Help deciding what new lens to buy?
I have a Nikon d3100 and want to buy a new lens for it. I have the 18-55mm and the 55-200mm that came with it in a bundle, I'm taking a trip to new york in a couple months so one that is an overall good lens would help, i don't mind purchasing used. My budget is Under 400-500 dollars. I love taking pictures of the places i go and with all the people i see.
I don't know which would be the best for you, but here are the search results for "Nikon d3100" in the Lenses category, priced at $500 or less, ordered from most to least expensive:
http://www.ebay.com/...1&_ipg=200
Once you decide which lens you want, give eBay a try.
If you don't see what you want, and you can't find what you want anywhere else, you could go to ebuyersedge.com and set up a saved search for "Nikon d3100" or whatever it is that you want your keyword or phrase to be. You'd get an e-mail whenever a new match is listed on eBay. You can use the price, category, etc.filters to narrow down the results that you receive in the e-mails.
If you find what you want listed in auction format, use a sniping site like hidbid.com to bid for you.It'll bid in the last few seconds of an auction, helping to save you money and avoid shill bidding.
If you live in the US you're better off buying new lens from inside the US, one: you will get the warranty from the manufacturer, two: from Ebay the lens may come from overseas and if something go wrong you will have to deal with overseas bs warranty.
Basically a do it all lens is pretty much an 18-200mm lens like the Nikon 18-200mm.
Now if you look at what you already have you can clearly see that you already cover this with your 18-55mm and 55-200mm lens. So there's no need to waist money on a lens like that.
This leave you with a few options to look at.
-Super wide angle lens to get a larger angle of view.
One that will fit your budget would be the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5, 6 or Tokina 12-24mm f/4.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/...X_124.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/...EX_DC.html
-Fix focal length like the 35mm f/1, 8 - 50mm f/1, 8G - 50mm f/1, 4G, Sigma 50mm f/1, 4 would fit your budget. I recommend that you scotch your lens to 35mm for a few days and try it out to see if you would like the feel of 35mm, do the same with 50mm.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/..._1_8G.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/..._1_8G.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/..._1_4G.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/..._4_EX.html
-Sb unit flashgun like the sb700. This can be useful to give you a little pop but it might kill the mood. Though It will give better result than the pop up flash because you can control where you send the light and you can use it off camera with the SU-4 mode (No automatism, only manual).
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/...Mount.html
-Or if want to change your 18-55mm to get a fast lens, the Tamron 17-50mm f/2, 8 non VC fit your budget.
Would you go to a restaurant and buy a dish called kinda roast chicken? I doubt it. Don't buy off brand lenses, they suck. The joy of a low price is payed back with the agony of what you actually get. Go to NY and have a blast, you'll know a lot better after than now. Life has its ways, and you'll be better off after.
You don't a need a new lens for your trip. What you have is enough and you would be mostly shooting with the 18-55mm anyway to get as much of the scene as you can. If you really want to spend, may I suggest an external flash? You won't be able to use it in museums but it will be great for indoor shots where it's allowed.