What next after D90?

[PShah]

Hi,

I purchased a D90 last December and sine then I have completely enjoyed taking pictures with the camera. I have still got to learn a lot of things in terms of photography, but I think I have narrowed my interest to Portraits (of family and friends) and Landscape.

I have the 18-105 mm kit lens and now I am planning to invest in further gear slowly and steadily. I have decided to to purchase the following items although, I am getting all confused in prioritizing the purchase.

1) A prime lens ( 50 mm or 35 mm ?????)
2) Filters ( ND & Cir Polariser)
3) Remote ( Hanhel Giga T Pro)
4) Tripod ??

Can you please guide me in making a decision about what lens to buy and also on what should I be buying first.

Thanking you all in advance for the help...

Regards
PShah

[Shokinen]

Originally Posted by PShah

Can you please guide me in making a decision about what lens to buy and also on what should I be buying first.

Filters are cool but not a priority compare to other things on your list in my opinion.

What I would do is notice what I take the most. If it's landscape, I would go for the tripod (a very popular one is the manfrotto XPROB190 with a 3way head or a ball head). If it's portrait, than the prime. I found narrow depth of field very interesting when I do portrait. As for the 35mm vs the 50mm, this is a personal choice. Browse your current pictures and check what focal lenght you are using the most. This will give you a good idea of your natural behavior.

May I suggest an external flash such as the SB600? If you shoot mostly inside, this is really usefull too. In many cases I have to use mine even if I'm at 1.8. The biggest difference with those flash is the ability to bounce the light.
Example:

Notice the background as bright as the subject.


Some ideas

[PShah]

Hi Shokinen,

Thank you very much for your suggestion. I have noted the combination of Tripod & head that you mentioned. I liked it a lot.

As regards to your suggestion, I was always under the impression that flash photography is one thing that you take up when you have mastered the ambient lighting. As of now, I think I have too much more to learn. I am just daunted by the thought of adding a new element into the mix.... However, your suggestion is highly appreciated because I had never thought about adding a flash to my list and would think over it....

At the moment, majority of my photos tend to be of family members as I do all kinds of experiment with the camera and they end up being by guinea pigs. But I am equally interested in landscape and hence the confusion.....

All my photos point me towards prime lens and my heart says that I should go for a tripod which would help me take long exposure landscape photographs....

At the moment, I do not want to invest money in both tripod and prime lens....

Regards
PShah

[zona5101]

You say you shoot a lot of portraits, then a good lens would be a great choice. I think I would want the 85f1.4 or 85f1.8 rather than the 50. For portraits the 35 wouldn't be on my short list.