D3200 with twin lens kit

mally

Hi to all,
For Christmas my wife has bought me the Nikon D3200 with two lens kit - 18-55mm VR11, the new collapsed lens, and the 55-200mm VR lens.
My problem is I cannot use it until Christmas.
This is my first DSLR and I am so excited.
Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.
Thanks to all, Mally

bruto

This combo will work very well. The components are well matched and the image quality is very good.

My main advice is to make sure that you download to your computer the full manual that is on the CD. The paper manual that comes in the box is not complete. There are a few details in areas such as the choice of ISO and the way that auto ISO works, that are not terribly well documented, but the manual will tell you most of what you need if you read it.

In fact, you can go to the Nikon website and download the manual from them. You could even do some pre-reading before you unwrap.

Remember it's digital, and this means that you can take as many pictures as you want. Don't be afraid to make lots of mistakes and to experiment. You can erase as many as you like. If you want to figure out exactly what the difference is between one setting and another, the best way to do this is to try it. Take lots of pictures, even of things you have no interest in, so you can learn how settings differ and what you can and cannot do. Something like a shelf of books or a house plant can tell you a great deal about how depth of field varies, how different ISO speeds compare, and such.

If this is your first experience with similar cameras, a couple of cautions.

First of all, try not to leave your body without a lens on it for any length of time so that neither the camera's innards nor the inner end of the lens gets dusty or dirty. Be a little careful outdoors especially.

Second, be aware that on many AF lenses there is no manual focus override. In other words, if you try to adjust manual focus when it's set for AF you will damage the lens. Some higher end lenses let you turn the focus ring with AF on, but I am pretty sure neither of the ones here does. So if you want manual focus of any kind, you must switch the lens to MF. It's not a real problem since the AF is likely to be spot on and there are all sorts of ways you can select what you focus on, and recompose as needed. Don't try to force the focus ring.

Mostly, read the manual, fire away, and have fun. It may be relatively small and relatively cheap as DSLR's go, but it's a very powerful and versatile machine.

JMH3200

Get hold of the D3200 for Dummies.
Everything explained in Layman's English.
It also contains instructions not in the Nikon user manual. Best £14 I ever spent.

mally

Thank you very much Bruto. It's very good advice and I am eagerly looking forward to Christmas!!.
I have now downloaded the PDF file and started to read and learn the camera. The PDF link
is on this site, thanks to Moose.
I will be back later. All the best everybody.

Also thanks to JMH3200. I think I will invest in that book. I have already been told about it. If I'm lucky it may be waiting for me under the Christmas tree.