Lenses Advice/Feedback

[mapkos13]

Good afternoon everyone. Have a couple of questions not unlike many on these forums. Was looking to get your feedback on my setup and potential adds and subtractions.

Currently I stepped up in a big way by upgrading my D7000 to a D810 and I absolutely love it!

In doing so it made me start to rethink my lenses and what a logical next step should be.

I primarily enjoy being outdoors and shooting landscape. My wife like doing portraits with our newborn. Then of course there is the daily stuff that just pops up.

I'm looking to see what I need to fill any gaps with excellent quality lenses or quality lenses that while may not be technically the best, would be arguable for the value they may provide.

Current Bag:

DX
18-105mm 3.5-5.6 G ED VR Came as the kit lens for the D7000

FX
24-120mm 1.4 G ED VR
35mm 1.8 G ED
85mm 1.8 G
105mm 2.8 G ED VR Micro
70-300mm 4.5-5.6 G ED VR

There are so many lens options you start to overthink things. Here are a few that I was thinking about adding as I can sell the D7000 and the 18-105 lens and I was even thinking the 70-300 although it may have it's place still, to help offset some cost.

Nikon 14-24mm 2.8 G (Holy Grail) Fill a low end gap with some zoom flexibility

Nikon 24-70mm 2.8 G (Trinity) Thought about using to replace the 24-120mm but not sure as I'll lose the upper end and just may not be worth it in general

Nikon 50mm 1.4 or 1.8 Yes, another prime lens but for $200 for the 1.8 which I hear is arguable that it's on par with the 1.4, use as a daily point and shoot.

Nikon 16, 17, or 18-35 Thought maybe one of these instead of the 14-24mm although it would be nice to have the "Holy Grail" in my bag.

Sigma 20mm 1.4 ART Wondering if this lens will be another winner like the 50mm below.

Sigma 50mm 1.4 ART

I'm not brand centric. I'd rather have the best tool for the job and these forums are a decent way to use all of your collective experience to help guide the direction.

Well that was a long post but hopefully gives you a good idea of where I'm at.

Thanks for looking and a bigger thanks for replying with any advice you may have.

 

[J-see]

I'll give you the lenses I currently use for landscape on my D810.

Samyang 14mm f/2.8; very cheap lens and pretty sharp. Also usable for night (sky) photography because it handles coma well. I use her less and less for landscapes because she's actually too wide for most scenes. Manual.

Samyang 24mm f/1.4: great lens, very sharp and again very good for night photography. Manual.

Nikon 35mm f/1.8 (FX version): A good lens but if I had to buy again I'd probably get the Sigma art or if money isn't an issue, the Zeiss.

Nikon 50mm f/1.8: a good lens for its price but rather average in what she delivers (to my standards). It's a problem with most 50mm unless you buy the Zeiss version.

Nikon 18-35mm: a pretty decent "lazy" lens which I have attached whenever I don't have much time to get my shot.

I did consider the 14-24mm for some time and while she's a fantastic lens, technology has advanced and I personally no longer consider her worth the money. I'd rather get a Zeiss instead.

 

[mapkos13]

Thanks for the feedback J-see. You mentioned the Zeiss glass a couple of times. Anyone in particular you've got your eye on?

 

[J-see]

Thanks for the feedback J-see. You mentioned the Zeiss glass a couple of times. Anyone in particular you've got your eye on?

For me personally, I got the Milvus 50mm f/1.4 on top on my next-list. That one and the 85mm are updated versions while the other Milvus are optically identical to the previous versions. The Otus are even better but I can't justify that amount of money for a lens.

I already got the 135mm f/2, which is close to perfect in terms of image quality when coupled to a D810. During the next month I'll test what she can do in landscape. If the difference with my other lenses is too drastic, and I'll stick to landscape, I'll slowly go Zeiss with the rest too.