Nice pickup . . .

Congrats Bob. I personally prefer the Nikon 24-120mm f4 VRII but that is just me. I use a generic L bracket that will fit any camera and it uses a 1/2" thick plate. Sounds like a fun but expensive year for us.

Originally Posted by gqtuazon

Congrats Bob. I personally prefer the Nikon 24-120mm f4 VRII but that is just me. I use a generic L bracket that will fit any camera and it uses a 1/2" thick plate. Sounds like a fun but expensive year for us.

I honestly know nothing about your 24-120mm but for my needs with photographing animals at the zoo I need much more focal length. I use my 18-200mm with my DX D7000 and find I'm nearly at the 200mm focal length.

i pre ordered one ... hurry hurry !!! LoL

Forgive me for asking something that could be seen as arrogance, but why spend so much money on such a high-spec body, and yet invest in inferior optics?
Why not sell the D7000 and all DX lenses to invest in something like a 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8?

Originally Posted by Dr Daniels

Forgive me for asking something that could be seen as arrogance, but why spend so much money on such a high-spec body, and yet invest in inferior optics?
Why not sell the D7000 and all DX lenses to invest in something like a 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8?

I've been down this path before when going from a D90 to my D7000. The lenses I have are high quality fast glass. I would lose a lot of money selling them to buy FX lenses. Specialty lenses such as my 85mm F/3.5 VRII Micro and my Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 can be used on the D7000 body as well as the D800. I also use an 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6 VRII DX on my D7000. Buying an 70-200mm F/2.8 is not only expensive but redundant. I'd rather extend the focal length to 28-300mm F/3.5-5.6 VRII with the 36.3 Mpixel D800 and crop if necessary. That would effectively give me a much longer focal length for no extra money spent. The 28-300mm is $1029, 24-70mm is $1900, and the 70-200mm F/2.8 is $2400. The lens I chose is the bargain of the group that allows me to keep my D7000 and excellent glass without hocking everything for one general purpose lens and a new body.

Originally Posted by Dr Daniels

Forgive me for asking something that could be seen as arrogance, but why spend so much money on such a high-spec body, and yet invest in inferior optics?
Why not sell the D7000 and all DX lenses to invest in something like a 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8?

As a lens snob I fully agree with your premise and feel you have a valid point. I see people often mismatching body to glass. Why a person would stick a Sigma-anything on a D3x I'll never know. And the opposite is very true, too. Just spend a few minutes reading the reviews on a few pro-level lenses on Amazon and you're hear stories of people with a D5100 putting on a 24mm F/1.4G and complaining how it's not as "sharp" as their kit lens.
However, high quality lenses will not make any difference if you're not printing larger than 4" x 6" or your images live primarily on the internet. Also keep in mind we're all on a learning journey and not everyone takes the same path to satisfy that creative itch. And if the bug calls for a chest-thumping D800, then so be it. For people like myself (and possibly you), this approach would not work and we'd be constantly "seeing" issues in our images that may or may not actually be there.

I will let my images speak for themselves. Ii've taken some with my D40x, some with a D90 and the latest batch with my new D7000. The cameras are tools wielded by years of experience. I upgrade camera bodies to meet specific needs. The Fx lenses will come with time. I still have a 50mm F/1.4D that is an FX lens. I have read the reviews on the 28-300mm and will welcome it to my collection.

Originally Posted by Dr Daniels

Forgive me for asking something that could be seen as arrogance, but why spend so much money on such a high-spec body, and yet invest in inferior optics?
Why not sell the D7000 and all DX lenses to invest in something like a 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8?

You might be interested to know that my attempt to find a 28-300mm failed so I added over $600 to the amount for that lens and ordered the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED instead. It's a little short on focal length and does not have VR but it is a quality lens. - Bob

Originally Posted by bobmielke

You might be interested to know that my attempt to find a 28-300mm failed so I added over $600 to the amount for that lens and ordered the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED instead. It's a little short on focal length and does not have VR but it is a quality lens. - Bob

You did very well, it is an amazing lens. As for me I placed a deposit for the D800, which I hope will be available on 22 March.