Good Value Nikon F lens - what's yours?

BillN_33

BillN_33

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I have just been reviewing my collection of Nikon lens and I just noticed the price of used Nikon AF-S 300mm F2.8 G VR lens on eBay - this is a big and maybe heavy lens but it's a great lens - I've had mine for quite a few years and a few years ago it would have set you back £3k used - they are now selling for £1k - but as I said in my opinion it's a very very good lens and can be used with Nikon TC's

Here's a couple of images of one of my grand kids - uncropped jpegs at f2.8

(what do you think?)

@ f2.8 - ISO 500
TP_William_f28_1.jpg


@ f2.8 - ISO 2000
TP_William_f28_2.jpg



I also used it a lot for nature with the 1.4TC, 1.7TC and 2.0TC

Big crop using the x2 Nikon TC @ f8

TP_KF.jpg


another big crop 300mm @ f8 - ISO 400
TP_Corm.jpg
 
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ashishtamhane said:
I got a Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D for 150 quid. Pretty great price for that lens I believe.
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It is but (it was) as much about the background wide open - of course the lens has to be very "sharpe" with great colour rendition - I am not sure what will now happen with all this AI stuff maybe there will be a "programme" to emulate this - but in my mind "glass is glass" and "light is light" - e.g. look at some of the glass that has been made by Leica over the years, (the Leica "look" as it is described) - I'm sure many may disagree so it's just my opinion.

But my point of the thread is that there are some great Nikon F mount lenses out there at very good prices now that the Z line is taking over
 
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I swapped out my old Nikon kit for a new set of lenses to go with my new Z6 recently (moved from DX D7100). Everything was second hand including the camera and i mostly added F mount glass. The standouts to me are the Nikon 50mm 1.8G and 70-200 2.8 VR (Mk I) - both sold as heavily used, not both take super sharp images and work flawlessly. At £50 for the 50mm it was a definite bargain. The 70-200 was under £300 too and still is taking sharp shots. I also bought a Sigma 105mm DG OS macro lens, which is obviously sharp as all macro lenses are and for under £200 was also a bargain.


The FTZ is really a remarkable device and neatly avoids having to spend the absurd amounts being asked for Z glass.
 
My best value F mount lens has to be the 50/1.8 AF that I got for £45 some years back. Been tempted to trade it in against an f/1.4 but have been advised not to by the salespersons on both occasions.
 
I definitely agree on the F-mount lenses being bargains and one of the main reasons I bought a Z8 camera to be able to use my older Nikon lenses. The 70-200mm 2.8 mk1 is the one I'm enjoying the most and think I paid £1800 or so for it way back in 2009 but I think it's just around £300 now, I like the output lens but also surprised the AF seems to do a decent job keeping up with the Z8.
 
JohnMcL7 said:
I definitely agree on the F-mount lenses being bargains and one of the main reasons I bought a Z8 camera to be able to use my older Nikon lenses. The 70-200mm 2.8 mk1 is the one I'm enjoying the most and think I paid £1800 or so for it way back in 2009 but I think it's just around £300 now, I like the output lens but also surprised the AF seems to do a decent job keeping up with the Z8.
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Yep the 70 - 200mm f2.8 VR - (the first version), is a great lens and now a bargain - maybe too big and heavy for some, but at the current price - it is a quality Nikon lens
 
70-200 f/2.8 VRii seem very cheap.
Sigma 24-105 f/4 is really nice for not too much money used. Might be a bit heavy for mirrorless but fine on a full frame DSLR.
35mm f/2 is a really fun lens with a lot of character. It is a D lens so ftz doesn't autofocus with it.
Tokina 14-20 f/2 is fantastic if you do landscapes in DX. About as good as the equivalent primes if they existed in DX (which they don't).
Nikon 18-55 AF-P DX is pretty good for very little money on later DX cameras.
Nikon 18-70 DX is really good for such a cheap lens, particularly on earlier DX cameras which can't correct chromatic aberrations automatically.
70-300 AF-P DX is not super-sharp and is a bit slow/dark but is very handy to carry around if you want a spare lens with lots of reach.
 
This is maybe the best place to ask, what's the best option for a 600mmish lens to use on the Z8? I have a Tamron 150-600mm G1 I think it is in F-mount it's one of the few lenses that doesn't work with the FTZ adapter. I wasn't a huge fan of the lens as I don't need that focal length often and it's a fairly hefty lens but looking over the options I'm not seeing any big bargains and was leaning towards the Sigma Contemporary 150-600mm but there may be a better option I'm missing...or it may not exist, I realise it's asking a lot.
 
BillN_33 said:
does anyone have the Nikon 200mm f2 VR?
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I was about to post.... I had the 200 f2 vrii for a while... paired to a d5, and for under 2k, it's sensational. It is heavy and not as well balanced as the canon 200 f2, but for sports, I think it's the best focusing lens nikon made for the f mount
 
THIRTYFIVEMILL said:
One lens which can now be had at absolute bargain basement prices is the Nikon AF-S Zoom Nikkor ED 17-35mm F/2.8 IF. It's a stunning lens. I've just picked up another one myself to use wit the ZF.
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same consideration with the "G" lens which has VR - if you are happy with f4, it's a wide angle anyway, then the Nikon 16-35mm f4 G AF-S ED VR lens is worth a look

D810 f8 un-cropped

TP_train_Carrage_SA.jpg
 
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