Advice on suitable lens

Silversnapper

New member
Once again, as I am relatively new to Nikon DSLR cameras, I am seeking advice.

If all goes to plan, I should be receiving a ‘new to me’ Nikon D810 body within the next couple of weeks and, for a walk-about lens, I am thinking of something like a 28 – 105 ‘ish auto-focus zoom lens of modest cost as age as financial constraints means the more exotic lenses are outside my reach.

As usual, my octogenarian+ brain is having difficulty getting my head around the camera/lens compatibility charts and finding a suitable lens that will work with this camera.

So may I tap into the collective knowledge of the fine Nikonite members here to point me in the right direction and, of course, should anyone have a suitable lens for sale then I would be more than happy to give it consideration. Thanks
 

nikonpup

Senior Member
MY WALK AROUND LENS FOR MY D750 IS A AF-S NIKKOR 24-120MM 1:4 G ED
YOU WANT FX-FORMAT LENSES FOR YOUR D810 - NO DX LENSES
BUDGET, BUY USED FROM KNOWN CAMERA STORE WITH A WARRANTY.
 

Clovishound

Senior Member
A couple questions that may help folks narrow things down.

1. Budget What are you looking to pay? I would recommend not skimping on the lens quality for a lens you are going to use a lot. I do understand about not having plenty of free cash to dump on whatever you want, and sometimes compromises must be made. Be sure and look at several reviews before buying.

2. New or Used? I assume, since you bought the camera used, you would be OK with a used lens.

3. What kind of photography do you plan to do with it? For example,f you are looking toward landscape, you might want to lean more toward the wide angle side. Looking at your posts, I don't see a clear genre that you seem to be most interested in. A "normal zoom" is my least used lens. I'm more into long telephoto and macro. Having said that, I would be loathe to give up the extra coverage of my 24-70 for more on the tele end.

4. What other lenses do you see yourself getting in the future? A plan for future purchases will help keep you from buying something that doesn't fit in as well for future needs as part of a system.
 

BF Hammer

Senior Member
For that range of zoom lens, I would say try to get the 24-120mm f/4G. It was a kit lens for bodies like the D750, and I have nothing to gripe about the lens other than it's fairly large in diameter. It's bulky in a bag. Since it was a lens included with new DSLR's, it is often traded in and available readily at used dealers. My local camera store has 2 of them used listed for $300 each, but KEH is demanding more like $470 for a used example with all the caps.

When I bought my D600 infrared body I decided I needed a zoom lens pretty similar to what you are looking for so I would not have to take the lens from my D750 and transplant to the D600 as I might use both on a landscape outing. I looked over the used lens cabinet at my camera shop and found a couple of Nikon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D for just under $100. It tested good in the store on the infrared camera (not all lens optics behave well in infrared range) and it also has a 1:2 macro mode. It is a D series lens, so the Autofocus is from the screw-drive of the camera body. That means louder and slower to focus. For the typical landscapes that you take with infrared, slow AF is no issue. But this lens has a short throw for the focus ring, and that makes it find AF quicker than most D series lenses. It was a kit lens on late 1990's film SLR cameras, but pretty sharp and takes nice photos. Mine stays on the D600 and rarely is removed. KEH is asking $130, a bit higher than I paid.

And looking used, shop around. As you see my local brick-n-mortar store is giving better prices on these lenses than a major online source.
 

Silversnapper

New member
Thanks for all this information guys, it's much appreciated. I am unable able to get around much these days so my shooting is limited to opportunistic local area photography and close-up/macro work and as such I cannot justify the cost of top quality lens.
From what I have learned here, I'll trawl the online stores and see what pops up.
 

Silversnapper

New member
The AF-S NIKKOR 24-120MM 1:4 G ED lens noted by @nikonpup has caught my eye and MPB here in the UK have a range of used lenses, many of which fit my budget, so if my camera acquisition bears fruit then I think I will opt for one of those.
Thanks for your advice @Clovishound, I already have a set of automatic extension tubes which will suffice until I can afford a suitable macro lens.
As an aside, after seventy plus years behind a wide variety of cameras, I still get that thrill and buzz of excitement when a new-to-me camera is in the offing, made even more special this time as I'm still very new to the Nikon brand.
Finger crossed that all goes well and that I'll soon be making my first post in the forum with it.🤞
 

Blue439

New member
Congrats on your new-to-you, soon-to-be D810! It is still an excellent camera. I had one some years ago (I am actually currently uploading photos taken with it to my personal thread on this forum), traded it in for a D850 and I still keep that one, which was the best DSLR ever made, regardless of manufacturer. Now that many people are moving to mirrorless cameras, F-mount lenses become more and more affordable on the secondhand market, so you should be able to find what you need at a reasonable price.
 

Silversnapper

New member
After some ‘wheelin’ an dealin’, horse-trading, stock clearance and assorted other fund raising measures, I am happy to report that a Nikon D810, a Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR and a Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro have all found a new home with me.

Unfortunately it has all arrived at a time when my mobility is temporarily even more restricted that normal so my eagerness to try it out has been limited to reading the manual – just the bits I need to get me going so far (it’s 530 pages long for goodness sake!!) and to practice handling and shooting around the house – oh, and a close-up for tethered shooting practice and focus stacking which I’ve posted in:

Silversnapper's Happy Snaps

I’m also trying to learn Affinity Photo 2 prior to abandoning Adobe products in the near future.

Once again, thank you all for your invaluable advice.
 

Dawg Pics

Senior Member
After some ‘wheelin’ an dealin’, horse-trading, stock clearance and assorted other fund raising measures, I am happy to report that a Nikon D810, a Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4G ED VR and a Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro have all found a new home with me.

Unfortunately it has all arrived at a time when my mobility is temporarily even more restricted that normal so my eagerness to try it out has been limited to reading the manual – just the bits I need to get me going so far (it’s 530 pages long for goodness sake!!) and to practice handling and shooting around the house – oh, and a close-up for tethered shooting practice and focus stacking which I’ve posted in:

Silversnapper's Happy Snaps

I’m also trying to learn Affinity Photo 2 prior to abandoning Adobe products in the near future.

Once again, thank you all for your invaluable advice.
Congratulations. My Dad was having mobility problems when we decided to do a photo a day with each other. He was quite creative getting images around the house.
I have Affinity Photo. It works a lot like Photoshop, but I have been having problems since I upgraded to Affinity 2, and I took about a year off of shooting and processing. Some of it is coming back, but they changed some things, so I am struggling.
Affinity Revolution on YouTube has some good tutorials, and of course, Affinity has its own channel with good tutorials.

Have fun.
 

Silversnapper

New member
Congratulations. My Dad was having mobility problems when we decided to do a photo a day with each other. He was quite creative getting images around the house.
I have Affinity Photo. It works a lot like Photoshop, but I have been having problems since I upgraded to Affinity 2, and I took about a year off of shooting and processing. Some of it is coming back, but they changed some things, so I am struggling.
Affinity Revolution on YouTube has some good tutorials, and of course, Affinity has its own channel with good tutorials.

Have fun.
Thanks. I'm enjoying using the software, however, I am having a bit of bother trying to 'switch off' the PS menu structure in my head and absorb the Affinity one, which can be very frustrating as there isn't room for both these days, but I will persist.
 
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