Which Nikon Lens to buy next?
I'm a serious amateur photographer and need some help deciding which Nikon lens to buy next. I currently have a Nikon D700 camera body and have accumulated 3 lenses: Nikon 50mm1:1.4G, Nikon 80-400mm 1:4.5-5.6D, Nikon 105mm 1:2.8 macro. I started and still primarily use the macro lens for shooting picture in the operating room. Its great for that. I now want a more versatile lens for vacation trips and traveling. Its very hard to change the 3 current lenses I have and the 80-400mm lens although great for telephoto is ungodly heavy when traveling. Are there one or two lenses that one of you experts can recommend to me for traveling purposes? This would be all around photography and I just want something that beats one of those "all in one" digital models.
For travelling I would want one of those "all in one" lenses, such as the AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR. I like to be able to zoom (or not) to get the framing I want.
http://www.nikonusa.com/...ED-VR.html
As a matter of fact, I'd probably go for even more zoom, such as the AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR.
http://www.nikonusa.com/...ED-VR.html
Its very difficult to beat the 18-105.
The other zooms are just way too expensive for very little gain.
unfortunately it is a G lens.
for the price it does most everything so well and is
just small enough not to annoy you when carrying your camera long distances.
of course if you can get an old lens like a 135 with Defocus Control then that would also be nice, but still not an all rounder.
ken rockwell site is interesting but i find a bit biased sometimes.
http://kenrockwell.com/...-f2-dc.htm
http://kenrockwell.com/...-105mm.htm
The best lens I can recommend to you is the Nikon 18-200mm. A decent all round lens - wide angle to telephoto.
Max aperture is f3.5 at the wide end up to f5.6 at the telephoto end.
Not too heavy or bulky either.
It's the lens I bought with my D300.
It will crop on your ff D700 as it's a DX lens.
Of course, since your D700 is a full frame camera, DX lenses might not be the best recommendation.
For an all-around lens, the Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5~5.6 would be OK, realizing that high power zooms tend to have some optical issues - but when stopped down to f/8, they tend to work fairly well. This means this lens would have to be primarily a daylight lens. This lens is more-or-less the FX version of the very popular Nikon 18-200mm (which is a DX lens). But for travel and vacation use, the compromise of daylight use vs. The convenience of a single lens should be acceptable.
I have the 18-200mm for my D7100, and I only use it for vacation and travel. When I have access to my other lenses, I prefer something a bit better. But again, I'm willing to compromise daylight use vs. Travel convenience with this lens.
And for a second lens, if you add something like the Tokina AT-X 16-28mm f/2.8 (for Nikon) - which is also a full frame lens, then you will have an very nice range between the two lenses. I have found that if you use a super-wide lens such as the Tokina - especially when used close up - it provides an exciting new area of photography.
For a 2 lens solution, this provides a good range for lightweight travel (although these two lenses are fairly heavy). So, lightweight in terms of carrying minimum lenses.
I used the original 18-55mm plus the 50-200mm len on my Pentax DSLR and couldn't be happier when I travel. PLUS the "pads" between my vertibrae are swauched and their is no pain on my neck when using the 50-200mm since in my camera (Pentax) this lens is about the same size as my 18-55mm. Anymore information would require a bill for "my" professional services!" Ha! Ha!
24-80mm, 35-75mm or something along those lines. The idea is to have wide angle (which is needed to shoot large swathes of spaces like in landscapes), a normal/standard (for shooting people in front of statues, buildings or just anywhere) and a short telephoto (for capturing details and for close-up portraits).
If you are interested with making distant objects seem close to you then simply lug along your 80-400mm (and suffer from shoulder fatigue every now and then). You will also want to carry that fast 50mm for low light challenges.
Needless to say (but I still will anyways), make sure you only buy FX (full frame or film) lenses.
What you are missing is a general purpose wide to normal lens. You have an FX body so your choices are rather limited.
24-70 f/2.8
24-85 f/2.8 - f/4
24-120 f/4
I have the first two and they are both very good lens. Here, your budget and needs dictate what you should get. You already have a pretty hefty (and nice) lens in your collection. My suggestion to you would be to get 24-70 if your budget allows and get it over with.