My lens is 1:3.5-5.6G. Does that help? I’m the most novice person you can get!
Don’t worry, we were all a novice at some point! It’s hard for me to believe, but when I first met James in 2011? I didn’t even know what a DSLR was! 🙂
Ok, the reason I asked, is that you don’t really need that lens. (I just wanted to be sure that it’s not the $600 f/4 version) It’s not wide-angle enough to be very useful on a crop-sensor camera like the D70 or the D3200. Here’s what I would do if I were you.
- Sell the 24-120mm lens at KEH.com [You could get $75-100 for it at KEH] (Or try to sell it for a little more on ebay/craigslist)
- Buy yourself a camera. (D3200 on craigslist, or links in previous posts above to a Nikon D5200)
- Buy yourself a lens that will actually be useful. [If the camera you buy doesn’t come with a lens] (18-55 VR, or 18-70 (no VR), or if you really want a nice lens, the Nikon 18-140 VR.)
If you really want to keep on with a higher-end camera as @DFrazer said, then there are a couple of options:
- Nikon D90 ~$260.00 (Old [2008] but still a decent upgrade from the D70. I know at least one forum-member here owns a D90.)
- Nikon D7000 ~$400 (Old-ish [2010] even more of an upgrade from the D70/D90)
- Nikon D7100 ~$600-$700 (Expensive [2013] This is probably more camera than most beginners need. If you get it, you won’t have any excuse to upgrade again for a long time! 🙂 )
All of the “high-end” cameras above are body-only prices. You’ll still need a lens to go with them. I agree with @Dfrazer,
– Always honour your Mom. You will probably find that when you get into photography more seriously you may need 500$ to get a few more pieces of equipment, whether it be a tripod, filters, flashes, batteries, lenses, etc depending on what kind of photography you want to get into. So keep saving.
Photography can be quite expensive, but it helps to make sure you prioritize your savings. Ask any good photographer, and they’ll tell you to invest in good glass (lenses) rather than spending a lot on the newest camera on the block. I use a Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 lens, and it is definitely better than 18-55mm kit lenses! The Nikon 18-140 is what I would consider a “higher-end” lens compared to the cheaper 18-55/18-105mm lenses. (One small clue is that it’s sold together with the Nikon D7200 as a kit) It’s not cheap either, at around $500 new, but if you keep your eyes open, you’ll see them for much better prices than that.