All gurus,

I am beginning to learn photography with DSLR, my current compact camera can not give the effect I want. Things that I like to shoot are:

1. Random objects

2. Landscape/scenery

3. Portrait

One thing that attracts me into photography is Depth of Field. I really like to shoot things above with nice DOF effect.

So, camera body choice on my mind is either Canon EOS 400D or Nikon D80.

But I am quite lack of knowledge on choosing the right lenses for my shooting purposes. Can gurus here give me some suggestions? Lenses below 1K are most preferred, and with low f-number, something like f-1.8.

And how worthy is Nikon D80's kit lens, 18-135mm? Is it worth investing into? Should I buy something else to replace it?

D80
Nikkor 50/1.8
Nikkor 12-24
Nikkor 17-55/2.8

shuld cover ur needs

below 1k...low f....there's only 1....
50 f/1.8...also the f/1.4...

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Added on August 15, 2007, 6:15 ambtw...u can also use zoom lens with not so small f to get the bokeh effect...
juz play with the distance from camera to object to background...=)
even the kit lens can take quite OK bokeh...

This post has been edited by xandman: Aug 15 2007, 06:15 AM

Isn't the 50mm f/1.4 above RM1k? Or did you give that as a different option?

is it?
i tot it's arnd 900+ =)...
sorry my bad then...peace!

How do you shoot Landscape/scenery with a nice DOF effect (assuming you mean bokeh)

Anyway, sounds like you're on a budget when it comes to lens. Low-f number lens normally cost a lot more (except the 50mm f/1.8

Get a D80 body, couple it with 18-200mm VR. Spend about 2.5k on this all-in-one lens (jack of all trades and master of none) and you can...

1) Heck.. snipe random objects up to 200mm & with VR!
2) Shoot Scenery at 18mm
3) Use the longer focal lengths to get more bokeh when doing portraits.

or you just use the kit lens for item 1 & 2, and couple it with a 50mm f/1.8 for item 3.

If you have the budget and really need the lower F-number then go as what Aichiban suggested (but really expensive)

Tight budget for lens?

Nikkor 18-70 f3.5-4.5 (D70S kitlens) and 50mm f1.8 settle all for ur needs..avoid D80 kitlens if possible..

Reason being?

U see, D80 kitlens priced at around RM800-900 while D70s kitlens around RM600 which is much sharper and better built.

Of coz i assume him don't need focal length more than 70mm.

true that the 18-70 could be better. Add in a cheapass 70-300, and there's a good range covered... but if TS is picky about having multiple lenses, then 18-135 will be better. I think TS might prefer having the extra reach at the expense of quality for a start,- which will help in deciding what's next. (wideangles or superzooms?)

Or, go for the 18-200mm VR.. because it is reasonably sharp, versatile, and importantly has VR. If i had the money, I'd get one as well just for the sake of travelling light sometimes...

But 18-135 is still not long enough, TS end up will buy 70-300 or 18-200 unless he really dun need so long..

at least with 18-70, it is good quality but well, maybe he really want 18-200


but for travel sake, i would like to have Tamron 18-250 anytime than 18-200 VR

ok deal!

I buy tammy for you, u buy nikkor for me... when want to meet?

when u trade with Tammy 17-50 f2.8 as well

Here's a potentially stupid budget suggestion... shoot film: the DOF is further reduced for 35mm film vs today's DSLR APS-C sized sensors, given the same lens and same aperture opening. You can consult those DOF calculators on the web. Just get an old Canon or Nikon film SLR body that also takes in your current lenses. Probably not Nikon AF-S lenses...

Cheapest portrait lens you can get is 50mm f/1.8 for either Canon or Nikon cams. Anything with larger max aperture than that is usually astronomically expensive, and are usually soft when wide open anyways.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions!

Getting a lens which can produce shallow depth of field is a must to me.

1. Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 seems like a must-buy thanks for it's relatively low price (~RM350?).

Review of this lens based on D200.

2. 18-200mm VR is too pricey because spending ~3.4K for D80 is already a lot for me, though it is indeed an all-rounder.

Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF-ED VR II DX Review / Test Report

3. 18-70mm f3.5-4.5 (D70s kit lens) seems like not a bad choice for a beginner with a sacrifice on far zoom, so long it can give sharp image on subject with DOF effect.

Nikkor AF-S 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 G IF-ED DX Review / Test Report

4. 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, which is a D80 kit lens leaving me very undecided becasue of it's focal length 135mm. And it looks quite suitable for traveling? It also can produce DOF effect as in the review below.

Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF-ED DX Review / Test Report

Did I overlook something else?

In a nutshell, I need to do lots of homework for selecting right lenses as I am planning to get D80 end of this year or early next year, probably 2 lenses, which can serve my purpose and with a tight budget as well.

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Added on August 16, 2007, 12:19 amSomething like having sharp focus on tree leaves while the building in the background nicely blurred...

This post has been edited by TYK: Aug 16 2007, 12:19 AM

If you have a tight budget, and did not go for the d40, then you have the option of going 3rd party.

Consider the:-

1) Tamron AF18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II LD Aspherical [IF] Macro (shud be around 1.4k?)
2) Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC - (shud be around 1.2k?)

Not sure about the performance... guess you can go research that out....

This post has been edited by wlcling: Aug 16 2007, 09:50 AM

Yeah the Nikon 18-200mm is a must for most of the DSLR owners. I know its pricey but the quality is great. Gotta love the VR function and say goodbye to my tripods. If you are in tight budget, like wlcling said, go for those but man, shooting at 200mm without VR is headache

Or go for Sigma 18-200mm DC OS HSM!!! Not sure if it has reached our shores, but price expected to be about 1.9k.

This post has been edited by wlcling: Aug 18 2007, 01:35 PM

get the canon 28-135mm IS. a perfect replacement for kitlens.



This post has been edited by dgrebel: Aug 18 2007, 03:16 PM

One consideration for everyone: something with a shallow DOF does not necessarily have a nice bokeh. If all you care is about being able to use a faster shutter speed, then any 1.8/2.8 lens is of no problem. But if you want a shallow DOF with the bokeh to be smooth circles (instead of pentagons or hexagons), then the number of aperture blades starts to play a role...