help picking a lens

got the wife a D300
this her first SLR
I got it with the 18-200 image stabilization lens

she loves it but would like a smaller lens also

I have no idea about these things and need some help please!

I see that alot of yall like the 50mm
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?shs=nikkor+50mm&ci=0&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&Initi alSearch=yes&O=catalog.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t


is that the way to go, or should I get her something with some range
like 18-55mm

also
I see that Nikon offers different types
http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php?cat=1&grp=5
for example:
standard
silent wave motor

I don't think she wants a wide angle lens

which is best for general photography

I am guessing that the lower the f/# the better the range....?
F/1.8D vs. F/1.4D

I know it's a lot to ask....cause I don't know much
but I appreciate any advice

also
the lady at our local camera shop recommended a Tamron 200-700mm lens for shooting wakeboarding
she said it's around $800-900

what do yall think of that range?

Tamron doesn't make a 200-700mm lens. So either you misheard or the camera lady doesn't know what she is talking about.

First.... D300 for a first DSLR... Nice can't go wrong with Nikon's top of the line cameras.

But a camera is only as good as the lens. Great glass on a cheap body gives better results then cheap glass on a great body. So it's usually a good rule of thumb to invest in expensive lenses. However shooting wakeboarding means shooting during the day so low f stops is not necessarily needed. I don't think anything more that 200mm would be necessary for wakeboarding. With that said, your 18-200 hits that range. And at f/5.6, it will be fine in daylight. But if you want better glass, look at Nikkors 70-200 f/2.8 or even the 80-200 f/2.8. The Nikon 300mm & 400mm are so expensive you won't be looking at them. If you want a big range, I have heard some decent things about the Sigma "Bigma" 50-500. But also understand, big lenses on your camera make it very heavy.

As for the 50mm. I absolutely love mine. My best shots have come from that lens and it will teach you a lot about photography. The f/1.8 is fine as the f/1.4 doesn't justify the added cost. The f/1.4 is built better but optically they are similar.

what can I say, I like to spoil the wife!
she is the type of person that will study and practice till she grows into the D300

my bad, A.P. the lady was talking about 200-500mm
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ykGIEZbgzPY/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?I=702AF08N


so do you think that the 50mm in the above link will do well on the D300
or Have I bought a camera that I need a higher end 50mm to work ?
thanks

What do you have for a wide angle? I like my 12-24mm and use it quite a bit. Mine is a Tokina, which gets pretty good reviews for half the money of the Nikkor. Both brands of the 12-24's have a high F-stop though. The lens for well for indoor parties (Strobe needed), shooting wide shoots of course, etc.

The 18-200mm I am not really happy with, but it does work great when carrying only one lens and going, like when backpacking or MTB riding.

The SB800 or other high quality strobe is a must have. Mine gets used all the time.

The reason that 50mm are so cheap is that they are mass produced and became cheaper to build. 50mm is about equivalent to the human eye. So what your eye sees, the camera will capture. The 50mm f/1.8 is perfectly fine for the D300. You will see that it looks like it was built cheaply (and it was) but the optics are impressive.

I have the Nikkor 18-200 also. It's not bad but indoors it is horrible. So my nifty fifty is on my camera most of the time.

As for the Tamron... it's not getting great reviews. Sounds like the auto focus is slow. So in an constantly moving sport like wakeboarding, you are more likely going to get out of focus pictures.

But check the reviews yourself.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

You want to improve your photography dramatically? Get the 50mm f/1.8 and a SB800 flash. A good flash will make more of a difference they any lens.

just a quick note: you dont need fast focus for shooting wakeboarding from the boat. Set the focus once and forget about it, the rider is staying at the same distance right

Peter
she doesn't have a wide angle

but I will look into the strobe,wide angle, and the 50mm from Santa

thanks for all of the help!

"just a quick note: you dont need fast focus for shooting wakeboarding from the boat. Set the focus once and forget about it, the rider is staying at the same distance right"

Not necessarily, depends on your focal length and f-stop.

The 200-500 is a wildlife lens and really only in good light. (or shooting from the shore I guess)

200mm on a 1.6X sensor from the boat will be in pretty tight on your rider.

The 70-300mm VR is a decent lens for wakeboarding. Not that expensive either.
A work associate has done some really nice wildlife shots in action with that lens & D300 combo.
I'll see if I can get her website so you can see.

I have the 80-200 mm f2.8 and that thing weighs a LOT.
Nikon just came out with a nice super wide angle lens 14-24mm f2.8. Too bad it costs the same as the D300.

Rich, I'm not understanding your statement. could you expand on that. My friend just turned 30 and we had a big party for him last night, so my brain may be a bit slow today

Chris, this is based mostly from shooting Canon bodies from the boat so I can't speak for sure about Nikons (which I've heard have excellent AF). My normal procedure is to lock the shutter at a 1000th or more/adjust the ISO a tad so the aperture floats between f5.6 to f8 when I'm shooting WB'ing from the tow boat. Since the 5D's AIservo was not that great tracking the rider I'd AF right before the shot/or seq. of shots and just let her rip at 3fps LOL. With the 1d3 I use aiservo which on this body effectively tracks the rider and using the same lens I can see the better results. All of my shots are ultra sharp using the same lenses even though the rider is usually all with in the DOF of the 70-200 at the f-stops mentioned above. Switching back to my 5D procedure while using the mkIII gave me the same results as I got with the 5D, shots were in focus but not ultra sharp in many of them. Another thing to keep in mind is that with some tricks the rider generates a lot of slack in the line during the trick, in those cases his overall position with regards to distance to the boat could change significantly.