Mr.Safety Loc: Chicago

I just purchased a Nikon D7100 camera for my wife for Christmas. Looking for some guidance on good quality budget priced lenses that will make my wife very happy. Thanks in advance.

Tea8 Loc: Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain.

1. Did you get a lens with the camera?

2. What does your wife like to shoot because that could help us decide which lenses might fit her best? (If she wants to shoot landscapes she's going to need a different lens than what she would if she liked macro photography)

3. What's your price range exactly? What I consider a good budget priced lens might be very different from your idea of a good budget priced lens.

4. Congrats on the new purchase, I'm sure she'll love it.

5. Welcome to the forum!!! :thumbup:

amehta Loc: Boston

Robin's points are very good. I will make assumptions to answer them, and suggest a lens:

1. No, otherwise you wouldn't be asking. If the answer is yes, then we're done, she should shoot with that lens for a while to get a sense of #2 before buying more lenses.

2. "General stuff". If there is something specific, the lens recommendation may change.

3. $200-600, based on your willingness to buy a $1100 camera.

4. Ditto.

5. Ditto.

My suggestion is to follow Nikon's lead, which is to package the D7100 with the 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens. It is $600 new, but another topic indicated that it is as low as $400 used. Nikon only released it recently, so the "used" lenses are almost certainly "kit" lenses which people decided they don't need. (http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-150744-1.html )

There are cheaper options, but this lens would offer your wife quite a bit of versatility.

zneb240 Loc: New South Wales - Australia

Hey Mr.Safety.... Firstly welcome to UHH. Congratulations on the purchase - this state of the art camera is capable of producing very high quality images.

As others have suggested, its very difficult to properly advise you as you fail to provide three essential points:
1. Your budget - roughly,
2. Type/style of photography it will generally be used for ; and
3. Your current lens armoury.

Without this info it's like asking 'How long is a piece of string', but given this is your first post I'll have a go at a well intentioned answer, but firstly, I must caution against marrying this first class camera body with second class lenses. You may purchase a true 'budget' (read poor quality) lens for little money however it will almost certainly disappoint. Overall, it will turn out to be an unsatisfactory deal, as you'll eventually want to replace it. The old adage then comes into play..... buy cheap - buy twice. Multiply this exercise by three or four lenses and.... well you know.

A better option for you initially may be to purchase a single, modern, 'one size fits all' lens of good quality from a reputable, honest source. An 18-200mm Nikon springs to mind. Such lenses are readily available at a reasonable price on the used market as this model is now superseded. Despite this, there are gazillions of these lenses giving sterling service and will fit and function on your D7100 perfectly. I use one myself.

Search for MT Shooter on this site and PM him..... I understand he deals in such things and at the risk of embarrassing him, he is an very honourable man and well respected member of UHH.

As your question was somewhat open-ended I may be barking up the wrong tree with my advice, however I offer it in good faith. Happy shoot'n and again, welcome.

Edmund Dworakowski

I suggest the 35 mm f1.8 G series lens that should cost less than $300. This is an excellent prime lens that is sharp, fast and very highly rated.(check the YouTube vidios)
Using a quality orime lens will allow your wife to produce excellent high quality images while teaching her how not to get lazy by relying on a zoom. It's an inexpensive bu high quality investment in her budding photography career.
A second choice would be the 50mm f1.8 D series lens, also excellent ratings and under $200.
These basic lenses are a photographer's STANDARD lenses that you will find in every professional's bag, NO MATTER WHAT STYLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY!

Robeng Loc: California

Mr. Safety,

I purchased the same camera for my girlfriend. I got her a Tamron 18mm-270mm lens to go with it. She loves it. The lens covers a wide field of magnification.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Sigma 17-70 F2.8-4

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

If cost and IQ matter ...

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

craggycrossers Loc: Robin Hood Country, UK

Mr Safety - I wholeheartedly endorse Edmund Dworakowski's two suggestions - The Nikon 35mm AF-S f1.8G and the 50mm AF-S f1.8G - both outstanding lenses that would never need replacing in your wife's armoury.

You may also like to give some consideration to this lens .....

http://www.bythom.com/Sigma17-50mm_lens_review.htm

wannabe63 Loc: Bellevue, Washington

I have a D5000 and use the same Tamron 18mm-270mm lens and absolutely love it. The cost has come down from when I purchased it in August of 2010, $529 at Photo4less. It has proven to be a very versatile, all around great lens.

dtparker Loc: Small Town, NC

Buy the 35mm F1.8 DX and let her shoot for a bit.

Buy a second lens base on what she wants to do that she cannot do with that lens.

My 2-cents.

Dave

juicesqueezer Loc: Okeechobee, Florida

Welcome to the Hog!

olcoach Loc: Oregon

Hi and welcome to UHH. I have the Tamron 18-270 and it will cover most of her shooting for quite awhile as she learns to use her camera. It also has a good price right now.

Mr.Safety Loc: Chicago

Thanks everyone. We did not get the lens(es) yet. My wife will take a 1000 pics of anything ... you too if you have the time and the patience! Although she will need to go to a shop an store and actually see the lens, I am thinking of no more than three basic lenses: (1) a great/fast fixed lens for portraits and low/existing light (35...50...60 ???), (2) a wide zoom, and (3) a VR tele zoom lens. Maybe too many but my wife loves "many". Many thanks and will wait for your replies. Have a great photo year in 2014.