Help with DSLR Lenses

[pedrocor]

Ok. Let me explain my question.

I'm a newbie in the photography world. Right now I own a Canon A510 (point and shot) and I'm considering buying a Nikon D40 with this kit that includes some 18-55mm lenses. So, what I want to know is: for what kind of photography is this lenses?

01: Can I take a macro shot with her? Like this one: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedro/82629189/)

02: Can I take normal shots? From stuff/people that are 2 meters away from me?

03: This lens have some kind of zoom? 2x, 3x? Something like that?

As I said. It's really newbie questions. Maybe stupid questions. But I really want to learn that so I can buy a camera with some nice lenses for what I want and to start improving my photos.

[NaturesPixel]

01: Can I take a macro shot with her? Like this one: (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedro/82629189/) no you can not... unless you use extention Tubes like in this post http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318

02: Can I take normal shots? From stuff/people that are 2 meters away from me?

yes you can this is a landscape/portrait lens


03: This lens have some kind of zoom? 2x, 3x? Something like that? it does in a sense.. it has a max focal length of 55mm but it is not messured in 2x or 3x ..

Focal Length on Wiki explained (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal_length)


if you only want to get one lens for now with some kind of "zoom" but also want to take photos of people and land scapes.. may i suggest the AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f3.5-5.6G IF-ED (http://www.nikon.ca/products/afs-dx-18-135/) ??

[pedrocor]

Hi NaturesPixel! Thanks for answering so fast!

I got the 02 and 03
But the first answer I didn't get it.

If i can's shot macro photos with this lenses, how does people take shots like that: http://flickr.com/photos/wulf/339716282 using this 18-55mm lenses?
Is it what they say that's not true macro? But even so. With an 18-55-mm lenses I can make this shot? Or perhaps I need to take this shot from some distance and them crop in some editor?

And thanks for the suggestion of the 18-135mm lenses. I'll consider it. It works too on the D50? A friend was telling me that the D50 has an auto-focus motor on camera and this makes it a bit better than the D40...

[wulf]

You can get some pretty good closeups with the kit lens (I'm very happy with how that one came out - it is straight from the camera with no cropping or other editing). You won't be able to get super-close up images that will satisfy a true macro-fanatic but you will probably be able to get enough to keep you happy for some time to come.

If you are new to the world of DSLR photography (I'm pretty new myself although I've been reading a lot over the past couple of months) then the kit lens with the D40 will probably do you admirably as a tool to learn how the camera works. Once you have got to grips with it, you can then make a more informed choice about what would be a good choice for you for more equipment.

Wulf

[NaturesPixel]

i have the 18-70mm Nikkor IF now yes i can focus as close as 15in..
it is SUPER sharp.. compared to the 18-55mmm if i had done my homework better.. i would of gotten the 18-135mm less lens changing in every day life.. means less dust bunnies on your sensor...lol

if this was me... i would get the D50 with the 18-135mm images taken with the 18-135mm (http://www.pbase.com/cameras/nikon/af_s_dx_zoom18_135_35_56g_if_ed)

and images taken with the 18-55mm (http://www.pbase.com/cameras/nikon/18-55_35-56g_ed_afs_dx)

i forgot abt the macro question kid screaming ill get back to you...lol

[NaturesPixel]

there are many different ways to get a macro shot.. yes you can zoom in to 55mm with the kit lens... to get shots like Wulf has :)

another option is to attach Extension tubes like these (http://cgi.ebay.com/Macro-extension-tube-ring-set-for-Nikon-F-D70-D100-D50_W0QQitemZ110058436355QQihZ001QQcategoryZ30059Q QtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem) between the camera body and lens to produce images like this http://static.flickr.com/136/351456968_045fa9c3d0_m.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/44246591@N00/351456968/) That Rommel (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/member.php?u=317) took with a 70-200mm lens... similar images can be obtained with any lens realistically :)

or you can get a set of Close Up filters (http://cgi.ebay.com/4-Macro-Close-Up-Filter-Lens-for-Nikon-D50-D70-D70s-D80_W0QQitemZ190070128180QQihZ009QQcategoryZ30042Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) that screw onto the front of your lens info on Close Up Filters (http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/../blog/screw-in-close-up-macro-lenses/) from The main blog, These willl produce images like this andy206uk Flickr macro set (http://www.flickr.com/photos/andy206uk/sets/72157594401638338/)

There are other options like a Macro bellows.. or reversing a 50mm lens.. if you want info on these ill get it for you .. i just don't want to overwhelm you with all this info at once...lol

[pedrocor]

NaturePixel

Thank you! Now I get it. I'm starting to understand how these lenses work a bit better!

I'm still deciding on the camera (D40, D50) and still saving all the money. But I hope to get my camera soon. Tks for helping me :D

[NaturesPixel]

i dont know enough about the D40, if it was me i would go into to my local store... and ask them to explain the differences between the D50 and the D40.. in particular.... is the D40 going to limit you in lenses you can use...

i know i can use AI and AI-S lenses on my D50, but i must use them in Manual as they dont have a CPU with in...