Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

Home · Register · Search · Software · Hosting · Software · Join Upload & Sell

FM Forum Rules
Nikon SLRs, primes, and zooms lenses reviews

FM Forums \| Nikon-mount SLRs \| Join Upload & Sell
1 2 end

Tyl3n0L
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #1 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

Hi everyone,

I bought my first FX Camera last weekend along with the battery grip and AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4g and I'm quite happy with this combo. Before that I've had the D90 and I know some of my lenses won't fully work on my FX Camera. I don't mind using the DX mode for a while however I'd like to know which lens should I buy next!

I'm mostly a City / Landscape shooter and Wildlife when I have the time to!

This is the lenses I currently have...

Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM
AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8g (Which I replaced with the 50mm f/1.4g)
AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR (It came with my older D40)
AF-S VR Nikkor Micro 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
AF-S VR Nikkor Zoom 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM

I plan on keeping my 70-300mm as my only telephoto lens for now. I was quite satisfied with it on my D90. Lightweight and effective enough for me

I'm thinking of getting another prime lens since I really like the results of the 50mm f/1.4g. Maybe something wider like the AF-S NIKKOR 28mm f/1.8G for ~700$ or the AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G for ~500$

I'm still debating between prime and zoom lenses... It's either going prime only with these two or wait a bit longer and get either the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED or AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED...

What should I do?

Aug 20, 2012 at 10:00 PM

khollister
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #2 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

Given your stated interests, your first priority should be the wide end since you have the longer end somewhat covered for now. Setting aside 3rd party FX UWA zooms, which I'm not too familiar with, the usual suspects for a D800 are:

14-24/2.8 $$$$$
16-35/4 VR $$$, but in short supply right now
17-35/2.8 $$ used
24/1.4G $$$$$
28/1.8G $$, assuming it is wide enough for you
Rokinon 14mm $, MF, no filters, distortion
24-70/2.8 $$$$$
24-120/4 VR $$$, short supply
24-85/3.5-5.6 $$

In general $=quality with a couple exceptions - the 24-70 and 24-120 are great lenses, but I wouldn't buy them just for 24mm. The Rokinon is sharp, just distorted. The 28/1.8G is probably the best tradeoff of price and quality IF 28mm is wide enough for you.

The 16-35 is what I use

Aug 20, 2012 at 10:18 PM

Two23
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #3 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

I'd go for the Nikon 16-35mm f4. Zooms are very high quality now and a more efficient use of money.

Kent in SD

Aug 20, 2012 at 10:55 PM

grosema
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

Primes = Quality - Sharpness - Colors - Contrast = Sells Pictures + gets your money back ten fold

Aug 20, 2012 at 11:13 PM

Avi B
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #5 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

Try the older 35/2.
Not too expensive and a good FL. But only you will know what FLs suit your shooting style.

As for myself, on film, I prefer my AIS 35/1.4 and AFD 85/1.4 for both the FLs and the wide apertures. That is a FL combo that I prefer, but YMMV.

Aug 20, 2012 at 11:47 PM

rd4tile
Online
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #6 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

trenchmonkey wrote:
^ +1
Slow blows, get some fast glass.

The lower the ISO you can shoot the better your pics will look,
regardless of all the "just bump the ISO" comments you'll read. All my zooms are f2.8

What happened Will? Nikon quit paying you for promoting the 70-300 VR!

Aug 20, 2012 at 11:47 PM

James R
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #7 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

My starting point when reaching in my kit is the 85 f/1.4 G. I prefer its IQ, weight, and speed.
The Zeiss 100 MP 2. is a great MF/macro lens. Number 3 is the 14-24.

The better the glass, the better the D800 performs.

Aug 21, 2012 at 01:16 AM

brewercm
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #8 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

I'll go off the reservation a little and recommend a Tamron 28-75 2.8. Works flawlessly on my D700 and D7000, have also read good stuff about it on the D800 but can't vouch for it. Theyvalso have the new 24-70 2.8 VC that's gotten good reviews but its at least 3 to 4 times the original which wouldn't leave you money for one of those primes like the original if you don't need vc.

