Newbie looking for some equipment advice

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retromon

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Tristan
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Hi all. I'm new to the forum and new to photography, so thanks for having me.
Ok so I have just bought a Nikon 3200 with....
.Nikkor 18-55mm afs vr ii lens
.Nikkor 55-300mm afs ed vr lens
.xit pro series 2.2 HD AF telephoto lens
.xit pro series 0.43 HD AF wide angle lens
.tripod, cleaning kit, filters, bag etc..
I have a few questions and need some advice about the lenses I have, the lenses I may need/ or recommended.
Firstly are these xit pro series lens any good or should I sell them on and get some better glass?
I am going to be using the camera for indoor video footage, and a beginner in outdoor photography (holidays, landscapes, animals,)
As I'm just starting out I'm thinking I need/want a good value for money range of everything, (so I can find out what I enjoy and then invest)
Any and all help will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
 
Hello, and welcome to the Forum. :)

I had not heard of the Xit 'lenses', but a quick search shows they are cheap add on lenses that can be screwed onto the end of camera lenses to increase the magnification, or give a wider field of view. They are low quality items, that can be had new for £20-£30. and used for under £10, so something to play about with, but don't expect the highest quality results, or much money if sold.

The actual Nikon lenses are good general purpose lenses, with a good range. I don't do video, but depending on what you intend to video indoors, lenses with wider maximum apertures may be desirable so as to raise the ISO as much.

I would say try to do what you plan to do, both video and pictures, and see if what you have can do what you want. That will inform you as to whether you need anything else to do what you want to do.

If you are very new to photography and videography with this type of gear, I would temper your expectations to the results, especially if comparing to phone cameras. There is a lot of computer power going on the images and video with the phones.
 
Hi and welcome to TP

Though not a Nikon user AFAIK the D3200 is nice starting point with those Nikkor lenses, on your photography journey.

However, IMO the xit Pro bits of kit (and possibly some of the other minor items are unlikely to be worth bothering with!)

Before you spend more money I suggest you get to grips with the Nikon items and learn & practice how to get the best you can from them.

You will see TP has an excellent "Beginners" sub fora and you will likely find many early questions answered there already BUT ask away as needed and there are no such things as stupid questions;)

All the best with the learning curve.
 
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Hi retromon, and welcome to TP :wave:

The Nikon AF-S lenses that you have are okay. The 18-55 was the kit lens sold with the D3200 and is pretty good as a general walk-about lens. The 55-300 is a popular second lens to extend your focal length and is very useable for wildlife as long as you can get reasonably close to your subject. As a combination the camera and lenses make a good kit. and should be perfectly good for your posted usage.

The XIT lenses are adaptors to fit onto your 18-55 - one increases the focal length by a factor of 2.2 whilst the other gives you a wider angle of view. From what I hear from other users they are pretty useless, creating horrible distortions and chromatic aberrations. Unfortunately, they are quite inexpensive so don't expect to get much for them.

I can't comment on the tripod, etc., without more details.
 
@retromon

I also note from your profile that you don't appear to have a computer (yet?).....so subject to getting/actually having a computer. On the link I posted above there are two bits of software that other Nikon users can comment on....

NX Studio for viewing and editing your images, before you perhaps decide (with some insights from hereabouts) buy other software.

NEF Codec

Hopefully other Nikon users will chip in with their experienced insights :)

PS I have just realised that in your list of kit you bought I cannot see any mention of Memory Cards for use in the D3200? Have you bought any yet and if so which ones (yes plural ;) )
 
redhed17 said:
Hello, and welcome to the Forum. :)

I had not heard of the Xit 'lenses', but a quick search shows they are cheap add on lenses that can be screwed onto the end of camera lenses to increase the magnification, or give a wider field of view. They are low quality items, that can be had new for £20-£30. and used for under £10, so something to play about with, but don't expect the highest quality results, or much money if sold.

The actual Nikon lenses are good general purpose lenses, with a good range. I don't do video, but depending on what you intend to video indoors, lenses with wider maximum apertures may be desirable so as to raise the ISO as much.

I would say try to do what you plan to do, both video and pictures, and see if what you have can do what you want. That will inform you as to whether you need anything else to do what you want to do.

