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BF_Hammer
717
May 24, 2017
Well, you cleared the first hurdle. You chose a system. That really is quite a difficult thing for beginners because it will shape your path that you follow as you grow in the hobby. We tend to stick with a particular mount system for years due to the expense of replacing the lenses you accumulate.
So I am a Nikon user and not really qualified to speculate on the wisdom of keeping you 2 kit lenses or replacing them with a single 18-200mm in the Canon world. My first DSLR kit was with a single 18-135mm kit lens. For outdoor landscape and nature subjects like I do often, it was a good lens to use, but suffered from chromatic aberrations badly. If I had followed the 18-55mm and 55-200mm separate lenses path many other people did back then, I suspect I would have had better images overall in the early years as those lenses in Nikon version were known to be better on chromatic stuff than the all-in-one zoom 18-135mm. But out on hikes, it was very nice to just zoom out for a landscape image, then still be able to zoom in on a bird or butterfly on the fly as the opportunity presented itself. If I worked on street subjects or indoors more, I think I would see the 2 lens system as the wiser choice.
One thing I can say for sure is if you are looking to take indoor photos at family gatherings (and people will look to you as that person if you have a good camera), consider a fast normal prime lens as your next lens. The ability to avoid using a flash in that situation just gives more natural poses and your subjects will be more at-ease in general. Next, if your auto-mode is deploying the pop-up flash often, then it may be wise to consider a hot-shoe speedlight that can be tilted to bounce off the ceiling. You may think the built-in speedlight is good enough, until you see how bounced flash looks in the same setting. If your main work is outdoors, then your pop-up flash may be all you need for years to just add fill to a back-light subject.
What do I actually use 10 years after my first DSLR purchase? I bought a Tamron 18-270mm all-in-one zoom which basically retired the 18-135mm Nikon lens. Better range, vibration compensation, and better image quality. I bought a 35mm f1.8 prime lens as the "fast normal". It makes a nice compact package for get-togethers with family and friends. I just this year purchased a Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 zoom, and it may wind up replacing that 35mm prime, but it is quite a bit more bulky. The 35mm prime will continue to earn it's keep I think. I use an older 70-300mm tele-zoom for nature and sports subjects. I have many shots of eagles with that lens. I also have a Tamron 90mm prime lens. Actually I am on my 2nd 90mm as I used an 1990's vintage version for 9 years and upgraded to the most current version this year. I use it as a macro lens, and I like to take portraits of my watch collection with it. Also good for people portraits, but I don't do that very often. I have 2 speedlights, mainly because I realized after buying the SB-400 that I really could use the extra power and flexibility of the SB-600. I don't use a flash in my style of photography enough to justify buying the top-level Nikon speedlight (currently SB-900).
And yes, there really should be a good-quality tripod in your future too. It helps everything.
karmaa
1
May 24, 2017
BF_HammerThanks a million for giving detailed information, I guess I am gonna refer this for couple of years to follow. As I am going to do more of family get together so I should think about buying a 35mm f1.8 lense and still keep my current lenses.
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