Calling Nikon fiends

eugeneeugene
Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Let's imagine a hypothetical Canon fiend who is going to test the Nikon waters...by purchasing a D2H. After getting the extra battery and Speedlight, this person won't have a whole lot to spend on lenses, so...



He's looking for a 50mm and an all-purpose zoom. He took one look at the price of the DX 17-55mm and fainted. What about the 24-120mm VR F3.5-5.6 or the faster 24-85mm F2.8-4.0? Both are about the same weight... The D2H's image sensor is Nikon's standard DX size, so it'll have a focal length multiplier of 1.5x vs 35mm. And he wants to know if there are any Nikkor AF lenses to stay away from. Or vice-versa, is there a holy grail Nikkor lens that every Nikon owner must have (and won't break the bank).



And what about F-mount lenses from other manufacturers?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 2
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Check out Sigma lenses. They're cheaper, but for all purpose zooms and basic lenses, the difference in cost overrides what litle you give up in quality. At least that's my experience. My old Nikon had a Sigma 28-85 zoom, and it was $100 less than the equivalent Nikon but the barrel distortion was only minimally worse, not worth $100 anyway.



    Actually, I'm trying to sell that lens and a 50mm 1.8 Nikkor. But they're made for true 35mm size, so there's a crop factor involved with digital.
  • Reply 2 of 2
    cj3209cj3209 Posts: 158member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eugene

    Let's imagine a hypothetical Canon fiend who is going to test the Nikon waters...by purchasing a D2H. After getting the extra battery and Speedlight, this person won't have a whole lot to spend on lenses, so...



    He's looking for a 50mm and an all-purpose zoom. He took one look at the price of the DX 17-55mm and fainted. What about the 24-120mm VR F3.5-5.6 or the faster 24-85mm F2.8-4.0? Both are about the same weight... The D2H's image sensor is Nikon's standard DX size, so it'll have a focal length multiplier of 1.5x vs 35mm. And he wants to know if there are any Nikkor AF lenses to stay away from. Or vice-versa, is there a holy grail Nikkor lens that every Nikon owner must have (and won't break the bank).



    And what about F-mount lenses from other manufacturers?



    Well, since your 'hypothetical' friend can afford a D2h here are some of my insights (I shoot with a D2h).



    Nikon's pro lenses are generally the constant aperture AFS lenses:

    17-35/2.8

    28-70/2.8

    70-200/2.8

    Also the 12-24/4, 17-55/2.8, and 200-400.



    These are the cream of the crop Nikon lenses that all pros use.



    There are other 'primes' that are pro-caliber as well:

    20/2.8

    28/1.4

    85/1.4

    105/2.0

    180/2.8

    300/4



    If your 'hypothetical' friend is on a budget (a little unusual considering that he'll be using a D2h) I would recommend getting a used 17-35 or 12-24 for the wide angles and either the 85/1.4 (legendary) or 105/2.0 (for the short telephoto) or even the 70-200 (if you can afford it). And then perhaps a 'cheap' 45/2.8 or 50/1.8. If it were me, I would get the 12-24/4 and a good used 85/1.4.



    If you're really on a budget, I would get a used 20mm/2.8 and the 35-70/2.8. The newer AFS 24-85 is also a good lens to start out with. I don't recommend the other brands. Anything else is a compromise



    There's a lot of info here. Email me if you have more questions.



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