If you are very new to photography and videography with this type of gear, I would temper your expectations to the results, especially if comparing to phone cameras. There is a lot of computer power going on the images and video with the phones.
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Hi there. Thankyou very much for your reply it has been very helpful. Yes from what I have heard the xit lenses are pretty useless but maybe worth trying out just to get my head around there use and function before selling them on eBay for £10 for the set etc. (All helps towards something else I need).
The indoor video that I would be doing would be capturing certain expensive trading card package openings so will be situated on a tripod and filming my facial reactions, a mobile phone will be filming my hands and the actual cards, which both then will be edited on a suitable computer with suitable software ready for a YouTube channel.
Handheld use of the camera will mainly be outdoor hobbie photography like holidays etc. Landscapes.
I am very new to photography, this is the first camera I would have ever owned (except from the cameras on my phones)
So I'm looking to maybe try and find a local free or cheap short photography course in my area. I think that would be a good place to start
 
Box Brownie said:
Hi and welcome to TP

Though not a Nikon user AFAIK the D3200 is nice starting point with those Nikkor lenses, on your photography journey.

However, IMO the xit Pro bits of kit (and possibly some of the other minor items are unlikely to be worth bothering with!)

Before you spend more money I suggest you get to grips with the Nikon items and learn & practice how to get the best you can from them.

You will see TP has an excellent "Beginners" sub fora and you will likely find many early questions answered there already BUT ask away as needed and there are no such things as stupid questions;)

All the best with the learning curve.
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Hi there and thankyou for your reply,
Yes that was my initial thought about getting to grips with the equipment I have already, I just read quite alot about the so called 'nifty fifty' lenses, was wondering if something like that is a must have in any kit for quality and speed of use.
Thanks again and fingers crossed I enjoy it as much as I think I will.
 
Bristolian said:
Hi retromon, and welcome to TP :wave:

The Nikon AF-S lenses that you have are okay. The 18-55 was the kit lens sold with the D3200 and is pretty good as a general walk-about lens. The 55-300 is a popular second lens to extend your focal length and is very useable for wildlife as long as you can get reasonably close to your subject. As a combination the camera and lenses make a good kit. and should be perfectly good for your posted usage.

The XIT lenses are adaptors to fit onto your 18-55 - one increases the focal length by a factor of 2.2 whilst the other gives you a wider angle of view. From what I hear from other users they are pretty useless, creating horrible distortions and chromatic aberrations. Unfortunately, they are quite inexpensive so don't expect to get much for them.

I can't comment on the tripod, etc., without more details.
Click to expand...
Hi there and thankyou for your reply.
Yes from what everyone else has said the xit pro series are not great quality.
The tripod that comes with this bundle is actually a xit make tripod aswell.
(Which doesn't bode well with the lenses being rubbish quality) but how can you go wrong with a tripod right? (He says wishful thinking)
Thanks again
 
Box Brownie said:
@retromon

I also note from your profile that you don't appear to have a computer (yet?).....so subject to getting/actually having a computer. On the link I posted above there are two bits of software that other Nikon users can comment on....

NX Studio for viewing and editing your images, before you perhaps decide (with some insights from hereabouts) buy other software.

NEF Codec

Hopefully other Nikon users will chip in with their experienced insights :)

PS I have just realised that in your list of kit you bought I cannot see any mention of Memory Cards for use in the D3200? Have you bought any yet and if so which ones (yes plural ;) )
Click to expand...
Thankyou very much for all of your information you have shared this will be very helpful.
And yes I am currently researching and looking at computers and software. As I need a decent spec tower for my video editing anyways.
So a new computer is definitely on the cards.
Also the kit that I bought comes with a SanDisk memory card. I have 2 SanDisk memory cards already..
Think they are 16 or maybe 32gb
 
retromon said:
Hi there and thankyou for your reply.
Yes from what everyone else has said the xit pro series are not great quality.
The tripod that comes with this bundle is actually a xit make tripod aswell.
(Which doesn't bode well with the lenses being rubbish quality) but how can you go wrong with a tripod right? (He says wishful thinking)
Thanks again
Click to expand...
Oh, you can go very wrong with a tripod :D Many people post on here asking for advice or recommendations for "cheap and sturdy" tripods only to be told that there's no such thing as a cheap and sturdy tripod - both attributes are mutually exclusive. The advice they get is to forget cheap and go for sturdy :)
 
