holster 20

Strobes
Nikon SB-800 Speedlight
Novatron K-V240D-2C Strobes
Gary Fong PJ Lightsphere

Tripods
Slik U8000 Tripod
Dynatran AT 858 Tripod

Other:
Sektonic L-358
Various Reflectors

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I've been using the 18-200 for a year now and I think I'm ready to sell it. Its nice for the range if you want to only carry one lens and never change it (ie, the desert island lens), but I find it lacking to take my photography to the next level. Its really very good though, if you dont want to miss shots cause you are too busy changing lenses.

You should consider renting from a place like borrowlenses.com For $50, you can rent almost anything there and test it for a week and see if you like it enough to spend hundreds on it.

Also consider the Tamron 17-50 f2.8. It's very sharp and has very good ratings from just about anyone who's ever used it. (including me!)

If you want Wildlife photos, consider the Sigma 70-200 f2.8.

skip the 28mm f2.8 - I had it for awhile and was not impressed.

Alot of pros recommend the 70-300VR for beginners. Very sharp, inexpensive and relatively small.

i have the Nikkor AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II $779.99 lens and love it. so versatile you won't regret it

replied

is this the adaptor Nikon BR-2A 52mm Lens Reversing Ring?

http://www.adorama.com/NKBR2A.html

anyone use the ML-L3? I'm thinking it might come in handy come x-mas

I've used both, the ML-L3 infrared wireless remote shutter and MC-DC1 corded remote shutter, and there's no comparison - the ML-L3 is more convenient because it has a range of up to 15-20 ft and it's tiny - about the size of a stick of gum. The MC-DC1 and MC-DC2 has a cord that's only 36" in length. The ML-L3 costs less than $20, the MC-DC1/DC2 costs $25-$30.

thanks ML-L3 it is

I use the ML remote all the time.... its great and even survived a trip thru my washer once when I left it in my pocket.

picked up the d90 with a Nikkor AF-S 35mm f1.8G DX and Nikkor AF-S DX 18-55mm f3.5-5.6G ED II yesteday. got an ML remote too.
I'm loving it so far. but it looks like i have a bit of a learning curve to get full use of all the features.

I'm already wanting more zoom and i'm going to have to wait a while before i pick up some more lenses. I've got unforeseen expenses to take care of first.

Thanks everyone for the tips.

Now i need to find a little cash for a decent long range zoom and a 50mm.

and maybe another prime...

this is going to be an expensive hobby

Say hello to the hole on your wallet.

I have the 18-200mm and the 18-55mm that came with my D40.
I've been using the 18-200 for almost everything. In fact, pretty much all that I use.
Thinking of getting the 35mm for the lowlight and end the insanity.

^^^ yes however there ought to be cheaper read generic clones

FYI - if you have a spare universal TV remote handy - you can use that instead of the ML-L3.

Just set it to Panasonic TVs and press "channel up" or something like that.

I don't remember the exact instructions, but you should be able to find them on google.

It's a Nikon hack