What lens to buy for Nikon d3000? - 1

I have a Nikon D3000 and was wondering what a good lens for it would be. Right now I only have the kit lens which is 18-55 mm. I'm wanting to stay below $500 if that possible. I like to shoop pretty much anything and everything.

There's nothing wrong with the 18-55mm kit lens… It is how you use it…

you could spend 10, 000 on a lens and still not know how to use it…

try learning the basics… And then improve yourself…

different lenses do different things… Macro, wide angle, zoom, super zoom… Unless you know what you are wanting to shoot would depend what lens you need… Though i doubt you've even found your niche…

The above answer is very nice,

if you must spend you could grab a 50mm f1.8 for speed, and a 80-200mm perhaps to get you closer to the action,

a tripod maybe?

Look for a used 18~200. I have one and it is a fantastic good, general purpose all around town lens. It is sharp enuf for some 'some' serious work (but zooms all have their issues) and covers a nice range, IE 18~200mm. Not 'too' heavy and has a rather nice close focus range, even @ 200mm for them single wild flower type shots.

$500.

Hmm. You may want to save up a bit more coin and buy a used 18-200mm or 80-200mm f/2.8 lens. You may also want to look at the AF-S 50mm f/1.4 lens.

AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED for macro photography. (for about $500)
or
AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G. (for about $500)
or
AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D + AF Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4-5.6G telephoto (both for about $300) but neither would auto focus on D3000.

Depends on how long you've been shooting. A good second lens would be the 55-200 AF-S VR. Or a 35/1.8 DX AFS and a SB-600.

I recommend Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC AF OS (Optical Stabilizer)
Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
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