Ayupmidux,
over the course of last year I've got into trying to take decent pictures when out climbing and I've really got into it. I like to shoot pictures of people chuffing, landscapes and shots that are somewhere between the two.
I've also become increasingly aware of how frustrating it is to have so little control over the results with my point-and-shoot compact: the only input I'm having is in composing the pictures and a lot of the time I find that what I attempt to capture simply can't be achieved with what I have- when I do get good shots I don't really feel like I've had that much input into it, either.
I decided to borrow my mate's DSLR, which he barely uses and is always muttering about selling, to get an idea of what proper photography entails. I'm very keen on the results and the prospect of learning more so I'm considering buying it off him (or something similar if he won't sell it to me). I'd really appreciate some advice from the numerous experts on here before I take the plunge, though!
The body is a Nikon D200. It seems that this would be the only camera I'd need for a very long time, especially as I've learnt since I started using it that many of the things that I've been tweaking on it with knobs and buttons are accessed in software menus on many cameras. Am I missing something in this assumption?
The only lens is
a 24-85mm 1:2.8-4 which seems pretty cool to me but is also the only lens I've ever used on an SLR, so I have nothing to judge it against! How suitable is this for the kind of stuff I want to shoot? It seems very flexible to me but I'm aware that this isn't necessarily a good thing. If I was going to get another lens to supplement it what sort would be best and how soon do you think I'd find myself wanting to buy one? If I do splurge on this stuff I'd not really be keen on spending money again that soon.
Massive thanks in advance. Any advice appreciated!
