looking at buying D40 kit lens suggestion

[disneyfan2]

I have been pricing them out, and i am able to change the lens kit 18-55 if i choose and pay the difference. I want a good camera for Disney and parades and such, but they suggested 18-135 as the "kit" lens. I am new to SLR's so i will probably doing alot in Automatic mode for awhile, so is this lens acceptable or what lens do you recommend if you had only 1?

 

[Gdad]

I got my wife a D40 with the 18-135 lens from Beach Camera for I think $699 shipped. She loves it- it's a nice light weight walk around lens with a good range and pretty sharp. Definately worth the few extra bucks over the 18-55.

 

[YEKCIM]

I have the 18-135 and highly recommend it. I'm not sure if you can get the D40, body only or not, but if you could, you could match it with the 18-200VR, which would be a very nice combo. You'd be looking at $1K+, though.

~YEKCIM

 

[garate55]

I also have the 18-135 lens with the D40 body. I kinda wish I had a bigger lens but without going with 2 lenses(18-55 and 55-200) in a kit then you are better off buying just the body. And like YEKCIM said buy the 18-200VR lens, but try not to buy the imported lens as the warranties are harder to use if you need to.

By the way I love my camera...

 

[ukcatfan]

...I want a good camera for Disney and parades and such...

If you are talking about night parades and/or inside dark attractions at WDW, then you are going to need a lens with a wider aperture than a kit lens will allow. Unfortunately, the popular 50mm f/1.8 lens will not autofocus on a D40, but at the cheap price, you might want to use one anyway for low light. If you are decided on Nikon, you should also consider a used/refurb D50 or D70 b/c they will autofocus the lenses. The D40 and D40x do not have a focus motor in the body where the others do.

Kevin

 

[El Nebuloso]

Another vote here for the 18-200 if the budget allows. I got it when I bought my D50 and it is a great generaly purpose lens that performs well. Pretty wide angle, with a pretty long reach all in one reasonably comact package.

 

[El Nebuloso]

Oops, forgot to mention that with the recent introduction of the Nikon D3 & D300, there will be alot of people upgrading, so the used Nikon market will probably afford some good deals, allowing you to get a body for a reasonable price and throw the savings at better glass if you're so inclined.

 

[fan1080]

I have a D40 and love it. It came with the 18-55, and then I bought the 55-200VR for the extra reach, and the 50 1.8 for low light.

The 18-55 is a great little lens, but not much reach. The 55-200VR is also a great lens and gave the extra zoom when needed. The 50 1.8 was really nice to have for low light shots, but it will not auto focus on D40 so it was a little tough to get a sharp focus now and then.

I later sold all three lenses and replaced them with the 18-200VR. This lens is fantastic, I highly recommend it. But, it is a little pricey. I now have the same zoom range in one lens.