Reddit mentions of Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED Vibration Reduction Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras - (New)

> 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.

So yeah get the D3300 and I'd recommend just getting the body and the Nikon 35mm 1.8 lense will give you much sharper images than the stock kit lense, plus the wider aperture will allow for more of a shallow depth of field (blurred background) and allows for pictures to be taken in less light without flash or tripod . And you can work up from there

http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-35mm-1-8G-Digital-Cameras/dp/B001S2PPT0

From the 35mm I'd recommend this lesne next

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001EO6W8K/ref=mp_s_a_1_26?qid=1419561419&sr=8-26&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

These pictures were taken with a Nikon D90 with a Nikon 18-105mm lens and a Tamron AF200-400 f/5.6 LD. I'm a hobby photographer and any form of constructive criticism would be appreciated!

You will also want to look at aperture if possible (Most kit lenses have a 3.5-5.6 aperture anyways). If you can get a kit lense with something lower thats really good. Also you might want to look at focusing distance, especially if you plan on doing macro photography. In addition Optical Image Stabilization (Nikon calls its lenses with Optical Image Stabilization "VR") can help a lot in preventing blurry photos.

For most kit lenses the higher the zoom range the more spread out the aperture is. For example: My 18-105 mm lense dose F3.5 at 18 mm, F4 at 50 mm and F5.6 at 105 mm. The worse 18-55 mm lense does F3.5 at 18 mm and F5.6 at 105 mm. So in some ways the zoom capability does mean better performance as a lense. You want as low a possible aperture as possible.

The kit lense i would recommend is this
(You can also buy it separately). Although I am not sure this particular kit is available in the US (bought it in Germany).

Should you decide to go with the body only and 1-2 lenses separately I would recommend getting a 50 mm prime with something like a F1.8 aperture for portraits as well as a simple zoom lense.