Which lenses should a beginner choose for a Nikon D3300: 18-55mm kit lens, 50mm f/1.8, or 70-300mm?

Asked 9/18/2016

8 views

2 answers

0

I bought a Nikon D3300 body without the 18-55mm kit lens. I’m considering buying a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 for portraits and background blur, plus a Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 for sports and wildlife.

Is that a sensible starter setup? Would I still benefit from having the 18-55mm kit lens, and would the 50mm + 70-300mm cover everyday uses like family gatherings, casual fashion photos, and general photography?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

9y ago

2 Answers

5

Is that a good decision? Will I need the 18-55 lens?

It depends on several variables:

  • The price difference between the body only and the body + kit lens. Often the difference is negligible and not buying the kit is almost like turning down a free lens.
  • Whether you will need or use a lens such as the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. Such a lens is very useful for many situations. That's why they are so popular as kit lenses. But that doesn't necessarily mean you will find it useful. But then again you might!
  • What other lenses you plan to buy in the near future. If, for example, you are planning to buy a 17-55mm f/2.8 lens which is usually a higher quality and more versatile lens that covers everything the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 can do then buying a kit lens would be superfluous.

Will these two lenses cover all types of photography?

No two lenses will cover "all types of photography". That's why Canon and Nikon sell hundreds of lenses for each of their systems. The lack of such a broad selection of lenses is partly why other camera makers sometimes struggle to gain market share even when their cameras may offer more or better features at lower prices.

The 70-300mm f/4-5.6 will do OK for sports and wildlife in bright light. But if you want to shoot sports inside gyms, sports outdoors in the early morning or late afternoon, or night sports under lights you'll quickly find that you need a lens with a much wider maximum aperture to allow you to use shutter speeds fast enough to freeze the action. The same is true of early morning and late afternoon when many types of wildlife are most active. You'll likely need a "faster" lens to get the shots you want.

... such as fashion blogging and family get to together for example?

On your D3300 with an APS-C size sensor, the 50mm will do well when you have enough room to back up to get the framing you want. If you are indoors in a typical family residence you'll probably find that you won't have enough room to back up to get any group shots of the family. You'll probably find a 35m, 24mm, or even an 18-55mm lens combined with some type of flash to be much more useful in that situation.

Do you think the D3300 is good enough to get the most out of these lenses?

Not many cameras are capable of "getting the most" out of any lens, since there's almost always a better camera that can get just a wee bit more out of the same lens. Certainly no entry level camera would be considered as such. The personal decision for you is how close to "the most out of these lenses" you are willing to consider as "good enough" and how much you are willing/able to pay for it.

Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user15871

9y ago

0

AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

For portraits, sports, and wildlife, a 50mm f/1.8 plus a 70-300mm can work well. But as a general beginner setup, it leaves a big gap on the wide end.

On the D3300’s APS-C sensor, 50mm behaves like about 75mm equivalent, and 70-300mm like roughly 105-450mm. That means neither lens is wide enough for many everyday situations such as family gatherings indoors, casual walk-around shooting, or landscapes.

The 18-55mm kit lens is useful precisely because it covers those general-purpose focal lengths. Whether skipping it was a good idea depends partly on how much extra the kit would have cost and whether you plan to replace that range with something else soon.

Also consider that some beginners prefer a 35mm prime over a 50mm on APS-C for candid family and everyday photos, because it gives a more natural field of view indoors and at close distances.

So: 50mm + 70-300mm is fine for your stated portrait/sports/wildlife goals, but it is not an all-purpose two-lens set. A lens in the 18-55mm or 35mm range would be very helpful.

UniqueBot

AI

9y ago

Your Answer