Bristolian said:
Oh, you can go very wrong with a tripod :D Many people post on here asking for advice or recommendations for "cheap and sturdy" tripods only to be told that there's no such thing as a cheap and sturdy tripod - both attributes are mutually exclusive. The advice they get is to forget cheap and go for sturdy :)
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Ok I shall test this one out when it arrives and see if there is anything I can do modifiy it to be more sturdy. If not il just get a better one.
Thanks for the advice is much appreciated
 
)My 2p

Get out and try anything/everything with what you have. If you find yourself constantly thinking "I wish I had a longer/wider lens" that would be the obvious itch to scratch (for example)

It may be that you can do everything you want with what you have (seems unlikely to me though, I'm still adding to my collection after nearly 40 years :eek:)
 
hunnymonster said:
)My 2p

Get out and try anything/everything with what you have. If you find yourself constantly thinking "I wish I had a longer/wider lens" that would be the obvious itch to scratch (for example)

It may be that you can do everything you want with what you have (seems unlikely to me though, I'm still adding to my collection after nearly 40 years :eek:)
Click to expand...
Yeah I understand that.. think I'm going to invest in a 10-20mm wide angle lens. Get rid of the rubbish xit lens. Then il have a nice little range.
 
retromon said:
Hi there and thankyou for your reply,
Yes that was my initial thought about getting to grips with the equipment I have already, I just read quite alot about the so called 'nifty fifty' lenses, was wondering if something like that is a must have in any kit for quality and speed of use.
Thanks again and fingers crossed I enjoy it as much as I think I will.
Click to expand...
The 50mm f1.8 lenses are a 'cheapish' way to get an increase in quality(compared to cheaper zoom lenses), a shallow depth of field, and good performance in low light, because of the wide f1.8 aperture.

The 50mm was said to be similar to a person's field of view, which the D3200 is not. ;) The 50mm would be the equivalent to 75mm on a full frame sensor camera, which could be a good portrait lens. A 35mm lens would be the equivalent of 52.5mm on a ff camera. Because you have the 18-55mm lens, you can try either focal length to see what you think would be most useful. :)

There are different versions of Nikon 50mm lens, and some older lenses don't work with the auto focus on the D3200 I think. Do research or get advice if you decide to go down that route.

Many years ago I had a 50mm lens, and hardly used it, and when it got stolen with all my other gear, that was something I did not replace for that very reason. When I had film cameras a 50mm lens was permanently on, but for digital, I prefer the versatility of a zoom lens.

What I take pics of is different from you by the sound of it. And I don't do video. ;)

That said, I would still say start using what you have, and that will hopefully make clearer what you may be missing, if you are indeed missing anything.

As I am writing this, you have posted about a 10-20mm lens, again, it is something that may not be used that often, and the same advice applies above.
 
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redhed17 said:
The 50mm f1.8 lenses are a 'cheapish' way to get an increase in quality(compared to cheaper zoom lenses), a shallow depth of field, and good performance in low light, because of the wide f1.8 aperture.

The 50mm was said to be similar to a person's field of view, which the D3200 is not. ;) The 50mm would be the equivalent to 75mm on a full frame sensor camera, which could be a good portrait lens. A 35mm lens would be the equivalent of 52.5mm on a ff camera. Because you have the 18-55mm lens, you can try either focal length to see what you think would be most useful. :)

There are different versions of Nikon 50mm lens, and some older lenses don't work with the auto focus on the D3200 I think. Do research or get advice if you decide to go down that route.

Many years ago I had a 50mm lens, and hardly used it, and when it got stolen with all my other gear, that was something I did not replace for that very reason. When I had film cameras a 50mm lens was permanently on, but for digital, I prefer the versatility of a zoom lens.

What I take pics of is different from you by the sound of it. And I don't do video. ;)

That said, I would still say start using what you have, and that will hopefully make clearer what you may be missing, if you are indeed missing anything.

