Completely lost

[tasmo2]

I am completely lost in the world of lenses!! Let me tell you a little info about me and my shooting. A few months ago I was able to get a nikon D3000 to start learning on. I mostly have been shooting my family and surroundings. So a week or so ago, my mom calls me and tells me one of her coworkers daughters wants me to shoot her wedding. YES I know I am not good enough to do this.. LOL I turned the offer down saying I am not seasoned yet, and I don't have any appropriate gear. The bride was extremely disappointed, so my mom offered to buy me a new lens if I would do it. HA! So I agreed as long as I was a secondary photographer, not her main paid person. The photographer is aware of my being there and is okay with it, so now I am just left to pick out my lens! The wedding will be in Oct, outside in the evening. I love shooting people and with practice I hope to get better at it by Oct. So the main things I would be using the lens for would be people (mostly children) and nature. The only lens I have as of now is the kit lens (18-55mm) I am VERY frustrated with the limitations of it. It is very hard to be at a distance and get a good shot. I hope this answers all "what do you need to do with it" questions. If you need anymore info please let me know! I just have no idea what lens to get! I would like to keep it under 500.00$ Thanks!

[codewarrior00007]

Have you thought of renting one?

[tasmo2]

no way, my mom offered to buy me one for doing the favor for her... LOL!

[cphoniball]

Get a 85mm prime.

[tasmo2]

Originally Posted by cphoniball

Get a 85mm prime.

Can you tell me about it, why it would be good... pro's and cons.. etc?

[LeeR]

Let's think this through just a bit. A 50mm lens 'sees' at about the same angle as our eye so this is largely considered a 'normal' lens. That means the lens you have has the wide-to-normal range covered. What you are lacking is the normal-to-telephoto range. B&H photo has a 55-200mm lens listed at $219. With these two lenses you would have a great deal of flexibility and you should be able to handle most wedding situations with ease. It also leaves some money on the table.

Two more lens choices come to mind, though only one with fit your remaining budget. That would be the 50mm f1.4 lens at $299. This will allow you to shoot in low light situations where the zooms would be too slow. (Reception areas are notorious for bad lighting and this lens can be a real lifesaver in bad lighting.) At $499, the 85mm micro Nikkor (macro) would be a sweet lens to own. 85mm is a great length for portraits and to have macro capabilities is a great bonus for ring shots.

Those are your choices, in my opinion, but I would certainly concentrate on filling out that normal-to-tele zoom range first. That will clearly be the biggest bang for the buck.

[WooD]

Your not going to get by using one lens, unless you can shoot from anywhere in the church.

Most Church's have restrictions, like zero flash, and all photographers must shoot from the back of the church, been there done that, and it was a massive church. If all I had was an 85mm, I'd have been lost.

Same goes for the formals after the wedding, you'll need a wide angle lens to capture the entire wedding party. Will you be able to get back far enough from them to get everyone in the shot?

Reception shots will be the same, most of the time it can get pretty crowded during the first dance, and the cake cutting.

I use a 17-55 f/2.8, and an 80-200 f/2.8

[RLucas]

A 50mm on crop body will give you the same fov as an 75mm on a full frame. So it's not really normal. 35mm would be more of a normal fov. Even then, it's subjective. I am afraid the kit lens, and the 55-200, would not be flexible enough for a wedding. They are both too slow, especially for the drastically changing light conditions that may be thrown at you in that situation. I don't know much about weddings, but the info that Wood gave you seems to represent the majority of what I have read, including the 85mm prime, as cphoniball mentioned. Also, the 70-200mm VR gets used rather often.

I would say, get in touch with the photographer that you will be helping, and find out what they use, and use your own judgment from there.

[Raoul Isidro]

For your situation, I would suggest a Nikon 18-70mm zoom lens. It's a modestly priced zoom that was attached originally with the D70 when it was first launched. It will work briliiantly on your D3000 as it was smokin' on the D70 back then...
All the best to your shooting!

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Raoul Isidro

For your situation, I would suggest a Nikon 18-70mm zoom lens. It's a modestly priced zoom that was attached originally with the D70 when it was first launched. It will work briliiantly on your D3000 as it was smokin' on the D70 back then...
All the best to your shooting!

A great lens, but can be hard to find since it's only available used. It also doesnt solve most problems.

Everyone should keep in mind that the OP needs AF-S lenses for focus on the D3000. That precludes any 85mm prime (they're all AF-D, at least for now). Most longer primes are also AF-D until you get to the 200/2, but that's hardly something i'd recommend to a brand new photographer.

Honestly, if you're looking for something that you can use now and later, get the 35mm f/1.8 (~$200) and the 70-300 VR (~$600). Let your mother buy those.

For the wedding, though, you'll definitely want to rent a 70-200 f/2.8, at the very least, and probably a fast midrange like a 24-70 or 17-55 f/2.8. That really is the only way you'll be able to get things done properly, even as a second shooter.