Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post - I need some help from our resident photographers

jeffk · 12-05-2008, 12:05 AM

I would agree with others who suggested not to invest hundreds in lenses for a non digital camera. I think it is very likely that someone who really gets hooked will want to go digital. The ease of management, economics of no cost for taking lots and lots of pictures and printing only those you really want, and ability to manipulate the image via software creates enormous flexibility.

You might want to consider some camera filters; polarizers, UV filters, warming filters, and even special effects filters. These can be lots of fun to experiment with and if carefully chosen may be transferred to a newer camera. Go chat with people in a camera store for ideas.

I have the same Nikon N6006 camera your daughter has and I have 2 lenses, a 28 - 80 mm zoom for close work and a 70-210 mm zoom for other work. Zoom lenses allow you to frame a shot to your exact satisfaction. This is less valuable in the digital world since you can use software to crop and reframe but very nice in the film world where the shot you set up for is the one you get.

If you are set on a lens I would go with a zoom lens rather than a wide angle. I had a wide angle for my last camera and although it made some shots possible I used the zoom far more often. In addition, just because it is a Nikon camera doesn't mean you have to get a Nikkor lens. The Nikkor lenses are, as you would expect, generally VERY good. And, as you would expect, you pay through the nose for them. I got Quantaray lenses (Ritz camera house brand, rebranded Sigma lenses) and I have been very happy with them and they are much more reasonably priced.

If I made my living at photography I would get the Nikkor lenses. But for a beginner who who might want to change to digital and need a whole new set of lenses anyway the moderate priced lens may be a better choice for now.

12-05-2008, 12:05 AM	#7
jeffk Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Center Harbor Posts: 1,172 Thanks: 205 Thanked 437 Times in 253 Posts	Go for generic photography tools I would agree with others who suggested not to invest hundreds in lenses for a non digital camera. I think it is very likely that someone who really gets hooked will want to go digital. The ease of management, economics of no cost for taking lots and lots of pictures and printing only those you really want, and ability to manipulate the image via software creates enormous flexibility. You might want to consider some camera filters; polarizers, UV filters, warming filters, and even special effects filters. These can be lots of fun to experiment with and if carefully chosen may be transferred to a newer camera. Go chat with people in a camera store for ideas. I have the same Nikon N6006 camera your daughter has and I have 2 lenses, a 28 - 80 mm zoom for close work and a 70-210 mm zoom for other work. Zoom lenses allow you to frame a shot to your exact satisfaction. This is less valuable in the digital world since you can use software to crop and reframe but very nice in the film world where the shot you set up for is the one you get. If you are set on a lens I would go with a zoom lens rather than a wide angle. I had a wide angle for my last camera and although it made some shots possible I used the zoom far more often. In addition, just because it is a Nikon camera doesn't mean you have to get a Nikkor lens. The Nikkor lenses are, as you would expect, generally VERY good. And, as you would expect, you pay through the nose for them. I got Quantaray lenses (Ritz camera house brand, rebranded Sigma lenses) and I have been very happy with them and they are much more reasonably priced. If I made my living at photography I would get the Nikkor lenses. But for a beginner who who might want to change to digital and need a whole new set of lenses anyway the moderate priced lens may be a better choice for now.