Photography noob needs some help

[Bimmerteck]

Buy a tripod, and leave the camera in manual mode, otherwise you should be good with what you have until you learn the controls and make sure your going to stick with the whole photography thing. Better glass will not make you a better photographer but knowing how to use the glass you already have to it's fullest extent will.

[Bavaria-guy]

Some good advice here guys, thank you. I think I will keep it for awhile and get used to it. I think my first upgrade will be the sb600 because ive already had a few instances where my stock flash just wasnt enough.

[B. Aust]

Advice from another amateur

Why not suggest he get to know the camera and the lenses he has instead of recommending that he go out and buy $2k worth of equipment right off the bat?

Agreed, I started with a Nikon D60 and I found that the 18-55 and a 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 was enough to get pretty good results, I got a Canon 7d yesterday with a 24-135 f/3.5-5.6 but that was after 3 years with the D60. So after my little story my advice would be keep what you have and get used to it until you find you have outgrown it, then perhaps look at the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G, it's a great little prime lens that will work with your crop frame DX sensor, and/or a 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF lens with Vibration Reduction and Extra Low Dispersion Glass which will give you an actual zoom of 105-450 because of your DX sensor. Just get to know what you have and whenever a situation arises when you find you cannot complete a task with what you have look into equipment that can.

PM me if you want anymore help

[Withers]

ya thats a good starter set up. however i would ditch the 18-55, get a tamron 17-50 2.8, an afs 35 1.8, and at least a sb600. that should be all you need for a while.

Why not suggest he get to know the camera and the lenses he has instead of recommending that he go out and buy $2k worth of equipment right off the bat?

[C.Johnston]

ya thats a good starter set up. however i would ditch the 18-55, get a tamron 17-50 2.8, an afs 35 1.8, and at least a sb600. that should be all you need for a while. that said, there is lots of people getting great results with what glass you have now on even older bodies. the afd 50 1.8 is a nice, cheap lens but will be mf only on your d3100.
congrats and welcome to nikon.

[Kielan]

Its a good entry level DSLR for sure. Get used to it, upgrade your glass as you get better, and you are sure you want to keep going with it. It takes time to get good, and even longer to be great. You will know when you are using the camera to its full potential and its time to upgrade. But for right now you have the ideal setup for a beginner, get out there and shoot as much as you can.

I recommend once you get better that you upgrade your lenses first (as these will be compatible with other Nikons down the road as you upgrade).

[Bavaria-guy]

Hey guys im just getting into photography and was looking for some advice. I just bought a Nikon D3100 on an impulse buy. It came with the 18-55mm lens and also a 55-200mm lens.(package deal). Is this camera decent or should I sell it and get something else? If I got some better lenses for it, could it be just as good as say a D90, D300, or a Canon Tsi? I guess i'm not looking to do this professionally but I would like to know that I have the right equipment that I could grow with. Any help would be greatly appreciated.