Losho Loc: Central Pennsylvania

I am ready to purchase a Nikon d3300, and have been looking at bundles. I am interested in zoom and wide angle lenses, but mostly macro photography, as I have dabbled in it in the past. I see bundles offering all of these lenses but wonder how good they are. This is my first DSLR camera. I have heard that the kit lenses are junk, then heard they are okay. Also, I wonder why some bundles only offering one extra lens are more expensive than bundles offering two or more. Or, why is the camera with only one lens more expensive than a bundle. I am soo confused. Please help, because I want to get started soon :roll:

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Be VERY careful with bundles (as opposed to kits). The accessories you get with bundles are quite often cheap, after-market junk that are useless and will downgrade the images from an otherwise good camera. The worst items are off-brand batteries, cards and filters. I have also seen camera bags that are marked with high-end logos, but are poorly assembled (single row ¼ inch stitches, weak buckles or strap connectors, etc).

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

The bundles/kits are different because the lens are wildly different prices and grades. Even the "kit" lenses are good, some very good. But there are some lenses that are better and some outstanding. Also the type of lens changes the price some types are harder and more expensive to make.

If you stick with the major retailers you can't go wrong. Even if it is a few dollars more you will get better service from someone that can be trusted and will be there when you call with a problem. Adorama, B&H, Cameta, KEH and a few of the online only stores are good. Direct sales from the Maker can also be a good choice, esp for refurbished gear. I don't know about Nikon but Canon gives their refurbished gear the same warranty as new.

They don't carry a big variety but Costco and Sam's Club have good deals. jAnd their bundles don't have junk in them, just lower end less expensive stuff of decent quality.

NormPR

I think you are giving a false impression. Any Canon or Nikon bundle comes with their brand batteries, chargers, strap, setup software and either two low priced 'kit' lenses (but they are very good lenses) or one high priced premium lens. The packages that Amazon sell do have a load of total junk but the camera kit is the Canon or Nikon, but you should buy your bundle at a reliable source

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Unless you have found something that might be a true 'once in a life time deal', take a breath and take your time. A 'kit' or a 'bundle' is only as good as the items in it. Check out each major component, look up reviews and see if you would be willing to pay the going price for it. Then see what it would cost to assemble the same bundle on something like Amazon.

If you can then find a decent offer on Amazon or from B&H or from Adorama and so on, you should be able to evaluate the real value (if any) of the bundles on offer.

Once you have worked out what you think is a good enough collection of stuff for a given budget you could also ask people on UHH if it is a good deal. The Nikonites or Nikonistas here should be able to give you some very worthwhile advice on the specific details and appropriate pricing.

Leicaflex Loc: Cymru

You are looking at three different lens types here and you have said you are interested in Macro photography!
You do not often see "bundles" that include a macro lens, so if the price is right for you go with that "bundle" and enjoy.
I personally use prime lenses as opposed to zooms.

blackest Loc: Ireland

Lenses can cost a fortune or be relatively cheap. They are not all the same. Some of them have image stabilization built in that puts the price up. The maximum aperture makes a difference. A large maximum aperture can make for faster focusing. probably a brighter view finder too.

The lenses in a large aperture lens are physically bigger in diameter which increases the cost. They cope with low light better too. They can be better made with less aberration (purple and green fringing) and better types of glass, they may have less distortion e.g something which is square may appear to bulge outwards (barrel distortion) or bulge inwards pin cushioning.
These distortions can be corrected for in post processing these days.

some cheaper lenses have a rotating front element which can be awkward if you're using filters such as a circular polarising filter.

The body of the lens may be plastic or metal. A prime lens with a single focal length is usually sharpest as everything is set to perform best at that focal length. Zoom lenses have to cope with a wide range of focal lengths and there are going to be some focal lengths where the lens performs better than others. Aperture can vary by a stop or two bright at the wide angle end and not so bright at the telephoto end. Some lenses manage a constant aperture. some lenses will vary the magnification for a given focal length depending if your focus is near or far.

Image quality varies some lenses have less contrast than others too.
Oh and there is the image circle full frame camera's have larger sensors which means larger lens elements than on a lens designed for a smaller sensor.

Of course that doesn't mean cheap lenses are unuseable just that more expensive lenses can give just a little bit more and people will pay for that little bit more. A site like dxo mark will give a technical evaluation of many lenses.

Cheaper lenses may be good in most circumstances but the more expensive can be excellent although to be fair most people wouldn't see a difference :)

A well composed image beats a badly composed one regardless and that's your part.

CO

Many lenses that are bundled with cameras have a plastic lens mount to save money. That's where I draw the line. I've got to have a lens that has a metal lens mount. Despite that they usually have fine image quality. For example, the Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens has a plastic lens mount but still has great image quality.

I would just buy the camera body and purchase the lenses separately. For an upgraded zoom lens take a look at the Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens. It's sharp, and has excellent build quality. A good macro lens for that camera would be the Nikon 85mm f/3.5 macro. The Nikon 105mm macro is a little better but twice as expensive and much heavier.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Some bundles throw in a bunch of cheap stuff - off-brand batteries, filters, etc. These things might be useful, but often not that much.

Bundles of cameras with lenses need to be evaluated carefully - With Canon I have seen Canon offering bundles with two lenses - at the same time Costco offered a similar bundle for less money, but on closer inspection the lenses were inferior quality lenses.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

That is true only if you buy them directly from Canon or Nikon. Many dealers throw in a bunch of extra off-brand stuff like cases, tripods, off-brand batteries and filters, etc. to make it a sweeter deal. Some of these deals might be OK - authorized dealers are not allowed to discount the price of the camera, but they CAN make the deal a little sweeter.

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

I would buy a camera separate from the lens. Lenses last forever and you'll change bodies. I would buy a refurbished body from a reliable store like B&H etc. I'd get the D7100 because it has the focus motor in the camera which allows more lenses to be used. You could also buy a used D7000 or D7100.
For lenses I recommend constant aperture lenses. i love the Sigma 17-50 f2.8 lens. There are many macro lenses such as Tamron 90 mm 2.8 macro.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

You won't go wrong buying a bundle at Costco. The Macro lens will not be included.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

In the above example, the lenses that were in the Costco bundle were not the newer STM lenses, which are considered much better than the older kit lenses, which is what were being included in the bundle at Costco. Otherwise, Costco can have very good prices on photo equipment.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

You have to break down the bundle and see what the individual parts cost alone. Then you need to decide whether or not you want the component parts of the bundle. Often I see bundles with things I would not take if they were free.

RKL349 Loc: Connecticut

One retailer that sells kits is sometimes willing to bundle them with things you will need: Cameta Camera. Look at their factory refurbished equipment to save money, and feel comfortable that the equipment is in like new condition and comes with a USA warranty, as well. Calling Cameta and talking with one of their salesman costs nothing unless you buy and they may just be able to build the "kit" you need. Good luck.