I need some help from our resident photographers

[twoplustwo]

My 16yo daughter is taking a photography class this year and really loves it. A friend gave me a camera for her that she'd abandoned for the digital age, it's a Nikon N6006 and the lens says it's a Nikon AF Nikkor 35-70mm. I was thinking of getting her another lens for it, maybe a wide angle, but I am a camera dunce. Any recs on what I should get and where I should buy it?

I know several of you are talented behind the lens, thanks in advance if anyone has any suggestions

[Argie's Wife]

That's a rather high end SLR camera - nice gift.

I'd go eBay for a lens and maybe look for a grouping of lenses and filters...

Other good gifts for a camera buff are tripods, camera bags, neck strap, instruction books.... all easy to buy and you don't have be an expert on the camera to know you're getting something that "fits".

Here's the coolest tripod ever -



It called a Gorillapod - very cool.

By the way - earlier this week I shopped Ritz Camera and they're having a great sale... I ordered on Sunday and my order shipped on Monday!

[Sunset Bob]

Originally Posted by twoplustwo

My 16yo daughter is taking a photography class this year and really loves it. A friend gave me a camera for her that she'd abandoned for the digital age, it's a Nikon N6006 and the lens says it's a Nikon AF Nikkor 35-70mm. I was thinking of getting her another lens for it, maybe a wide angle, but I am a camera dunce. Any recs on what I should get and where I should buy it?

I know several of you are talented behind the lens, thanks in advance if anyone has any suggestions

I would go more for a zoom lens something like a 70-200 mm or a 70-300mm these are great for long distance.You can really get an up close picture from a long way away.
I would also recommend Ritz camera as the sales people usually know there stuff.
Hope your daughter enjoys her new hobby.

[Lakesrider]

Ummm.....Don't take this the wrong way, but I wouldn't buy a thing for her. Yet. There is nothing wrong with the lens she has now. Let her learn with that one. If she can't she isn't going to learn with a telephoto. Actually the pictures will be worse. She should learn to shoot from the hip first, then a tri-pod. She needs to learn the weight and balance of the camera. A sort of become one with the thing....thing. Plus it is a film camera. Nice camera of course. Great for black and white film too. Just see how she takes to photography for a while. Who is teaching her? She might want to go digital right away. So consider if any of her "new" lenses will go on say a D60 or D80 as well. Myself....I'd put the money toward a Digital camera instead. More practical, more sellable if she doesn't like it. Prices are great right now on the D60. Look at B&H photo. Ask for a catalog. She should like to look through it. Also take her to a good museum with a photography exibit. Get her stoked. It is a great field. I've been taking pictures with film camera, and am now still learning all the things my D80 will do. The new cameras are amazing.

Oh an a great way to get involved at her school is doing the yearbook. If they still do that anymore....looks good on a college application.

Just my $.0000000000000000000000000000002

[brk-lnt]

The Nikkor glass is pretty decent. I'm not overly well versed on it because I shoot Canon myself. Check craigslist in the photo section, there are usually good deals to be found in there, and it's local so you can bring the camera body to test the lens before you actually pay for it.

You could go wider, 35mm is "relatively" wide angle already... It wouldn't hurt to get something that went down to the 17-28mm range, but not strictly necessary for getting started.

Any lens that fits that camera will mount on the Nikon DSLR bodies, so even if you buy a lens now, when you upgrade to digital in 2 months ( ) you won't have lost any investment.

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by Lakesrider

She might want to go digital right away. So consider if any of her "new" lenses will go on say a D60 or D80 as well. Myself....I'd put the money toward a Digital camera instead. More practical, more sellable if she doesn't like it. Prices are great right now on the D60. Look at B&H photo. Ask for a catalog. She should like to look through it. Also take her to a good museum with a photography exibit. Get her stoked. It is a great field. I've been taking pictures with film camera, and am now still learning all the things my D80 will do. The new cameras are amazing.

I'm going to agree with Lakesrider here, I probably wouldn't spend any $$ on new lenses just yet. If she decides she likes photography she'll want to go digital and drop the film based camera. These days digital is sooo much easier to do and cheaper too ! And if you're just learning, the immediate feedback you get w/digital is a big plus. You get to experiment w/o having to wait (and pay) for film to get developed and so figure out what works and what doesn't while it's still fresh in the mind. So the question then is, will she go Nikon for her future camera ? Certainly no reason not too, though I wouldn't use the existing lens as a firm reason to go Nikon vs Canon or Sony or ???.

FWIW the N6006 has an F mount. F mount lenses will not autofocus on Nikon's D40, D40x or D60. To use it she'd need to step up to the uber new D90 or last years D80 (or possibly an older D70 - 6 MP). The lens she has is probably a f/3.3-4.5 and worth maybe $50-70 today. Now if she had the constant f/2.8D lens ... wells that's another story ($400+). You should see this link to see what lens is which. Even then I would probably opt to go digital w/o worrying much about compatibility with the existing lens. Figure out what camera feels best in her hand and then go from there. Fanatics can debate the picture quality differences but IMHO whatever small differences there may be pale in comparison to the talent behind the camera. For that matter you can get very good pictures from point'n'shoots and "super-zooms" under most conditions. dSLRs really only "rule" when things are dark or fast moving, though I have to say having gotten used to a good optical viewfinder I find it frustrating to use an LCD for framing.


ps - Remember if you do go Nikon digital (D70/80/90) that 35-70 lens will act like a 52 - 105 mm due to the crop factor. Not a bad short tele but she'll eventually want to go both wider (28mm) and longer (210 - 300mm) and so at some point new lenses will enter the picture.

