Best zoom lens for Nikon D40?

[Poohs100AcreWood]

Let me preface this by saying I am completely new to DSLR cameras. Sort of.

By that, I mean that I took a photo class in college a few years back, learned nothing useful thanks to the teacher, and am now paying the price when I need the info.

I've owned the D40 for about 4 years, yet never did anything special with it. I always keep it on auto settings/flash/everything else. I am now learning about the manual features and what a difference it's making! My major setback with the kit lens is the zoom. I am used to my two point-and-shoots, both by Fuji, one being 11x zoom and the other 18x zoom. I know no lens will give me this, but I'm looking for something more than what I have now.

I am looking for a lens that can give me some zoom, and is AF with the D40 (are a lot of lenses not AF with the body? Many seem to say this and I know the D40 is beginner, but there has to be SOME AF out there!). Nikon brand is not preferred, as they are more expensive, so other brands that are compatible are appreciated.

Also, any suggestions for a flash? These are all primarily for Disney and other vacations, as my point-and-shoots do fine around the house/everyday life.

Thank you SO much in advance!

 

[photo_chick]

Nikon took the AF motor out of the body when they designed the D40 to get size, weight and production costs down. I really think they intended it for people who would buy the kit lens and a basic telephoto zoom and that's all.

Nikon has a 55-200 that was targeted for the entry level market and does have the AF motor in the lens if more reach is what you're looking for. I'm not up on Nikon's all in one's enough to know if they will AF with the D40.

 

[NLD]

The 55-200 is the entry-level telephoto lens. You'd have to switch back and forth between the lens you have now and the telephoto though.

If you're looking for an all-in-one lens, there's the 18-200. Costs a lot more than the 55-200. There's also the 18-105--cheaper but not as much reach.
I'm pretty sure Sigma (I think) makes an 18-200 so that's an option to keep costs down.

If you get into low-light shooting or shallow depth of field, I'd suggest the 35 1.8. It's a prime (fixed-length: no zoom at all) lens but it's reasonably priced, very sharp, and great for low-light shooting.

I went to Disney in 2009, pretty new to the DSLR world, with the D60 (practically the same camera as the D40), the 18-105, and the 35 1.8, plus a super cheap tripod from Walmart (think $20), and was pretty happy with what I was able to get with that set-up. Here's a link to some sample shots from Disney with that set-up:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34900754@N08/sets/72157622470513060/

As far as a flash: A used SB-600 or a SB-700. SB-400 is cheaper but doesn't have the same kind of flexibility (in terms of swiveling) that the SB-600 / SB-700 have. And you're really going to want the range of motion for bouncing flash. I'm also a proponent of getting the Nikon brand for the flash since all the automated features will work with camera, which I know I wanted when starting out with flash.

 

[bigjoe13]

with a d40 you still have lots of options as far a zoom lenses go.

are you looking for wide angle zoom, standard zoom, telephoto zoom?
I am assuming that you want more reach; a longer focal length.

consumer grade telephoto zooms
55-200 AF-S VR
55-200 AF-S non-VR
70-300 AF-S VR - my personal favorite
55-300 AF-S VR

professional grade telephoto zooms
70-200 f/2.8 AF-S VR (version 1 or 2) - very expensive
80-200 f/2.8 AF-S - hard to find a used AF-S version and it out of production.
200-400 f/4 AF-S

The list goes on and on. just go to the Nikon USA website and look for the AF-S lenses.

 

[krb2g]

I have a D40 and I use the kit lens, the 35mm f1.8 (love this lens), the 55-200mm (works great when I need the zoom, but it's usually not quite wide enough for a walk around lens), a tripod, and the SB-700 flash. The flash makes a huge difference--especially in my outdoor portraits. I still am convinced that it's smarter than I am.

 

[thomas998]

First I would get a flash before I would get a zoom lens if I was planning on taking the camera to Disney. I've gone several times and the zoom was really on necessary when we were at animal kingdom and I wanted some photos of animals. In the rest of the parks you can get by without a zoom and having a wide angle lens is more important... But having a flash makes everything so much better. To save money you could just take your fuji for the animals.

 

[photo_chick]

First I would get a flash before I would get a zoom lens if I was planning on taking the camera to Disney.

This really depends on how you shoot. 99.9% of the time I do not use a flash in any of my shooting. And have never used one at Disney. But we all shoot differently.

 

[Poohs100AcreWood]

Everyone's responses are great!

I was in Best Buy yesterday and found the 35mm f1.8, which I asked to play around with. The guy let me put it on my camera, and this is definitely one I will be back for. I need a lens that is good with low light situations and with it's lower price, I don't feel it will break the bank.

For a zoom lens, I have it narrowed down to the 55-300 or the 18-105. I haven't played around with those yet, so I have yet to make a decision.

I still have to do my research on a flash, because I know I will get completely lost on those.

Thank you to all who responded! This has really helped me figure out my options.