As I am writing this, you have posted about a 10-20mm lens, again, it is something that may not be used that often, and the same advice applies above.
Click to expand...
That is some brilliant advice and I appreciate it. I will do exactly that.
I have red that having a UV filter on your lens at all times is a good idea for lens protection? Do you have any advice on any decent or recommended filter sets?
The bundle that I bought comes with a set but they are this xit brand and from what I have heard that brand isn't great and have lost confidence.
Thanks again
 
andrewc said:
For general use I've never subscribed to the use of a UV filter as protection, but I always use the lens hood.

However others disagree...
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Hi there. Thankyou for your post. I have read this aswell else where. Only to use UV filters as protection of you are on a beach for example of in a windy environment..
I'm after a bit of advice at the moment on lenses if you could help me.
I have been researching aperture and about depth of field with the lower f numbers focusing more of the subject and blurring out the background.. and the higher f numbers try to keep everything in focus.?
I'm sure it's not as simple as that. I do need to do more research and get my head around it all..
But my 55-300mm is f/4.5-5.6G ED VR
will this be any good for keeping the whole frame in focus? (Landscape shots) (animals on safari) etc.. the number doesn't seem very high comparing to the information I was reading, talking about f22 f32 etc.
 
Re: DoF

I wonder if this guide covers what you need, rather than trying to 'cover' it myself;)

shotkit.com

Guide to Depth of Field (+ Examples & Calculator)

Learn all there is to know about depth of field in photography, including photo examples of shallow & deep DOF, a cheat sheet and a calculator for beginners.
shotkit.com shotkit.com

As for the max Aperture on the lens description, all lenses (except fixed focal length mirror lenses) have variable apertures......if you look up the lens specs it will likely say something like "minimum aperture f22"

Edit
Your lens 55-300mm is f/4.5-5.6 means that at 55mm the max Aperture is f4.5 dropping to f5.6 at the 300mm end of the zoom range i.e. it has a variable max Aperture depending on focal length.
 
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Thankyou. Just having a ready through this now and this looks great. Thankyou very much
 
retromon said:
Thankyou. Just having a ready through this now and this looks great. Thankyou very much
Click to expand...
(y) once read.....any specific questions just ask away as needed?
 
retromon said:
I have been researching aperture and about depth of field with the lower f numbers focusing more of the subject and blurring out the background.. and the higher f numbers try to keep everything in focus.?
Click to expand...

It's not really keeping everything in focus and is more about acceptable sharpness and also camera format size, focal length and the size of objects in the frame all come into it. Zone focusing, hyperfocal focusing and Merklinger Method may be interesting things to read up on.

Coming from what I'd imagine might be a small sensor camera maybe a more modern bridge camera with a wide to long zoom lens could be one thing to consider.

Good luck choosing and I hope you'll return to show off your kit, tell us what you think of it and post some pictures.
 
woof woof said:
It's not really keeping everything in focus and is more about acceptable sharpness and also camera format size, focal length and the size of objects in the frame all come into it. Zone focusing, hyperfocal focusing and Merklinger Method may be interesting things to read up on.

Coming from what I'd imagine might be a small sensor camera maybe a more modern bridge camera with a wide to long zoom lens could be one thing to consider.

Good luck choosing and I hope you'll return to show off your kit, tell us what you think of it and post some pictures.
Click to expand...
Thankyou that is also very helpful, I will take a look into everything you have mentioned. It's alot to digest but I'm sure the more I use the camera the more it will make sense.
I'm also looking at going on a local 4 day photography course, to help me out with the learning curve.
Oww yes I'll definitely be back to show off some pictures, I have just received the camera kit today in the post. So I'm just charging the batteries and making sure everything is all ok.
Lots of guides to follow lots of manuals to read
 
retromon said:
Thankyou that is also very helpful, I will take a look into everything you have mentioned. It's alot to digest but I'm sure the more I use the camera the more it will make sense.
I'm also looking at going on a local 4 day photography course, to help me out with the learning curve.
Oww yes I'll definitely be back to show off some pictures, I have just received the camera kit today in the post. So I'm just charging the batteries and making sure everything is all ok.
Lots of guides to follow lots of manuals to read
Click to expand...

Ah sorry! Silly me missed that you'd already bought the Nikon 3200 maybe because I was too interested in what you were going to do with it.

Good luck and get out shooting :D
 
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