[jeffk]

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.

[twoplustwo]

...

She already has a digi cam, but nothing high end. Argie's Wife, it was an amazing gift, for sure. Something we'll definitely pay forward.

She does need a tripod, that gorilla one is so cool. She also needs another camera case - the one that came with it is too small, so there's two things I will definitely get. I'll check out some filters for it, too. I appeciate everyone's feedback - I knew you all would steer me in the right direction!

As for who's teaching her, it's Brian Hoag at Moultonborough Academy who, she says, totally rocks. She's learning so much, and considering she's such a hard-core, straight A academic kid, I love that she's embracing a class without emphasis on her 'future career in emergency medicine'. The kid is far too serious for a 16yo!

Thanks for the info, I'm off to some camera sites to see what I can find.

[LakesRegionSpirit]

Part of my magazine is a "literary" section, accepting content from the local community, including photography. If your daughter has, what she feels, is some really good work, have her consider submitting it to literary@lakesregionspirit.com. If accepted, her work would be published in an upcoming issue. Have her be a tough critic of her own work!!
As for advice, I would suggest NOT buying another lens until she has truly learned to "see" with the lens she has. Two many choices confuses the learning process.
I teach photography at the community college and am a "working pro" and I see too many people rely on equipment to take images for them.

[Argie's Wife]

I dabble in both digital and analog photography and I prefer analog for the "artsey" stuff and shots I can set up (weddings, for example).

I like digital for the "gotta get a pic of this!" stuff - like the kids at the beach or at an amusement park. Point and shoot. Capture the moment. Cheer if it's good.

I think it depends on what you like and there's a certain "warmth" about analog that digital can't reproduce... I can't put my finger on it... it's more "human"... It's really my preference but I can't deny that digital is convenient.

Anyhow, I think your choices in gifts for her are appropriate. She sounds like a model student and that she's found a hobby that appeals to her - that's terrific! You must be so proud!

[ApS]

Originally Posted by twoplustwo

"...She does need a tripod, that gorilla one is so cool. She also needs another camera case..."

I think you're on the right track in buying gifts that can be used with any camera: Stocking-stuffers might include a remote shutter release and lens cleaning devices and liquids.

For summer, a polarizing filter (none are expensive) will erase that distant foggy haze seen over the lake. (Get an extra-large polarizing filter, as inexpensive adapters are available to convert nearly any future lens purchases).

Among wide-angle lenses, you'll find that interior shots require something "shorter" than a 35mm lens. (A 20mm lens isn't too short, and short lenses aren't particularly expensive).

Originally Posted by jeffk

"...But for a beginner 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..."

While the gift of a 35mm camera is a great start, this photography course could take 'most any turn in the future: large film format (William Wegman, Ansel Adams), medium format (120), small format (35mm), or digital.

My most "artsy" photographs were taken with medium-format cameras ranging from a new $99 Yashicamat 124G, a few hundred for a Kowa, to a few thousand for a cased Pentax 4x6 with a half-dozen lenses.

At one time, I had three Nikons loaded (respectively) with color print film, B&W film, and Ektachrome slide film. Of those three 35mm Nikons I'd collected, I'm down to my last one—mostly due to misadventure on the dock or getting swamped by large boats. While lenses can be moved from one camera to the other, a Nikon's wet electronics are too expensive to consider repairing. (Though I've successfully rebuilt those cheaper zoom lenses that wore out, and resuscitated a few Nikons that got dipped in Lake Winnipesaukee).

One advantage of small format is that neighbors who buy digital cameras are handing me their 35mm film! (And the processing, cropping, limitless archiving and storage is very reasonable on the net).

I was considering a used 600mm Nikkor telephoto lens ($4000 at the time) for my Nikons when digitals hit the market! Because most of my fun is outdoor and nature photography, my next camera will be a digital camera selected for a no-delay shutter and "long lens" capability.

The short of all this is that...no one knows in what direction this photography course will result: Portraiture, photomicrography, macro photography, aerial, or nature photography—all have their unique needs, applications and limitations.

[RI Swamp Yankee]

Originally Posted by Acres per Second

.. my next camera will be a digital camera selected for a no-delay shutter and "long lens" capability....

Take a look at the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS with 20x lens.

Sorry for hijacking the thread, had just been looking at this camera.

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by twoplustwo

...

She already has a digi cam, but nothing high end. Argie's Wife, it was an amazing gift, for sure. Something we'll definitely pay forward.

She does need a tripod, that gorilla one is so cool. She also needs another camera case - the one that came with it is too small, so there's two things I will definitely get. I'll check out some filters for it, too. I appeciate everyone's feedback - I knew you all would steer me in the right direction!

As for who's teaching her, it's Brian Hoag at Moultonborough Academy who, she says, totally rocks. She's learning so much, and considering she's such a hard-core, straight A academic kid, I love that she's embracing a class without emphasis on her 'future career in emergency medicine'. The kid is far too serious for a 16yo!

Thanks for the info, I'm off to some camera sites to see what I can find.

Tripod and bag are certainly good things and will carry over to whatever else she uses down the road. A remote release is also a good idea and goes well with the tripod. Remember to tell her to post some of her keepers in the Winni gallery !