First DSLR

dhill

dhill

dhill

Associate
Joined
1 Sep 2004
Posts
1,605
Location
Northants
Currently looking at pushing the button on the following gear in the not so distant future, but just wanted a sanity check first from the guys & gals that frequent this part of the forum as this is my first foray into the wonderful world of DSLR.

Am looking to use the camera for just general use really (family portraits/gatherings/parties, wildlife, landscapes etc. Don't envisage much motorsport photography though, if at all).

  • Nikon D5500 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-P VR kit lens
  • Tamron SP 70-300mm f4-5.6 Di VC USD zoom lens
  • 64GB Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-I Memory Card - Class 10 - 95MB/s
  • Hoya HMC UV Filter's for the above lenses (not sure if I need these on modern lenses or not?)

So guys and gals, any comments/suggestions more than welcome.
 
I came on here to make a similar thread, and I too was thinking of either the D5500 or the D5300, albeit not the Tamrom lens (yet!)

So would very much like to hear others thoughts on this!

(Thanks OP!)
 
Well I've made the jump myself, and have to say that I'm very impressed with it so far!

Going to be a while before I start posting any pics on here mind lol.
 
Went for the D5500 & Tamron 70-300mm lens as well.

This is my first venture into the world of dslr's having come from various point and shoot type cameras.
 
Just a quick suggestion from a relative newbie myself, but if you are doing a lot of portraits and family stuff I would get a 50mm 1.8 prime lens (or maybe the 35mm).

They aren't too pricey, but since recently buying mine, my kit lens (18-55) hasn't been used, as other than the occasional wide angle, is better in every way (quicker focus, wider aperture, much better in low light and also lovely out of focus backgrounds).
 
squerble said:
I'd guess he's looked at the equivalent Nikkon 70-300mm which is a bit more expensive. Could have looked at the 55-300mm though which is the same price as the Tamron, although loses out on things like in-barrel focus.
Click to expand...


I really need to read more into this... in Barrel focus?

Armageus said:
Just a quick suggestion from a relative newbie myself, but if you are doing a lot of portraits and family stuff I would get a 50mm 1.8 prime lens (or maybe the 35mm).

They aren't too pricey, but since recently buying mine, my kit lens (18-55) hasn't been used, as other than the occasional wide angle, is better in every way (quicker focus, wider aperture, much better in low light and also lovely out of focus backgrounds).
Click to expand...

Can I ask what makes the 50mm only lense better than a 18-55? Is it the f number I assume?
 
Gungnir said:
If I may suggest a couple of 32GB cards rather than one 64GB.

They can and do spontaneously fail sometimes.
Click to expand...

I did think about that, but felt fairly safe (rightly or wrongly) buying the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-U3 Memory Card.

Is it a regular occurance for the cards to fail?
 
Cavallino said:
Can I ask what makes the 50mm only lense better than a 18-55? Is it the f number I assume?
Click to expand...

At lower f numbers you can have a greater depth of field, allowing the main subject of the image to be perfectly in focus, with the background nicely softened. The photographic term for it is bokeh (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh).


A lower f number is a wider aperture, which lets more light in, allowing you to take photos even in lower light situations.

Just as an example, in the past with my D3200 and both the 18-55mm Kit lens, and also a Nikon 55-200mm, when shooting motorsport, the lenses struggle to even focus as soon as it becomes overcast, or towards the end of the day as it starts to get dark.

By contrast at my Niece's wedding recently, my Nikon 50mm F1.8 was able to shoot indoor shots in relative darkness during a Disco, without even using the flash.



dhill said:
I did think about that, but felt fairly safe (rightly or wrongly) buying the SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-U3 Memory Card.

Is it a regular occurance for the cards to fail?
Click to expand...

As long as you are buying good quality branded cards like SanDisk, Lexar, Samsung etc. then failure should be fairly rare anyway.

I personally would buy several smaller cards, even say 4x 16GB cards, as 16GB still holds 300+ photos (at least on my D3200), as you then you can always have an empty card on the go (i.e. don't have to clear it between shoots, and don't have to risk losing any already shot photos e.g. if your camera is stolen with a single big card in it.)
 
Last edited:
Cavallino said:
I really need to read more into this... in Barrel focus?
Click to expand...

