Will this work?

[Smithjm5]

I've been looking at picking up a used camera body from KEH, probably a Nikon 3000 or something similar in price and wanted to know a good lens, I have a ada 60-f tank at the moment and its hard for me to get everything in frame sense it's in a pretty small room I have to get pretty close when taking pictures. Would something like a 50mm 1.8 be a pretty decent lens for this?

[seabass]

That's a nice lens in general, but not a wide angle lens. If the space is very small you might not be able to get a full tank shot.

... its hard for me to get everything in frame sense it's in a pretty small room I have to get pretty close when taking pictures.

What camera/lens are you currently using?

[Smithjm5]

That's a nice lens in general, but not a wide angle lens. If the space is very small you might not be able to get a full tank shot.

 

What camera/lens are you currently using?

I don't have anything atm haha just my iphone lol, Is there a good all around lens you'd recommend for tank shots? I'm not bias to canon or nikon so it doesn't really matter which one to me

[seabass]

Are you set on a DSLR, or open to a fixed lens camera? What's your budget?

[Smithjm5]

Are you set on a DSLR, or open to a fixed lens camera? What's your budget?

Yea, i've had a canon t3i before but had to sell it. So I have a general idea of how to use it in manual so I'm not completely clueless on how to use it, I just don't know much about lenses and what's good for certain scenarios if that makes sense. I'd like to pick up a used body and try to stay under $300 for the camera and probably the same price range for a lens.

[seabass]

I think you could pick up a used kit lens for either Canon or Nikon for about $50. That might give you a wide enough lens for a full tank shot (and still allow you to take pics of coral). The 50mm that you mentioned is a good prime lens to have, and they are pretty cheap (even new). The 50mm should give you sharper pictures than most zoom lenses.

 

IDK, if you are looking for a lens that's wide angle, macro, and telephoto, you might get something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-18-250mm-f3-5-6-3-Digital-Cameras/dp/B008B48AAE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401996547&sr=8-1&keywords=sigma+zoom+lens

[Smithjm5]

I think you could pick up a used kit lens for either Canon or Nikon for about $50. That might give you a wide enough lens for a full tank shot (and still allow you to take pics of coral). The 50mm that you mentioned is a good prime lens to have, and they are pretty cheap (even new). The 50mm should be sharper than a kit zoom lens.

 

IDK, if you are looking for a lens that's wide angle, macro, and telephoto, you might get something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-18-250mm-f3-5-6-3-Digital-Cameras/dp/B008B48AAE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401996547&sr=8-1&keywords=sigma+zoom+lens

That's probably what i'll do then, I appreciate your help! And i'm sure that macro will be great for coral shots too.

 

Are there any camera bodies that are particularly good/better than the others in that price range?

[seabass]

This seems like a pretty good deal: http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D3100-Digital-Camera-Included/dp/B005PREXF6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1402002090&sr=8-5&keywords=nikon+d3100

Possibly a gray market product - support from Nikon might not exist (still, a nice camera).

 

Then remember (if that Sigma lens seems like a good fit) you'll need a Nikon mount: http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-18-250mm-f3-5-6-3-Digital-Cameras/dp/B008B4893M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402002257&sr=8-2&keywords=sigma+nikon+zoom+macro

[Smithjm5]

This seems like a pretty good deal: http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-D3100-Digital-Camera-Included/dp/B005PREXF6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1402002090&sr=8-5&keywords=nikon+d3100

Gray market - support from Nikon might not exist (still, a nice camera).

 

Then remember (if that Sigma lens seems like a good fit) you'll need a Nikon mount: http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-18-250mm-f3-5-6-3-Digital-Cameras/dp/B008B4893M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1402002257&sr=8-2&keywords=sigma+nikon+zoom+macro

That is a pretty good deal, would they not support it because it's an older model?

[seabass]

Nikon D3100 Digital SLR Camera Body (Kit Box) No Lens Included (Import Model)

I think that means the kit lens has been unbundled. I'm not sure what "Import Model" means; maybe it wasn't originally supposed to be sold in the US, IDK.

[Smithjm5]

I think that means the kit lens has been unbundled. I'm not sure what "Import Model" means; maybe it wasn't originally supposed to be sold in the US, IDK.

I'll look into it Thanks seabass!