Nikon Newbie

[Jojoleen]

Hi! I'm new to this forum and new to NIkon. I have a Nikon FM circa '77 which i recently purchased from e-bay. The camera is great but i have only the lense it came with... 50mm 1:1.8 ( still have no idea what the #'s really mean!)
Anyway I am taking BW photography course in the fall (starting college at 39!!!!!) and want to start the class well prepared but i'm having trouble figuring out what lenses i might need the most and which ones work best w/ my camera in order to take advantage of AI S or AI??? on my camera (still very confused).
I've taken some great pics so far..none that look the least bit perfessional however.
I'm so excited to be working with this medium after years of dreaming. If anyone can offer some good advice I'd be so happy.

Nice to meet you all. Look forward to hearing from someone soon

Regards,
Jojoleen

[MountainRider]

Hi Jojoleen....Welcome to TN.

I'm not all that familiar with the Nikon film cameras, but doing a little research on yours, it seems you got a good one!

The lens you have is a fairly good low light and portrait lens.
The numbers on it indicate a 50mm fixed focal length and the 1.8 is the maximum aperature opening.
The smaller the number on aperature the wider the lens opening and vice versa....the larger the aperature number the smaller the maximum opening.
Heres a web site that will give you a bit more info on the letters and numbers, although it's geared more toward the digital lenses...
Nikon SLR Lenses
Really it depends on what kind of photography you like and matching the lenses you buy to that....
In other words if you like taking landscapes, a smaller focal length (or wide angle....18mm and smaller) lens is best.
If you like taking wildlife shots, a telephoto (200mm, 300mm, 400mm, 500mm and up) is best.
If you want to take pictures of bugs, a macro lens is best....
Or you can go with lenses that zoom that are still very good but not excellent for all three and other types of photography as well such as 12-24mm, 18-55mm, 18-200mm, 55-200mm, 70-300mm etc.

A warning here....Nikon lenses with a G designation will not work on your camera as there is no aperature ring on them.....

Heres a couple of web sites with more info on both your camera and lens...

Nikon 50 1.8 review

Nikon FM - Introduction

Also heres an excellent book I recommend that will help you get started before you take your photography course.
Understanding Exposure by Brian Peterson - a Reader Review

Again Welcome and please do post some of your pic's.