Aug 21, 2012 at 02:07 AM

agentbird
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #9 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

My most used lens is the 85 1.4G, it really shines on the D800, blows the 50 1.4G out of the water, especially when shooting close to wide open.

I might be a bokeh-junkie so I tend to prefer faster glass, therefore my light lens setup is the 24 1.4G and the 85 1.4G. I've got the 24-70 and I rarely use it outside the studio and on some occasions where I'm shooting at smaller apertures with large strobes.

Therefore I would recommend the 85 1.4G

Aug 21, 2012 at 07:08 AM

a.RodriguezPix
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #10 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

Nikkor 35-70 2.8 D?

Aug 21, 2012 at 07:43 AM

mikesrc
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #11 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

a.RodriguezPix wrote:
Nikkor 35-70 2.8 D?

+2

Aug 21, 2012 at 10:53 AM

M635_Guy
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #12 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

brewercm wrote:
I'll go off the reservation a little and recommend a Tamron 28-75 2.8. Works flawlessly on my D700 and D7000, have also read good stuff about it on the D800 but can't vouch for it. Theyvalso have the new 24-70 2.8 VC that's gotten good reviews but its at least 3 to 4 times the original which wouldn't leave you money for one of those primes like the original if you don't need vc.

The guys at my local camera shop were such huge fans if this lens (the old one without the built-in motor) that I decided to try it instead of saving more for "the beast."

It is my favorite lens - I think it is 90% of the Nikon f2.8's for 1/5th - 1/3 the money. I've seen a couple on B&S recently...

Aug 21, 2012 at 11:53 AM

vovkinson
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #13 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

good camera requires good lenses. D800 won't show the advantage of 36mP sensor with low-end lenses ($hitty door with golden knob) . If you on budget I would suggest going D7000 and DX lenses route, you will save yourself big deal of disappointment / frustration.

Aug 21, 2012 at 01:31 PM

lou f
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #14 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

16-35 f4 vr and the 70-200 f2.8 vrll would be a good place to start, keep your 105 and sell the rest.

Aug 21, 2012 at 01:44 PM

vovkinson
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #15 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

+1
lou f wrote:
16-35 f4 vr and the 70-200 f2.8 vrll would be a good place to start, keep your 105 and sell the rest.

Aug 21, 2012 at 01:46 PM

James R
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #16 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

You are getting too much advice, much from people who don't shoot a D800. I would rent, borrow, or go to a camera shop and try a few lenses. Then decide what to buy. The advice to sell all your DX lenses is good. They are not much use on your new camera.

But, before you do anything, take your 105 VR and shoot a few shots to get a feel for the camera.

Aug 21, 2012 at 02:06 PM

lxdesign
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #17 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

I am slowly moving toward putting together a prime kit for my D800 ... so that I don't have to always lug around my zooms. I don't always use my zooms for day to day shooting.

I started off with the 28mm f/1.8 AFS lens -- and its amazing!

Aug 21, 2012 at 03:10 PM

rd4tile
Online
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #18 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

Since it's a given that you've got the 800 don't be afraid to use the lenses you have until you can upgrade. The reality is 36mp will make even consumer lenses look decent at web/small print sizes and even if you choke it down in DX mode you've still got a 15mp image so your DX lenses aren't useless. I occasionally use an 18-200 in DX mode on my 800E when I don't need the huge files and it still gives a better looking file then most of the crop bodies.

When you do upgrade I recommend the 70-200 VR2, 16-35VR and 24-120f4 VR, I use all of them on the 800 & 800E and they really do the job.

Aug 21, 2012 at 03:35 PM

vovkinson
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #19 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

it's insane. getting D800 for web/small print using DX lenses.
IMO, if you have cash for D800 you should be able to afford high quality lenses.

36mp will make even consumer lenses look decent at web/small print sizes

Aug 21, 2012 at 04:34 PM

lxdesign
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #20 · Bought a D800 last weekend. Suggest me a lens please!

vovkinson wrote:
IMO, if you have cash for D800 you should be able to afford high quality lenses

Not everyone has the cash to go whole hog at once... that is reality.

Aug 21, 2012 at 04:38 PM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| Nikon-mount SLRs \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end