Help in purchasing a camera? - 2

I'm going to be buying a nikon d5100 within this next week.
There's one I'm looking at that includes the shoulder bag, a 4gb memory card, a 18-55mmVR lens and a 55-300mmVR lens going for 1200 dollars. Is that a deal? What are the essential lenses for this nikon?
There's another one going for 850 dollars including the 18-55 kit lens. With a coupon for 200 dollars of a 70-55 lens and 150 off a 55-300 with purchase of the camera.
I'd probably buy extra warranty on top of both of these cameras, but which works out at the better deal?
Is it worth buying the first one with the bag, dvd, guide and memory card?
Are they all essentials? Would it be cheaper to buy them separately?
Which lenses are the best?

Afraid this probably isn't exactly going to satisfactorily answer your question but hopefully a few points may be able to help you decide. Firstly, the sort of lens(es) you might need depend on the types of photography you are likely to participate in. You can often get good deals with kit lenses when buying the lens/camera at once. An 18-55mm and 55-300mm will give you an excellent range to cover. Before jumping on it however, I would look at the price of a Nikon 18-200mm VR II lens. There isn't actually a huge zoom difference from missing out between 200mm to 300mm and it means you only have to carry one, not two, lenses. It may be a bit more expensive though. Best to check out reviews of all 3 of these lenses, and their prices, so you can make an informed decision.

Whilst deals often give you a whole package with everything you need (and yes, you will need a camera bag/memory card), they often aren't perfect. I personally choose to buy things separately even though they cost a bit more. If i know exactly what product(s) I want however I often look for reputable sellers on eBay for good deals on non fragile things like memory cards and/or bags. Look for genuine items at lower than store-prices!

One thing with any DSLR to look out for is a good memory card! The D5100 can shoot up to 4 fps and that's a lot of data that has to go on the memory card in a hurry - cheaper cards are almost always slower. I personally will only shoot with Sandisk cards (looking in their Ultra or Extreme range - the higher the range the faster the card) but there's a diverse range of reputable brands out there. Try and find something that can transfer at least 15-20MB per second.

So in a nutshell: Are they all essentials? Well you need a memory card, at least one lens and of course the camera. Would it be cheaper to buy them separately? Worth looking into but probably not. Is it still better to go with a deal: personal opinion in what it is you want and how fussy you are over speed, quality, amount of equipment, weight etc. Which lenses are the best? It's not a question of the best, you need to find a balance between quality, functionality and price. It sounds like you're more interested in the balance between functionality and price at this stage and that you're not quite looking for a $13, 000 lens.

Hope this helps; good luck making a decision and enjoy the new camera whatever you choose!