Lens considerations

cowasaki

cowasaki

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As I have been saying I am saving up for a D700 like mad then all of a sudden I have been placed in a position where I will earn quite a bit of overtime over the next few months. Now I initially thought about upgrading the D200 to a D300 as well but I think it would be more beneficial to upgrade my glass.

What lenses should I be looking at? The 24-120 I have been assured by people I trust is not really very good!

I really like portraits so I had considered the 85mm f1.4 or 1.8 plus maybe a sigma 20mm but what about a quality zoom??

I really thought that the 17-55 would be ideal but having just looked at it it appears to be a DX! I have a budget of around £1000-1200 for the lens(es) and my current lenses are:

Nikon AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR DX IF
Nikon AF 50 f1.8
Nikon AF-S 105mm f/2.8 F2.8 G IF-ED
& I am buying a sigma 20 shortly 2nd hand

+ ON THE D1x which lives in the car/at work ---- another Nikon AF 50 f1.8 + Nikon AFS 18-55 f3.5-5.6 VR DX + Tamron AF55-200MM F4-5.6 LD macro.

I will be keeping the D200 so the 18-200 will virtually live on that giving me 2 prime lenses for the D700. I normally use 130mm or less on my D200 so that would be up to 200mm FX but most of it is 105 or less (but I have a 105) so up to 85 would be perfect.

If there is a quality Zoom in that range how does it ACTUALLY compare with cheaper lenses???

Anyone seen a comparison of say....

Nikon AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR DX IF
Nikon AFS 18-55 f3.5-5.6 VR DX
Lens XXX

Thanks everyone, this is going to be a lot of hard overtime so I really want to get it right. Also I will now delay the D700 purchase till I can get the lens too in order to try and get a better deal (also the replacement might just come out). I will be looking at the purchase at the end of August now or September if I need even more dosh :)
 
Apart from a range of primes, that I have learned to love to use .. there are two FX zoom lenses that I've loved on my D700 ...

1) 24-70 /2.8 AF-S
2) 70-300 AF-S VR

The 24-70 AF-S UK price seems within the range you're looking at; it gives you a very good working range and image quality is top notch.

24-70 on an FX is very close to 17-55 on DX .. this lens is just amazing.

As for the 24-120 VR; I had one of these and my copy was very good and sharp; but it doesn't measure up to a good constant prime, and it would not be fair to think of comparing it to the 24-70 AF-S.

The 85/1.4 is a fantastic bit of toy. I am not much into portraits, but I am a big fan of shallow dof and that's where my f/1.4 primes come in. This lens just rocks. It's sharp, fast, magical bokeh and part of my joy in shooting with primes.

I'd say your two options are either the 24-70 AF-S or the 85/1.4 ..
 
Couple of older ones to consider, as well as the ones above

35-70 f2.8D used around £300
28-105 f3.5-f4.5D used around £150

Both of these offer great results especially for the price, you would have enough left for an 85mm f1.4
 
I'd echo Wail's comments on several points.

If you can get the 24-70 for your budget then GET ONE!!!!! It is an astonishingly good lens.

The 85 1.4 is equally stunning but for obvious reasons less flexible

The 24-120, whilst much maligned is really not that bad, but with the quality of the sensor on the D700 you really should get the best glass you can afford. Otherwise it's a bit like putting a putting a Ferrari engine in a Daihatsu or playing Spice Girls CD's on a Naim CD player (apologies to Daihatsu owners and Spice Girls fans)
 
I am being seriously drawn to the 24-70 so I will have:

In my main bag

With the D700

Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8 (I will eventually replace this with the 1.4)
Nikon AF-S 105mm f/2.8 F2.8 G IF-ED
Sigma 20mm f1.8 EX DG (sooooon)
Nikon AF-S 24-70 f2.8 (with the D700)

With the D200

Nikon AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR DX IF (plus any of the above ones that are free!)

========

Currently using at work / living in car

With the D1x

Nikon AF-S 18-55 vr
Tamron 55-200
Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8

Then next year I will pick up a D300 to replace the D200, the D200 will replace the D1x and the D1x will be ripped apart and IRd !!!!!

