Hello

[May Park]

My name is Karen and I'm a bit of a latecomer to photography.

Always wanted to have a go but working and bringing up 3 kids never allowed me the time.
Now kids gone bar 1 and a part time job I now have a bit more time on my hands so to allow me to persue my interest.

I have recently bought myself a Nikon D3200 and as luck would have it a new photography club has just started in our village.

I am a complete beginner still trying to get my head around the exposure triangle, f stops and shutter speeds.

I have 2 horses so am very interested in equine photography, I also live very close to a race track an am lucky enough to get a free annual residents pass to the track so am looking forward to spending time there with my camera.
We have British Super Bikes this weekend which would have been great but I'd already committed to a 3 day intensive coaching course with my horses

Looking forward to posting and improving my skills with a bit of help from other members.
Any tips or hints for a beginner greatly appreciated.
Karen

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Karen,

Welcome to the CiC forums from me.

Which lens(es) did you get with the 3200?
I just wondered if it included a separate telephoto for the more distant subjects like Super Bikes and Racing?

I assume you might have already found the Tutorials, but if not, do check them out, they will help with exposure triangle, f stops and shutter speeds.

All the best,

[May Park]

Hi Dave
Thanks for the welcome.

The lens that came with the D3200 is the AF-S Nikkor18-55mm.
I am looking to get a telephoto lens in the near future so happy to accept any tips/advice on buying one as like I said its all new to me, and obviously as being a beginner I don't want to spend a massive amount but on the other hand do want to get reasonable quality lens.

Karen

[chauncey]

I am looking to get a telephoto lens in the near future

Aah...what kind of a budget do you have in mind?

[John 2]

Welcome Karen. Superbikes and a race track. My tongue is hanging out. Best bet for tips is to post some images. There are some good and generous workers on this site.

[Dave Humphries]

I am looking to get a telephoto lens in the near future so happy to accept any tips/advice on buying one as like I said its all new to me, and obviously as being a beginner I don't want to spend a massive amount but on the other hand do want to get reasonable quality lens.

Hi Karen,

I initially got a Sigma 18 - 250mm (instead of the Nikon 18 - 55mm) because I was used to that zoom range on my bridge camera.

Unfortunately, it didn't focus accurately on my D5000 (drove me nuts for several months), so eventually I took it back (and paid the £100 extra) to get the Nikon 18 - 200mm, which is a good all round lens, but as I liked to shoot wildlife, it wasn't really 'long enough'.

The next step was the Nikon 70 - 300mm, which I would recommend - and would fit quite well with your 18 - 55mm (don't worry about the gap between 55 and 70mm). However, it may be more than you'd like to spend.

Do be sure to buy an "AF-S" Nikon lens, beware, there are many that will not Auto-Focus on your D3200 body because that body lacks an AF motor and it relies on the lens having one (which not all do). Personally, I would avoid Sigma (and probably Tamron) but you may find them attractive on price, again, be sure you get a model that has the AF motor in and preferably also VR/VC/IS stabilisation.

Cheers,

[May Park]

Hi,
Thanks all for replies.
A 70-300mm sounds like it might be what I'm after.
Re budget, I was thinking £200ish. Am I being realistic with this price?
Thanks
Karen

[Shadowman]

Hi Karen,

The desire for more lenses come gradually as you become dissatisfied with your current capabilities. The thing is how much reach we really need is hard to gauge unless we know exactly what are targets are and what it takes to get us there. After so many years I'm finally happy with the reach I can obtain (600mm with an extender) and now only briefly flirt with the idea of getting a faster (wider aperture) lens. Have fun.

[harlod]

hi Karen, I'm a newbie too,greetings

[nkpliangjk58]

new here bump....