I've found myself that the acronyms associated with the various lenses can be confussing to say the least, especially if you are used to other manufacturers kit. For example;

The Tamron lens (Tamron SP 70-300mm f4-5.6 Di VC USD) I've brought has the following:
  1. SP = Super Performance
    Tamron’s code for “expensive” lens. You’ll get sharper glass with low chromatic aberration (purple halo around certain subject’s edge). However, expect to pay more.
  2. Di = Digital
    Tamron lens with optics designed specifically for digital sensors. Can be used for full frame, smaller sensor or film cameras.
  3. VC = Vibration Compensation
    Tamron’s Image stabilization method. Will reduce image blurriness due to unstable handholding. Also minimize the shake in your viewfinder, giving you clearer viewfinder when taking pictures, a VERY handy feature.
  4. USD = Ultrasonic Silent Drive Focus
    First introduced in this lens, this technology uses ultrasonic wave interactions to propel the focus mechanism quickly and precisely to its desired point. The end result is ultra-fast focus even at long focal lengths, making this lens ideal for sports and wildlife photography. If you prefer manual focus this is attainable at any time without a switch, just by rotating the focus ring manually – courtesy of the Full Time Manual Focus feature. Filters are easily managed too thanks to fully internal focusing.

The Nikon lens (Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR) has:
  1. AF-S = Autofocus Silent
    Focusing is driven by a "Silent Wave" motor in the lens instead of the focus drive motor in the camera. AF-S lenses focus faster than standard AF-Nikkors and almost completely silently. AF-S lenses with a "II" designation weigh less and are generally smaller than their equivalent predecessors.
  2. IF-ED = IF = Internal Focusing allows the lens to quickly focus by moving some of the elements inside the lens barrel, without moving the front barrel or extending in size. Many of the modern Nikon lenses such as Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II are IF lenses. Lenses with IF acquire focus faster than lenses without IF.
    ED = Extra-Low Dispersion glass
    High-quality glass that corrects for chromatic aberration, a type of image and color distortion that occurs when light rays of varying wavelengths pass through optical glass and don't converge or focus at the same point. Nikkor lenses with ED glass deliver superior sharpness and contrast, even at maximum aperture. Super ED glass is a new type that is used together with ED glass in some lenses to achieve an even higher degree of freedom from chromatic aberration.
  3. VR - VR = Vibration Reduction
    An optical innovation that minimizes image blur caused by camera shake and offers the equivalent of shooting at a shutter speed three stops faster, allowing sharper handheld pictures with longer lenses. The system even automatically detects when a photographer pans while photographing a moving subject. VR operation is available only with specific Nikon cameras.

So if I've read the acronyms correctly, there's not much difference technology wise between the Tamron and Nikon lenses and the major difference will be down to the glass used.

Nikon Acronyms
 
Tamron's VC is really, really good. At least I think so. Nothing wrong with Nikon's offering... but just saying Tamron's is really good :)

The main difference between the two is one says Nikon on it.

I also went for a Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 over the Nikon. AF is really fast on it, and accurate - hardly ever miss a shot... and I'm never going to want to use a teleconverter with it, which would be the only reason I'd buy the Nikon.

I do kinda wish I'd bought a Nikon 200-500 rather than the Tamron 150-600 but at the time I didn't even know it was a thing. And I've since decided that the Tamron is very good... not as good as Nikon (not as sharp wide open) but for the price, can I complain? Not really.
 
Cavallino said:
I really need to read more into this... in Barrel focus?
Click to expand...

The in-barrel focus is how the lens focuses. On the "better" lenses, this happens within the lens, and the front piece of glass does not move at all, meaning you can use a polarising filter etc. On the 55-300mm cheaper Nikkon, the whole lens barrel twists and moves forward out of the lens body to focus, this means you'd have to constantly adjust a filter every time you focussed.

That said, I've found the 55-300mm perfectly adequate for airliner shots - the focus is a bit slow, but so are airliners :)
 
Wow, thanks to all for their responses. Very insightful and informative.

Just wonder what am I best starting off with. Will go with a D5500, but should I just get the body or the 18-55 lens to start off with and then get the 50 1.8 lens for portraits etc (and possibly the aforementioned Tamron as above)...
 
Cavallino said:
Wow, thanks to all for their responses. Very insightful and informative.

Just wonder what am I best starting off with. Will go with a D5500, but should I just get the body or the 18-55 lens to start off with and then get the 50 1.8 lens for portraits etc (and possibly the aforementioned Tamron as above)...
Click to expand...

My only words of advice before jumping in and buying the D5500 are;

Make sure you handle one first, it feels (at least to me) completely different to say D5300 or even the Canon 760D. The grip on the D5500 has been revised over the D5300, and as such is slightly deeper which in turnmakes the camera feel more secure in the hand. The ergonomics on the back of the Canons feel better, but the grip on the front doesn't feel as secure.

I personally struggled initially trying to justify the extra cost of the D5500 over the D5300. But the extra battery life, better grip, touch screen and the other minor changes make it worth the extra cost. Because at the end of the day the D5300, D5300 & D5500 are all going to produce very similar quality of picture.
 
Understood, thanks.

Incidentally whats the equivalent Cannon against the D5500? I noticed a review of the Canon 750D? Some reviews on youtube seem to position this in a better light that the D5500?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom