New to Lenses

[falling bombz]

Ok...I am new to lenses, i have never used lenses.....
i know its horrible but i have purchased the
Nikon 18-70 mm AF-S DX f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED Zoom Lens
for school....
but i don't know if it was the one the guy was telling me about when i was in the store
(a different lady took the rder from us)
is the lens i specified have the best glass available in it and....
what does it do?
what are the purpose of lenses like the one i had to buy...
im sorry i feel very dumb right now

[T06]

... remember there aren't any silly questions, just silly answers. One thing that sticks out to me is you are buying the kit lens with the D200, although there is nothing wrong with this lens at all, if it was me & I could afford it & I knew I would be using it for a long time I'd either go for the 17-55mm f2.8 DX or the 28-70mm f2.8. These are two of the best but not cheap so if you are pushed for cash then the 18-70 will do just fine.

[falling bombz]

how much are we talking? in price difference and im still not quite sure what lenses do

[T06]

how much are we talking? in price difference and im still not quite sure what lenses do

What does a lens do? It makes the photo close or far, it's the lens that zooms in or out to get the 'frame' of the photo. Some lenses are way better than others, but by todays standards most are acceptable to even quite good.
Whats the difference, imagine an 18 yr olds sight compared to the sight of a sixty year old. Everyone will differ but there will be correlations, the same as lenses. On a dslr the lens is how you see the shot because all the camera body does is record it as it is, 'or' how the settings are that you set on it.

[Norm in Fujino]

how much are we talking? in price difference and im still not quite sure what lenses do

You must have perfect vision.
If you had to wear glasses, you'd appreciate what lenses "do." Your eyes have lenses; they focus light that otherwise would be just blurs. How about this: have you ever swum underwater without a mask or goggles? The lenses in your eyes are designed to focus light coming through air, while the water acts as an additional lens that distorts that light. There are lots of sites on the web that explain what lenses do, so you might want to google for some; here's a couple:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tut...era-lenses.htm
http://www.btinternet.com/~focal.pla...s/tutor2p1.htm

[rawpaw18]

The lens you have is a really good lens, with a couple of caveats
At the wide end, the barrel distortion is significant. So when taking architectural shots at 18-24ish, the straight lines are distorted.
Also it is not a f/2.8, it is a slower lens, so you loose some dof and lower light hand held shots, especially a problem with something such as indoor sports.

That said the lens produces very sharp images and the range 18-70 is
nice too. Very solid built.



f/5, 1/80

[Nickcanada]

Cheep lens = slower focusing, softer images, dull colours, low contrast. This is relative to higher end lenses and is not always the case so do your home work.

When buying a lens I consider the fallowing;

1)Is it the right focal length for my needs?

2)Will it's aperature (F-stop #) let me have the shutter speeds I need in the lighting conditions I shoot in?

3)Will I be satisfied with it's sharpness, colour, and contrast?

Buying a lens is tough, you don't know what you need until you get some experience, and you can't get experience without one!