After consulting with his very creative hot-shot photographer coworker (check out his flickr page here), my pumpkin pie decided to get the Nikon D5000 for me since it was a good beginner DSLR and also it was on sale. At the time, I was a die-hard Canon fan, so I was a bit hesitant about this whole Nikon business. However, I have come to love her every curve and button. The D5000 is a good fit for my child-sized hands (I kid you not, I buy my gloves from the children's section). I suppose the only negative I would say about Nikon vs. Canon is that Nikon lenses tend to be more expensive than Canon.
As for lenses, I currently have three. My sugar bun got the kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, pictured above) that came as a package with the camera. It's not bad for a starter lens. This is what I still use for landscape or other wide-angle pictures. See examples of photos taken with this lens, here. I used it for a few months before getting a supplement (not replacement!) lens, the 35mm f/1.8. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this lens!! I got this lens right before my best friend's wedding and shot her entire wedding with the lens. See example photos here.
I say supplemental lens because the 35mm is a prime lens, meaning it does not zoom, at all. Thus, I still need the kit lens for wide angle shots. Needless to say, without any zoom, I did A LOT of running around during my friend's wedding. I also stuck my camera right in their faces to get some closer-up shots. Note: I generally would not recommend doing that during weddings! She had a small, semi-informal destination wedding, and she was my best friend so I knew she would put up with me. However, it was all worth it because I loved how the pictures came out. This lens is fast and sharp!
The last lens that I acquired was a christmas gift from my buttercream cake at the recommendation of his creative hot-shot photographer coworker once again. It is the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8. I had not planned to get any more lenses, even though I was salivating over many of them, so this was a very pleasant surprise. At first, I was very much intimidated by this lens. I mean, just look at it...
OK, I guess it's hard to tell its size in this picture, but I assure you, it is a monster and it is heavy! I had a hard time carrying it around and holding it still. However, now that I have a new camera bag (to be expanded on later) to house this baby and have played around with it a little, I am loving it!
As a beginner, I think the kit lens and the 35mm lens were great to start with. It also doesn't hurt that they are the most economical of them all, at under $200 each. (Umm... if you haven't noticed, photography is an expensive hobby!)