My wish list will then be headed by the 70-200 f2.8

===========

The annoying thing is that I cannot try the 24-70 or the 70-200 or the D700 because I cannot find anywhere that actually has them in stock!! I rang Calumet in Manchester and they have sold their D700. I want to take all my kit and try different combinations etc. It is a lot of money and I do not want to make a mistake.
 
Oh and how do the Nikon and Sigma 70-200s compare, there is a lot of difference in price ie

Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 APO EX DG HSM MACRO MKII @ about £640

Nikon AFS 70-200mm f2.8 @ about £1200 !!
 
There's a lot of nonsense bandied around about the Nikon 70-200 being terribly soft at the edges and badly vignetting on full frame sensors.

Granted the corners are (very slightly) soft wide open and it can vignette a bit wide open but this lens is sharp, sharp, sharp and beautifully built. I think you would struggle to find any 2.8 70-200 lens which didn't display some corner softness and vignetting. I have seen people who say the 70-300 VR lens is sharper - whilst it's a fine lens (especially for the price) this simply isn't the case if you compare shots taken at the same aperture oneach lens

One of the silliest things I ever did was to sell mine when I got an M8 outfit - I bought it for a very reasonable price but, now having moved back to a Nikon DSLR, the price has moved well beyond my reach

I can't speak for the Sigma equivalent but reviews I have read have been very positive
 
cowasaki said:
Oh and how do the Nikon and Sigma 70-200s compare, there is a lot of difference in price ie

Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 APO EX DG HSM MACRO MKII @ about £640

Nikon AFS 70-200mm f2.8 @ about £1200 !!
Click to expand...

I've not used the 70-200mm VR however I have used both the Nikon (two-ring) 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D and AF-S lenses...in long comparison tests against my neighbours Sigma (the one you mentioned above) the Nikon's trump it, particularly in AF speed and accuracy.
 
Cowasaki....to help you rationalise yourself a bit.

Why the hell are you keeping the d200 and lens? If you have the D700 you HAVE a D200/300/2x inside it already....just use the crop mode, it is a one button flick and you go to DX crop immediately.

SELL the D200 and 18-200. Plenty on here grateful for a bargain.

Buy the D700.
24-70AFS
70-200AFS

The times you will need anything wider than the 24 can be counted on the fingers of one hand. SOMETIMES I use the 17-35 for interiors, but often the 24 is wide enough and I can't be bothered to change them over, not for a couple of inches of the inside a boat cabin. I also have a 16 f2.8 D fisheye, which when fiddled with in NX can be rectilineared to give huge wide coverage (square edge fisheye if you like).

Anything else you need after those two lenses, you can get as you go along. There is a BOOOTIFUL 14 f2.8 prime, or the old standard of 18mm f3.5 is still a fantastic lens - heavy though, as is the 14-24, which is why I prefer the 17-35, I just wouldn't use the extra couple of degrees often enough to put up with having to lug it about. I will make do or just go back one step to shoot!

The whole Nikon pro system has been developed around the 3 main lenses - so pros can cover EVERYTHING from 14 - 200 with just 3 lenses. Job done. That is 95% of anyone's shooting taken care of. For anything over and above that, you get the purpose lens for the job, so shift lenses for architecture and even a macro shift lens now or long toms for motorsport and tennis etc. day to day, the first 3 have got it covered, and in most cases, just the 2 lenses are all you use.

Buy for the majority of your use, and then just top up for the other few %.

I have a Nikon AF1 500 f4, I think I have used twice in the last 2 years. I can't bring myself to get rid of it, but common sense would say it would be better going and using the 300 2.8 with a converter, for the amount of times I would have to do that.....but I did a LOT of work with it back along and it is an old friend. Sentiment shouldn't really come into it!
 
Lensflare said:
Cowasaki....to help you rationalise yourself a bit.

Why the hell are you keeping the d200 and lens? If you have the D700 you HAVE a D200/300/2x inside it already....just use the crop mode, it is a one button flick and you go to DX crop immediately.

SELL the D200 and 18-200. Plenty on here grateful for a bargain.

