Reddit reviews Tokina Tokina 12-24mm F/4 PRO DX Autofocus Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

> scenic panoramass, portraits and some close-ups.

So... pretty much everything!

I'd grab a $200 18-55mm kit lens to start with. (Called the "kit" lens because it often comes in camera bundles.) It's a cheap-feeling, inexpensive lens with great optics. The mounting blades are made out of plastic. I broke mine at one point, but if you have a decent camera bag and you're reasonably careful, it should last you ~5 years or more.

Add a used 50mm f1.8 or 35mm for lower light and to learn to use a prime lens.

When you outgrow that, get older, used lenses that suit what you want to shoot. A macro (called "micro" by Nikon,) for tiny, close work. An ~85-200mm for portrait stuff. I really like the 60mm micro for small product shots. It's super-sharp, and good for up-close portraits and street shooting.


If you have more money to work with, you might look at the 16-85mm.

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There are two general types of lenses:

• Prime -- fixed focal-length
  
  
• Zoom -- adjustable focal length
  
  Prime lenses are simpler, and tend to be smaller. Prime lenses are generally sharper (though there are good & bad lenses of all sort,) while zooms are flexible. With a prime lens, you adjust the field of view with your feet. (Walking.) There are some fantastic, old Nikon lenses on the used market for not much money. Prime lenses tend to be "faster" lenses, meaning that they let in a lot of light.
  
  Zoom lenses incorporate lots of lens elements, and each one reduces the amount of light that makes it to the camera. Zoom lenses will have either a fixed maximum aperture size, meaning that they admit the same amount of light at every zoom setting, or they'll have a variable maximum aperture. The first kind is generally more expensive. The model designations will look like:
  
  
• Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 <- Variable max. aperture size (low number == bigger opening)
  
  
• Tokina 12mm - 24mm f/4 <- Max. aperture is always f/4 across all focal lengths
  
  Note: Links to Ken Rockwell's site often causes opinionated flamewar. I don't care, and will ignore.

/u/DeeDubb83 with a budget of $1000, this is about what I can come up with:

Body/basic lens: D3400 w/ 18-55mm f3.5-f5.6 ($496)

Tripod: Mefoto Backpacker ($150)

Wide angle: Used Tokina 12-24mm f/4

A high quality filter set will cost a pretty penny. One 6 stop filter should probably be sufficient to play around with, until you know for sure what filters you need/want. I've heard good things about Breakthrough Photo products: https://www.amazon.com/77mm-6-Stop-Filter-Camera-Lenses/dp/B00SLREWWG/ref=sr_1_1?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1503934284&sr=1-1&keywords=6+stop+nd+filter&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A1258881011%2Cp_89%3ABreakthrough+Photography

I'd also suggest looking at the 12-24mm version. If you don't need f/2.8, the extra focal range is extremely useful.

edit: Huh. Looks like they don't make it anymore. If you end up buying used and find one, don't pass it by without thinking about it. I love mine. Here's an Amazon link for it: http://amzn.com/B00099C2M6

I'm in the US, DC area. And yeah, the Tokina is for Nikon DX lenses. It's this lens. It was a great lens for landscapes, but when I upgraded to full frame, I didn't have much use for it. It'd come with the box, lens hood, 77mm polarizer and UV filter. PM me if you're interested!

edit- there are some compatibility notes to pay attention to re:autofocus working. It depends on what model Nikon you have if the autofocus would work, or you'd have to do it manually.

A Nikon D90. And I believe it was shot with my Tokina 12-24mm may have been the Nikon 24-70mm though, can't remember.