Nikkor 18-55 OR 18-105 Kit lens?

BrandonDouglas

BrandonDouglas

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Hi guys, -I have highlighted the basic question in bold for those who don't want to read my life story-

I haven't been on here in a while but once again I need your experience, help and opinions.

I've been saving up for my first DSLR so I have it in time for my holiday (19th August) and have currently managed £466 (Which is pretty good for my standards).

Anyway, the camera I had in mind is the Nikon D5100, and initally the 18-105 Kit lens, but I'm over £100 away from it's price
- http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/85593/show.html -
Whereas another £30 would get me the 18-55mm.

So basically, is the 18-105 worth the extra £80 more than 18-55 (That I'll no doubt have to scrape together selling stuff on eBay) or can I get away with the 18-55.

Note: To add to the problem, I highly doubt I will be able to purchase an additional lens after getting the camera for a long time, as I'm pretty poor!
So I'm worried the 18-55 may hold me back with its lack of zooming capability.

EDIT: I would also like to note that I am not interested in second hand equipment,at least not for my first DSLR purchase.

EDIT: It just occurred to me it might help if you know what I normally shoot! - Namely I shoot land/cityscapes and nature, the only portraiture photography I'll be doing is holiday photos but of course non-professionally, just 'holiday snaps'.

Thank you!
 
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ANd i would rethin our decision not to buy second hand. Your first dslr purchase will be feeling the waters as it were, and you may in quite a short time decide you want something else...

I bought a d40x, and within a matter of days wished i had a d80...
 
Well, I recently bought a brand new D5100 body with a 35mm F1.8 prime a few weeks ago and also picked up a secondhand 18-70mm lens to go with those from MPB.

For £80 or so, that lens is great and I wouldn't hesitate to order secondhand from MPB again.

BrandonDouglas said:
Surely you could just return the camera and get your money back?
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Yes, you could take it back, although personally I feel a certain degree of ambivalence with regard to returns following a 'change of mind'.

I think the bigger issue with buying a camera new though is that you may not be giving yourself enough time to work out how you will really use your camera before your return window elapses. You might find out after five weeks or an upcoming holiday that the camera or the lenses just aren't quite right for you and then you've spent more money for something that doesn't fit what you wanted/needed.

BrandonDouglas said:
Note: To add to the problem, I highly doubt I will be able to purchase an additional lens after getting the camera for a long time, as I'm pretty poor! So I'm worried the 18-55 may hold me back with its lack of zooming capability.
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As with the time and usage issue mentioned above; if you haven't used a digital SLR before, are you certain that you would even favour a zoom over a prime?

I bought one of each so that I could experiment with them both to see what I preferred. At the moment, the 35mm is predominantly on the camera, which is what I expected, but I have had a lot more fun with the zoom lens that I ever anticipated.

In my case, I was sharing the costs with my girlfriend, so it wasn't as big an expense for me to buy new (everything was effectively half price!), but if I'd been buying alone, I would have purchased everything secondhand to get more out of my budget.
 
BrandonDouglas said:
So basically, is the 18-105 worth the extra £80 more than 18-55 (That I'll no doubt have to scrape together selling stuff on eBay) or can I get away with the 18-55.



EDIT: It just occurred to me it might help if you know what I normally shoot! - Namely I shoot land/cityscapes and nature, the only portraiture photography I'll be doing is holiday photos but of course non-professionally, just 'holiday snaps'.

Thank you!
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Going back to the original question and taking into account the use the camera is intended for, I would say the 18-105 is the better option. I have both of these lenses and feel they produce pretty much identical image quality so the extra versatility of the 18-105 makes it more desireble.

If you're starting out on a limited budget then I would give some serious thought to used equipment from a company like MPB or LCE. Not only do you make some good savings and get a warranty but if you then find DSLR photography is not for you then you will lose less when you re-sell.

Hope that helps :)
 
Thanks for your helpful comments guys.

I just looked up the D5100 on MPB (http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/us...used-nikon-digital-slr-cameras/nikon-d5100-1/) and the body is £399, I can get the body and 18-55mm lens for £425 new. So it doesn't seem it would benefit me this time.

My current camera is a super-zoom bridge camera from fujifilm (S200EXR) and I honestly can't imagine not having a zoom, in fact I was worried about the decreased zoom range to start with.

