Question about lenses

[luvpugs]

Hello everyone!

This is my first post but I must say I feel like I've been around for a while because I've been lurking and reading and searching and learning so much from a lot of you on here.

My hubby bought me my first DSLR camera for Christmas, a Nikon D90, and I've been in love with it since I started using it. I took a Photography class, I've been doing tons of research online and I've just been trying to practice like crazy.

I do have a couple of questions though:

I have the 18-105MM lens that came with the camera. I recently added the Nikon 70-300MM lens to my collection. I'm now looking in to Wide Angle lenses (12-24 MM to be specific) but as I was researching, I'm wondering why would I need, let's say, a 18-55MM lens if the lens I have now covers that? Is an 18-55MM just a better lens when it comes to taking pictures?

Also, for those that use fixed lenses, I want a fast lens and was looking at the 55MM f/1.4 lens but wondered how hard it is to get your shot since it doesn't zoom in or out? I understand about getting up and moving around but is it hard to use....for a beginner?

Thanks in advance! I can't wait to start joining in on the weekly assignments and post some pics to have you all critique my photos. And once I get to be a little better, I hope to give back to other beginners that come along.

Thanks in advance!!

[dcclark]

Originally Posted by luvpugs

I have the 18-105MM lens that came with the camera. I recently added the Nikon 70-300MM lens to my collection. I'm now looking in to Wide Angle lenses (12-24 MM to be specific) but as I was researching, I'm wondering why would I need, let's say, a 18-55MM lens if the lens I have now covers that? Is an 18-55MM just a better lens when it comes to taking pictures?

Everything comes down to convenience and quality. (Not convenience vs. quality, although sometimes that's the case too).

If you have two lenses that overlap, then strictly speaking, they both do the same thing (for at least some focal lengths). So, you could probably eliminate lenses and buy new ones until you have no overlap at all. However...

- Do you want to carry around multiple lenses? I don't, because I hike a lot and weight is a key factor (this is one reason I own a Nikon 18-200 -- even though its image quality isn't tip-top, its convenience is awesome). If you're going around town with a lens bag, it may not matter to you. I generally recommend simplicity.
- Do you need all of those focal lengths? For example, suppose you replaced your 18-105 with a 10-24 and a 50mm. Would you miss the 100mm length? Do you need something in the 35mm range? If you can do without, then getting separate, higher-quality lenses may be better than having one huge zoom. You probably can do without, too. A 12-24 and a 30-700 leaves only a tiny gap. How often do you really need EXACTLY 27mm? :P

While I'm at it, let me encourage you to look at some of the ultrawides that go to 10mm (or even Sigma's new 8mm, not available yet). If you really want ultrawide, then every millimeter does count at those widths -- going from 12 to 10mm gains you quite a bit of additional field of view. On the other hand, ultrawides are really hard to use well. They're not just for "fitting it all in". If you want to do that, then don't bother getting an ultrawide.

Originally Posted by luvpugs

Also, for those that use fixed lenses, I want a fast lens and was looking at the 55MM f/1.4 lens but wondered how hard it is to get your shot since it doesn't zoom in or out? I understand about getting up and moving around but is it hard to use....for a beginner?

Snarky answer: use your feet!

Real answer: use your feet! Unless you're doing something where you absolutely cannot move (think, for example, sports photography), you'll be able to move around. If you want to experience this yourself, just put your 18-105 on the camera, set it to 50mm (the prime lens is 50mm, not 55mm), and go around taking photos. Don't zoom, just use your feet. It's easier than you think!

Finally, general advice: don't buy too many lenses until you've gotten used to your camera and taken a lot of photos. It's easy to get caught up buying more and more gear, but it's a mistake. Learn about your camera and good composition first -- many of the great photographers of the past calculated their exposures by hand and used prime lenses, and they did great work. Only once you really know what you're doing, and you understand why new gear would help you (or allow you to do something you can't), should you go buy anything.

[inkista]

Originally Posted by luvpugs

I have the 18-105MM lens that came with the camera. ...I'm wondering why would I need, let's say, a 18-55MM lens if the lens I have now covers that? Is an 18-55MM just a better lens when it comes to taking pictures ?

Kit lenses tend to be pretty much on a par. If you have the 18-105, you probably don't need the 18-55.

Also, for those that use fixed lenses, I want a fast lens and was looking at the 55MM f/1.4 lens but wondered how hard it is to get your shot since it doesn't zoom in or out? I understand about getting up and moving around but is it hard to use....for a beginner?

Ironically, a prime may actually teach you better photographic composition and technique than a VR zoom, simply because it's more limited, and forces you to get good technique. And compositionally, everything boils down to "where do I stand?" For some weird reason, a zoom tends to make you plant your feet and then adjust the zoom. A prime tends to make you keep hunting a bit longer, because you're adjusting framing already by moving your feet.

I would also say, go google "Henri Cartier-Bresson". And then realize that most everything the man ever shot was with a fixed 50mm lens.

Two other words: the 55mm f/1.2 is a bear to focus accurately if you shoot with it wide open. And secondly, the field of view of a 50mm lens on film/full-frame is roughly equivalent to a 30mm lens on a crop-body dSLR. You may want to look at the focal lengths you use the most with your 18-105 with something like ExposurePlot before plopping down the cash for a prime lens.

[luvpugs]

Thank you both for your feedback, I sure do appreciate it!