The lenses that you have (16-50, 55-200) are good for street photography. I have been doing a lot of street photography for a long time, and I prefer an all-in-one lens. It has saved me from missing a lot of shots because the wrong lens was on the camera. You lose some sharpness with an all-in-one, but many find them to be sharp enough for their purposes.
For birds you want as long a lens as you can afford. IMO the most bang-for-the-buck are the Sigma 150-600 and the Tamron 150-600.
I'm glad to see him using the viewfinder.
I have different kits for different subjects. For shooting around the city (NYC) I carry a D5500, a Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6, a Sigma 18-300, and usually a Nikon 10.5 Full frame Fisheye. All together it weighs around four pounds.
For the zoo or aquarium I carry a D5500, Sigma 17-50 f/2.8, a Sigma 50-150 f/2.8 (the older and much lighter non-OS version) and either a Sigma 18-300 or Nikon 55-300 VR. This kit is heavier than the city kit, but it's still not heavy enough to be a problem.
I'm 72 so I like to carry as little as possible. I find these two kits meet my needs without being too heavy.
I also have two compact cameras and I carry one or the other at all times. One is a Nikon P7800 and the other is a Panasonic ZS50.
I've never been there but I have friends who have been there and I've seen the photos. From what I've seen I think that the two lenses you have will cover what you need.
$500-600 is not a lot in the world of DSLR's. Since you have Nikon and I'm most familiar with Nikon I'll stick with them. You might be able get a kit with new D3300 with an 18-55 VR and a 55-200 VR.
Another option is a used or refurbished D3200 or D5200 with a used all-in-one lens. These lenses zoom from wide-angle to telephoto. They are somewhat less sharp than shorter ratio zooms like the ones above, but many find them to be sharp enough and like being able to use one lens instead of changing between two or three lenses. Some all-in-one lenses I recommend are the Sigma 18-200 Macro and 18-250 Macro and the Tamron 18-200 VC ( a brand new lens but only $250) and 18-270 VC PZD. There are older versions of these lenses, but stick to the ones I named. Try keh.com, B&H, and Adorama for new and used gear.
For shooting birds the longer the lens the better. A DSLR with an appropriate lens will be well above your budget. The best camera for you, IMO, is a bridge camera. These cameras have zoom lenses that go from wide-angle to very long telephoto, and they are not very expensive. Some that I recommend are the Nikon P900 and P610, Canon SX50 and SX60, Sony HX400V, and Panasonic FZ70.
Mogul wrote:
Tell that to an outraged mob of parents at a Little League game. My condolences to your surviving family and friends.
When I go to my grandchildren's games, I talk to both head coaches, assistant coaches, umpires, scorekeeper and (in my area) obligatory LL representative. I identify myself, point out my grandchild(ren), assure them that any recognizable faces will be blurred out or that all of my pictures will be sent exclusively to team representatives, offer to show all my pictures to any parent at any time and specifically avoid taking pictures that I am asked not to take (groups, tunnels, etc.) And YES, I have been confronted and have erased pictures. And the word gets around. Now, particularly at my granddaughter's soccer games, I am invited to take impromptu team shots. I have turned down requests to take official pictures because I am not that good. Cooperation pays off; expressing your rights will get you acquainted, up close and personal, with a Louisville Slugger.
Tell that to an outraged mob of parents at a Littl... (
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People are poor judges of risk. They'll go nuts if someone takes a picture of their child playing ball, but they are thrilled to have their child's picture appear in the local newspaper where it will be seen by thousands of people. Not only will it be seen by thousands of people, it often gives the child's name and neighborhood or school. I guess they think that bad people don't read newspapers.
That said I always ask permission before photographing a child.
I've been at this long enough to know what I need so I do my research, make a choice, and don't second guess myself. I do feel sorry for people starting out today because there are so many good cameras and lenses to choose from, and when you ask for advice you can get so many conflicting opinions that you end up more confused than ever.
Be aware that the LX100 does not have a built-in flash. It comes with an accessory flash.
You need a telephoto zoom to shoot sports. If the games are during the day or under good lights at night a good choice would be a Canon 55-250 IS or Tamron 70-300 VC. Longer lenses become big, heavy, and expensive. If night games are not well lit you may need a faster lens. Fast telezooms like a 70-200 f/2.8 are expensive, but used 70-200 f/2.8 lenses by Sigma and Tamron (the Sigma focuses faster and is a better choice) can be found at more affordable priced. Try keh.com, B&H, and Adorama for new or used lenses.
I keep a Sigma 18-300 on my D5500.
The Nikon 18-200 is a good all-in-one lens. However it is a bit slow for shooting indoors without flash. You will have to raise the iso high enough to get a fast enough shutter speed (1/125 at least) to prevent blur. At high iso's you may encounter digital noise, but that's better than a blurry image.
For best results indoors without flash you need a fast lens and a camera that performs well at high iso's. Fast zoom lenses are expensive. Less expensive are the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G and 50mm f/1.8 G. My preference is the 35mm. The 50mm can be a little too long in some rooms.
Read the manual that came with the camera or better still is get a good guide book for your specific camera. Also get a good basic photography book like, "National Geographic Complete Photography". Do some reading (don't try to digest too much at once) and a lot of shooting. Most of all remember it takes time and practice to be good, so be patient and enjoy the learning process.
If image quality is your main requirement get the Sony. It has a much larger sensor and sensor size matters.