I'll most probably buy second hand lens' but my concern with a second hand body is, as far as I'm aware, there is some sort of limit on shutter actuations, and once this limit is reached it costs a fair price to fix it. And I'd much rather just have a new camera that is my own, with nothing to worry about. Please correct my knowledge if I'm wrong!
 
BrandonDouglas said:
I just looked up the D5100 on MPB (http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/us...used-nikon-digital-slr-cameras/nikon-d5100-1/) and the body is £399, I can get the body and 18-55mm lens for £425 new. So it doesn't seem it would benefit me this time.
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If you're dead set on the D5100, then yes, I agree that it would be better to buy new.

The secondhand option becomes more attractive if, for instance, you buy the previous model (i.e., the D5000), which still has the articulating screen, or a more advanced model that's been out for longer (e.g., D90), which may offer in-body focus motors, etc.

It really just depends on what features you value.

The D5100 has the right balance of features for my girlfriend and me, so we've been really happy with the choice of camera. We had an amazing time in Paris with it just last week.

That said, now that we've had it a little while and I'm getting more into it, I'm beginning to wish it had an in-body focusing motor and a top LCD...
 
There's nothing wrong with buying second hand gear, providing you know what to look out for. Its the most cost effective way to get good gear. Very few of us can afford brand new equipment. This is especially true of the high end "pro" gear. Pretty much all my kit is second hand eg Nikon D300, Nikon lenses 17-55, 105 vr micro, 70-200 vr. It all works perfectly and looks like it just came from the box, but cost a hell of a lot less then the shop price. If it were not for MPB and sites like Gumtree I wouldnt have this lovely gear as I just couldnt justify (or afford) paying £1500 for a 70-200. And dont worry too much about shutter counts! The count is just an average life expectancy. Some fail well before while others will go on well past it. The point is that eventually it will fail no matter what, so get over it, forget about it, shop around and get the camera YOU want at the price YOU can afford. If it has a low shutter count then thats an added bonus. :thumbs:
 
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Personally, I'd look at the D3100 - it's at rock-bottom prices at the moment [£320 body only] which frees up money for better glass. It's a great camera, and as I've written before it's not the beginner's tool it's painted as. Good enough for me to replace a D700 with!
 
Thanks for the tips,

I've got the money now to get a new D5100 w/ 18-55mm, even though the cheeky buggers put the price up by a fiver :/

Personally, I'd look at the D3100 - it's at rock-bottom prices at the moment [£320 body only] which frees up money for better glass.
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Even if I did that I'd only have £130 to play with for glass, which is pretty much kit lens standard, so may as well go the step up, in my opinion, to D5100.

@Matt83 - I'm definitely going to shop around for second hand lens' when the time comes, probably around christmas, where I can get the fam to chip in for a good one for my present ;D - But for my first DLSR... I just feel like buying new will give me greater satisfaction. I don't want a Pro DSLR yet because I'm not a pro photographer, and I may never need one. I'm happy with a higher end 'entry level' DSLR to start with and the D5100 suits me well. And I can afford it new so that's the plan for now :D

Once I've got my first DSLR it'll be time to start the lens collection!
 
skysh4rk said:
That said, now that we've had it a little while and I'm getting more into it, I'm beginning to wish it had an in-body focusing motor and a top LCD...
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The in built motor was the reason i went (quickly) from a d40 to a d80 - borrowed my brothers 50mm 1.4 and thought the lens was a dud...
 
18-105 for me.

1. If you can only afford 1 lens to start with, the 3x zoom of a 18-55 may feel limiting, especially if you're coming from a compact camera. 18-105 is quite a bit longer and will cover almost everything you need for everyday walkaround use (I took just a 18-105 and 35 for my honeymoon in the US). If you have the 18-55 you may feel you need the 55-200 too.
2. The front element doesn't rotate on focussing like the 18-55. This makes using a CPL easier. And I would imagine using slot-in filters on a rotating lens would be a nightmare.
3. The 18-105 has full-time manual focus - you can override the autofocus with out having to flick the switch. A minor benefit for most people, but still useful.
4. The 18-55 is (in my opinion) a really ugly lens. :)
 
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