Just bought this - Nikon D40 with 18-55mm Nikon DX for £200 - bargain?

[BFG]

Question is - should I jump in and get a 55-200 for it straight away or get used to it first? This is my first 'proper' camera if you like to start off a hobby. Any advice appreciated.

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Ebay description:

You are looking at a Nikon D40 with 18-55mm Nikon DX kit lens for sale. This auction includes all cables, battery and charger, straps, covers and software. On top of this comes the official Nikon remote, aluminium flight case, a soft holster type case, the excellent David Bush Nikon D40 Field Guide and I'll also throw in a Haminex flash gun.


All items are in used but good working condition and camera is in mint condition. Item will be sent via courier to preserve the condition of all items. Cash on collection in person is welcome. Please do not hesitate to message me with any questions you may have. Thank you for looking and happy bidding!

[supraman54]

IMHO Get used to it first as the stock lens is probably going to be used more than the 55-200 and you
might decide on a totally different focal length for a second lens after you've played for a while..

Have great fun with cos that's what it's all about..

Incidentally, I reckon you got a really good deal there...

cheers

Supe

[tigerwoods]

I have the Sony A200 dslr, bought the 70mm-300mm lense for it and must say it's very seldom used. You got to consider that the majority of your pics will most likely be taken from close quarters, way up the cost in comparison to expected usage my guess is you'll find you dont need the longer lense.

[crashtestmac]

It is a cropped sensor in that camera which means that you are effectively 1.5 time close than those numbers say, so on that camera a 35mm lens is actually showing you 50mm a 50mm will show you 75mm so the 300mm will show you 450mm.

This is because the sensor is smaller and only captures a small part of the frame.

Nothing major but something to think on if you change cameras at a later date.

[BertRoot]

If it were me I would buy a wide angle before getting a telephoto. Much more fun and I rarely use anything longer than 105 in the wild.

[crashtestmac]

It also depends on what you intend to shoot.

If you are going to shoot people and "stuff" you might be better off getting a flash gun to add more light or a faster lens.
the Nikon 50mm F/1.8 is a good place to start.

If you are going to photograph football and wild life then you will need the range and probably a tripod.

[BFG]

I'm planning on a tripod, there's a flashgun with it.

It came in 2 drops today, the GF stopped in this morning and received what was obviously the case as it was rectangular, so I went home to have a look. In the meantime she'd nipped out and the 2nd one arrived separately - we got a "sorry we missed you" card, so I have to collect package 2 tomorow. Sod's law everything's in the case bar the camera, which will be in package 2. He'd emailed ahead stating he was going to do this due to weight restrictions? Just my bloody luck that the camera wasn't in the case... wasted journey home.

[{{909}}]

Just to make your life more difficult, I use my 70-300 far more than my ultrawide, infact since my main lens is a 24-70, your 18-55 would feel wide to me. It does depend on how you like to shoot and eventually I'd aim to have an ultra wide and a tele. For now just stick with the kit lens and see how you feel after a few weeks of use.

[crashtestmac]

I use a 70-200 F/2.8 90% of the time but that is on a D3 so it is Full Frame.

Just use it for a while then see how you get on, you will probably be fine with the 18-55 while getting used to it.

Have fun.

[BFG]

Just been having a play with this today and must admit, I'm impressed.

[BFG]

Just a few test shots I took when I took it out of the hard case and had a play. There's a speck of muck on the mirror behind my lens, I later found out - it's left a blurry dot on some of the images.

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