Off on an adventure and need nikon advice!

[polochick]

Hi all,
Came across this wonderful forum the other day when I was looking for classifieds, and was hoping you could advise me. I'm off on an 18 month adventure in South America and am upgrading my kit accordingly, as I think this is going to be a once in a lifetime trip. I want to be able to shoot interiors (think restaurant reviews), architectural, macro, portraits and sports (in particular polo, where the field is a few times larger than a football pitch hence the need for a long lens even with dx).

If only money (and weight) were no object I'd be more or less sorted. However, I can't really spend much more than £1500 on everything (I'm happy with used for most items). Add to this that I need lenses that will hopefully keep most of their value as I'm hoping, if I can afford it, to switch to FX in a couple of years.

What I'm thinking of at the moment is:

1) D300 body (already own)
2) 12-24mm nikon
3) 18-200mm vr nikon (already own)
4) 80-200mm f2.8 nikon (already own)
5) 60mm d micro nikon
6) 50/150-500mm sigma
7) second body that can handle the 80-200 and 50/150-500 - not sure what I can get away with on this
8) sb 600 or thereabouts

I would be happy (ish) to sell the 18-200 to fund (a small part of) the other purchases and get a cheap 18-55 to compensate but would rather be able to grab that lens and the second body when going to rougher areas.

Any suggestions? Many thanks in advance,
Liz

 

[TG.]

Hi Liz,

If it was me and my budget was £1500 i would be looking at the Nikon 12-24mm or Tokina equivalent this will do for landscapes and good wide angle interior shots, a Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 for general walk around lens, and a Nikon 70-300mm VR lens for longer shots, and possibly a Nikon 85mm 1.8 or 50mm 1.4 or 1.8 for portrait shots, you could pick this lot up used in excellent condition for your budget

Edit you would get a SB600/800 in that budget also.

 

[specialman]

I have a 12-24mm Nikon and it's good, although the Tokina is equally good. A great walkabout lens for wide-angle and journo-style stuff.

The other lenses you ahve are good (same as mine) but I'd maybe go for a more versatile 24/28-70-80mm with a fast aperture like a f/2.8.

I'd use the 60mm macro as a portrait lens instead of shelling out extra for a 50mm

 

[Nod]

Nikon 12-24 is a Dx lens so be prepared to drop some money on that when/if you go up to Fx.

Sigma 150-500 OS is HSM so will AF on the D40(x), D60 and DX000 bodies.

For a second body, I would recommend a second hand D70 and combine it with its kit lens, the 18-70 f/3.5/4.5. If you get a couple of spare batteries for the D300 (EN-EL3e), they'll fit the D70 as well BUT the original D70 battery (EN-EL3) doesn't fit the D300. The same battery (EN-EL3e) fits the D700 (FF) too, so if that's where you're headed, the batteries can be kept as long as they're still good.

 

[coldpenguin]

I am not sure I am liking this as a suggestion, perhaps someone can confirm what I am thinking.

How long are you staying in each area? 18 months is quite a while.

In North America, there is a chain called Circuit City, which are pretty decent, I believe that they have several places in the south too. If you had a credit card, it might be worthwhile considering keeping some back on it, just in case you want to get a fill-in lens whilst you are out there (in case you don't get everything you think you need).
You wouldn't get warranty in the UK possibly, but you are out there for more than a year anyway.

 

[specialman]

I forgot to say, D200s are nocking around pretty cheap these days on the used circuit so could make a good 2nd body, although you may want a more compact design like a D40x/60 to keep the weight down, although that kind of ties you into DX for a longer period. Same applies to the DX lenses - maybe going for something like a Nikon 17-55 would be good (so its useable on a FX body) although that's a pricey piece of kit.

Are you ultimately convinced that you'll change to FX or is it one of those 'it will probably happen in the future things' where you're hedging your bets? Personally, I'd focus on getting the gear to fulfill the needs of this trip rather than of what may happen in the future; after all, 18 months on the road is a hell of a long time and I doubt every piece of kit you take with you on day one will return home with you, especially when you're trekking, going to crazy places and generally abusing you gear to get the shots you want.

The D300 is an awesome piece of kit (as you'll know) and is as good as anything else on the market for doing what you're doing. I personally wouldn't get the 150-500mm, instead getting a 1.4x, 1.7x or 2x converter for the 80-200mm. You'll get up to 400mm focal length (or 600mm effective focal length with the 1.5x crop) and still retain a decent f/5.6 max. aperture, good enough for most telephoto work under half-decent lighting.

As I said, the 60mm macro make aa greta portrait lens, as well as being a first-rate macro lens for exotica like jungle bugs etc. Plus it's light and tough. I got mine yesterday and already it's impressed me beyond any other lens I've ever used because it's so well built. It's not the faster AF-wise but it's good enough for most things on my D200.

Again, one of the 12-24mm lenses out there will be good (although Tokina's 11-17mm f/2.8 seems tasty for £500) and is the one lens I'd deffo get before anything else.

Flash-wise the SB600 is great and powerful enough for most situations. Get a good diffuser for it too to soften light when shooting portraits.