Buy the D700.
24-70AFS
70-200AFS

The times you will need anything wider than the 24 can be counted on the fingers of one hand. SOMETIMES I use the 17-35 for interiors, but often the 24 is wide enough and I can't be bothered to change them over, not for a couple of inches of the inside a boat cabin. I also have a 16 f2.8 D fisheye, which when fiddled with in NX can be rectilineared to give huge wide coverage (square edge fisheye if you like).

Anything else you need after those two lenses, you can get as you go along. There is a BOOOTIFUL 14 f2.8 prime, or the old standard of 18mm f3.5 is still a fantastic lens - heavy though, as is the 14-24, which is why I prefer the 17-35, I just wouldn't use the extra couple of degrees often enough to put up with having to lug it about. I will make do or just go back one step to shoot!

The whole Nikon pro system has been developed around the 3 main lenses - so pros can cover EVERYTHING from 14 - 200 with just 3 lenses. Job done. That is 95% of anyone's shooting taken care of. For anything over and above that, you get the purpose lens for the job, so shift lenses for architecture and even a macro shift lens now or long toms for motorsport and tennis etc. day to day, the first 3 have got it covered, and in most cases, just the 2 lenses are all you use.

Buy for the majority of your use, and then just top up for the other few %.

I have a Nikon AF1 500 f4, I think I have used twice in the last 2 years. I can't bring myself to get rid of it, but common sense would say it would be better going and using the 300 2.8 with a converter, for the amount of times I would have to do that.....but I did a LOT of work with it back along and it is an old friend. Sentiment shouldn't really come into it!
Click to expand...

Thanks, that does make sense :) but I think I just like the idea of having two decent camera bodies with a backup should one fail.

Crop mode only gives 5Mp rather than 10+Mp but the eventual PLAN is that I will be turning the D1x into a permanent IR camera and replacing the D1x in my car/work setup with the D200 (which I can then use as a backup when I do an event).

I have already agreed a purchase of a Sigma 20mm prime and I already own the AF 50mm f1.8, AFS 105mm f2.8 vr and will almost certainly get the 24-70 with the D700. My studio is only 13.5' X 9.5' so the 20mm will be quite useful :)

I think selling the 18-200 would be a plan at some point soon. It is a great lens but I might just sell the Tamron 55-200 and Nikon AFS 18-55 vr and replace them both with it in my car/work setup. Also as my whole family is getting into photography now the 18-200 is an ideal lens as a family share! My son is looking at doing A level photography next year so I will need to get him a camera too (and the D200 might actually go that way when the D400 comes out and D300s drop to the current D200 price of £400-500)

I will then save up for the 70-200 as my next lens plus a 1.4 TC

After that I think I will be spending any spare cash on going places to actually use my camera :)
 
I've recently bought a D700 and went for the 14-24 f/2.8 and the 24-70 /2.8. I already had the 105 f/2.8 and the 50mm f/1.8. I also have the 70-300 which I use quite alot. I fid that these selection of lenses covers all my needs with the D700. I didn't buy the 70-200 f/2.8 as after renting one, I found that to get the best out of it on the D700 I had to stop down a couple of stops. Whilst I agree that many have made far too much of the softness and vignetting that occurs with this lens on the FX format bodies, I wouldn't pay over £1,500 for a lens that comes with such known inherant issues. The rumour mill also suggests that Nikon may release a 70-200 MKII next spring, the design/composition of which will counter these issues - so I'll just wait and see. I agree with what has already been said about the 24-70 f/2.8 - it's a great lens, pin sharp and my 'workhorse' -a must have piece of kit.

My back-up is my D300 with an 18-200 pretty much permanantly fixed to it. I find the 18-200 is reasonable for most general out of the bag shots.
 
Thanks Big Dog, that is useful. I was still umming and arring over the "pro" lens to buy but the 24-70 has got to be the most useful range. We seem to have a VERY similar camera collection! I love the 50 and 105 mm primes. I was contemplating a Sigma 10-20 but I do live primes and the Sigma 20mm will nicely do the very wide. The D200 with 18-200 is a great backup with the SB600.
 
Skinned cat in the freezer kind of thing....

i like cats, but I can't eat a whole one.
 
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