Camera Lens

[Reed]

I recently bought a Nikon D3100 digital camera. I am looking to become somewhat of a photographer and start really taking a lot of picture while I'm hunting and just wildlife in general. So I bought the camera, but have no idea what lens to buy. Any advice would be appreciated. Other than the general "the bigger the better" kind of answer, can you guys give me some idea of what kind/size of lens I should look for? I would think most of my shots will be within 75 yards or so, but I want the picture to really show up well. Thanks all, I appreciate your help.

[Jason]

The Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VRIL is Nikon's top of the line telephoto lens. The VR makes this lens useful when photographing far off subjects handheld. A great lense for wildlife photography as well as sports and portraits.

Unfortunately your looking at a price tag of...drum roll please....$2,189.95

[Reed]

Thanks for your help, Jason. That sounds like exactly what I am looking for. Oh wait a minute....did you say $2,189.00? Wow!! I had no idea I would be getting into something like that. That is 3X more expensive than the camera was. I might have to start off my photo career with a little smaller lens! Thanks.

[Reed]

One more question, Jason. I realize this is probably pretty elementary, but I have another camera, one that is not digital, and I have a lense for that camera. Can you use a lens that was meant for a regular "film" camera on a digital camera?

[Jason]

One more question, Jason. I realize this is probably pretty elementary, but I have another camera, one that is not digital, and I have a lense for that camera. Can you use a lens that was meant for a regular "film" camera on a digital camera?

In most cases, yes, you can but both the lense and the camera have to be made by the same manufacturer. Below is a short article that might help you out a bit!

Standard 35-mm lenses and digital lenses used to have the same optics and lens mounts. You could mount a 35-mm lens for a Pentax film camera on a Pentax digital camera. But manufacturers began to experiment with focal lengths and discovered they could make much wider range lenses. Manufacturers now produce 18- to 200-mm zoom lenses, a range unheard of before digital cameras.

Difficulty: Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:
35-mm lenses Digital camera body of same mount
How to Use 35mm Lenses on a Digital Camera
1. Mount your 35-mm lens with the correct lens mount. A Nikon lens won't fit a Canon or a Pentax, for example, without an adapter. The same is true for third-party lenses by companies such as Sigma and Tamron. Each is made with a camera-specific lens mount.
2. Mount a normal---50- to 55-mm---lens on your digital camera. Notice that on most digital cameras with a standard charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor, the view will appear to multiply. There usually is a 1.5x factor, meaning a 50-mm normal lens will appear as a 75 mm-portrait lens. Even your widest-angle lenses, such as 24-mm, will lose some wide-angle aspect because of this.
3. Try using the 50-mm lens in your backyard; get used to the magnification effect of the CCD. If you are used to a good wide-angle with your 24-mm lens, that will be cut to 36 mm, so you won't have the field of view you might expect. Try the lens on a normal scene, such as the view from your back porch.
4. Use the magnification effect. If you have a 50- to 200-mm zoom lens on your old film camera, you now have a 75- to 300-mm zoom to play with. It will give you farther reach for capturing a bird in a tree or picking out a face in a crowd without being noticed.

[Reed]

Huge help! Thanks!