Which Nikkor lens is the most reliable?

I have a Nikon D700 and looking for a lens to use while I'm in college. I want it to be able to be enough zoom in that I can take a picture of the whole club. My uncle wouldnt let me bring his 70-200 2.8 lens to college, so I'm thinking about getting something like this. http://www.amazon.com/...B0009HN57Y

If you guys have better suggestion, I'm all ears.

Btw, I'm high right now, thats why my typing isn't so good. Excuse me please.

The 55-200 in the link is for DX format cameras. Your camera is an FX. You could use it, but you would be wasting a lot of money, as you will using less of your sensor. It's like using cheap tyres on an expensive ferrari.

What do you mean by "enough zoom" so you can take a picture of the whole club? Do you need a wide angle or are you looking to go far? If you're looking for a lens that can "zoom" a lot, have a look at the virtually unheard of 80-200 f2.8. It's much cheaper than the 70-200 f2.8 and is made with a lot of metal, better construction.

If you looking for telephoto, the Nikon AF Zoom-NIKKOR 80-200mm f/2.8D suggested by Measuringmaple9 can be an excellent choice. If that is too expensive, there's the 70-300mm AF-S VR. Maybe the Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD ($450). Don't go cheaper than that on a telephoto. Image quality will take a nosedive and waste your money. The 70-300mm lenses have no tripod collar and are front heavy. You need a seriously good three way pan head, not flimsy.

If you want wide, the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR is plenty wide. What do you currently have on the camera anyway.

Technically, their high-end models such as their zooms that have maximum apertures of f/2.8 are the most rugged, most reliable and have the best optical and AF performance.
At the bottom of the scale, is their cheapest lenses such as the 18-55 kit lenses that come with most entry-level DSLRs.
Now, do not take this to mean that the kit lenses are "unreliable." In fact, if used with the proper care, any lens will last quite a long time, and if abused, even a $1,800 f/2.8 Nikkor zooms lens will fail quickly.

In regards to your actual question, your uncle is a very smart man. You are obviously not ready to handle the responsibility of caring of 70-200 f/2.8 lens, let alone have any clue what you're doing. For now, just use the 18-55 kit lens and you'll be fine.

All of them. The question is, do you know what each lens is for?

http://keerok.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/what-is-the-best-lens/

Nikon's Best Lenses

50mm f/1.8D AF (versions from 1978 - today)

Nikon's least expensive lens is also among its sharpest. It has no distortion, focuses almost instantly, and it's Nikon's smallest and lightest lens.

It is among Nikon's fastest lenses, and covers film and the full FX frame.

24mm f/1.4 AF-S G (2010-today)

Nikon's newest lens is among their best.

This is not only the world's best 24mm lens, significantly better optically than the LEICA SUMMILUX-M 24mm f/1.4 that costs three times as much, it's also an extremely useful lens.

Nikon 35mm f/1.8 DX (2009-today)

This $200 lens is a steal. It's my favorite DX lens.

The 35mm f/1.8 is super-sharp, focuses instantly, it's fast, it's tough (metal mount), and simply works perfectly.

Nikon 18-55mm VR DX II (2014-today)

This 18-55mm is amongh Nikon's sharpest lenses ever. It's sharp, sharp, sharp, and focuses so close that few people will need a dedicated macro lens.

18-200mm VR DX (2005-today)

The 18-200mm VR is the freedom lens. It is the lens which let me get rid of the old fashioned "camera bag" photographers used to have to carry.

135mm f/2 DC AF (1990 - today)

Americans just don't get this lens, because Nikon messed up its name. The 135mm DC, or "Defocus Control," lens, is among Nikon's sharpest lenses ever. Defocus control doesn't mean soft focus, it means "background softness control." The DC feature is really Bokeh optimization.

14-24mm f/2.8 AF-S (2007-today)

The big, heavy 14-24mm f/2.8 AF-S just rewrote the book on ultra-wideangle lens performance. It raises the performance bar about 20 years ahead of every other ultra-wideangle SLR lens.