Noob Needs Help building up his kit

Shutter_bug_5 · Joined: 21 Apr 2009 Posts: 1

Hello,

I am a recent convert to the world of DSLR's.

My previous experience with camera's has been limited to a Nikon N55 with Nikon 28-80mm/f-3.5 to 5.6 zoom lens, Canon EOS Rebel Ti 35mm w/ 28-90mm Lens, and the Canon Powershot S5 IS.

I have recently purchased the Nikon D60 with 18-55 VR kit lens

I want to purchase more good lenses to play around with but I want to keep it down on the economical side as well. i was planning to spend not more than US $250 for my purchases.

My intentions were to purchase the
1) Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens
2) sigma 70-300 Nikon APO
3) Vivitar - Wide-angle lens - 24 mm - f/2.8 (I've seen such a lens for Canon, hopefully they make one for Nikon as well)

On this forum I read a lot about some fantastic manual lenses. Thanks to some generous posts by many members, there is lot of information out there.

Unfortunately, I am little overwhelmed by all that info, hence this post

How do I recognize if a lens will work on the Nikon D60. Which lens will work , and which wont?
( I realize that a lot of them wont AF on the D60, but i'm not bothered about AF)

Which other lenses should I be looking at to slowly build up my kit. i like to shoot
1) landscape (in strong sunlight & under overcast skies) - is this where wide lenses come in?
2) portraits (I understand prime lenses are heavily recommended)
3) low light street photography
4) fireworks (like the one they have at Niagara falls), displays (like the Bellagio water fountains) etc at night

I was encouraged to post this query as I saw a lot of detailed responses throughout this forum, hopefully the same works for me.
Smile

Thanks & Regards

sichko · Joined: 20 Jun 2008 Posts: 2475 Location: South West UK

Hi. Welcome to the forum.

The 1.8/50 AFD is an excellent lens. The D60 doesn't have an internal motor so this lens is manual focus. However it will meter. You can use the camera in aperture priority mode as well as manual.

Vivitar was a seller of lenses rather than a manufacturer. It used a variety of manufacturers at different times. They are sometimes recognisable be the first two digits of the serial number. You can find a list by carrying out a Google search. However lenses attributed to Kino (Kiron) (serial number begining with 22) and Komine (28...) are often recommended. Tokina lenses begin with 37. Here's one on ebay..

Click here to see on Ebay

I think it likely that you can find a 2.8/24 Nikon fit Kiron or Komine lens but I'm not sure. Perhaps someone else can answer your query. If not try a search (i) on this forum, (ii) using Google or (iii) on eBay.

A search in this forum will also reveal one or more threads relating to the lenses which can be used on a Nikon camera.

spiralcity · Joined: 02 Oct 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Chicago, U.S.A

There are many good Nikon non-Ai lenses that will work in full manual on the D60.

The Nikon F-Mount bayonet, is what you would prefer for your Nikon camera. There are many third party lenses that use this mount, so your choices should be pretty good.

I can suggest a few and I know others will also post their suggestion.

The Nikon 55mm Micro 3.5 is a great lens and can be found cheap on ebay.
Nikon 50mm 1.4 non-Ai can also be found for a reasonable price.
Nikon 24mm 2.8 non-Ai

You may also want to try the 35-105 3.5 zoom lens. It’s not the greatest lens, but it will work as an all day walk around lens depending on your needs. This lens can be found dirt-cheap on ebay.

So my suggestions:

1. Nikon 55mm Micro
2. Nikon 50 mm 1.4
3. Nikon 24mm 2.8
4. Nikon 35-105mm 3.5 zoom (Not the best lens but it may work for you)

One last mention: Nikon 100mm E lens. (Very Nice lens)

All the lenses posted above can be found for under 100.00 USD on ebay.