Mornin', folks!

HDouble

New member
I've been shooting a D5100 (first real camera I've owned) for about 4 years, and I just upgraded to a D750 (should get it Wednesday!!). This move is to make extra money, but definitely also to take better shots. The D5100 was more than I needed when I got it, but its limitations have been doing my head in for over a year now. Not being one to half-step, I went full frame, and I'm giddy.

The only FX lens I own is the 50mm 1.8G. I'm most fond of taking landscape, macro, and any shot that flexes strong bokeh, but I know that I'll need to be able to take good portraits if I'm going to make any money doing this, at least at first. So, my dilemma is which lens(es?) to purchase next.

I read that the 14-24mm is the standard ultra-wide zoom, but I'm much more a fan of primes. What would be a good focal length for low-elevation landscapes and east coast mountain images?

For a prime/portrait lens, I'm really leaning toward the 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S VR, but I also have my eye on the 105mm f/2.0 AF DC. Should I also be considering the 85mm 1.8G? (could I get away with something like the Mitakon 85mm f/2.0 for strictly macro shots?)

Thanks for any help!
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
Welcome.

Lots of people use a 70-200mm f/2.8 for portraits, and then have a fast, versatile zoom for many other uses. Just an idea.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Welcome aboard. Enjoy the ride.
We look forward to seeing more posts and samples of your work.

I agree, for what you need a good quality 70-200 zoom would be a good general purpose lens. Don't dismiss the good zooms as they are very close to primes in image quality.
 

Danno

Senior Member
I just got a 14-24 and I really like it. It is a good lens and with landscapes, I cannot always sufficiently zoom with my feet. A friend has an 85 1.8 and uses it and the 70 - 200 about the same amount of time.

Welcome to the forum. One thing I like to do when I am thinking about a lens is do a search on Flickr for photos with the lens I am considering and just see what the shots look like. It helps with my comparisons.
 

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
Howdy and welcome to Nikonites!!!

I'm a fan of the 16-35mm f/4 for an FX wide angle zoom. It gives most of the coverage that the 14-24 provides, but accepts screw on filters. I have a few primes, but for landscapes I tend to go with the zoom since I'm not needing the super fast aperture.
 

HDouble

New member
I'm just now seeing this (was having some trouble navigating the site and generally kind of caught up with life drama, what with a 3- and 0-year-old running around), but I decided to go with a 12mm 1.8G for landscapes and Tamron 90mm 2.8 Di AF (old school) for portraits and macro stuff.

Maybe I paid a little too much attention to the scores and ratings or maybe I just loved the only prime I owned before now (my little darlin': 50mm 1.8G), but no regrets so far. I guess I wish the 90 had a better AF, but I knew that might be an issue when I bought it and that thing is going to be mounted a lot of the time. Have to say it's still pretty sharp hand-held with decent light. I'd never shot macro before, but I knew it was something I wanted to do. I've only done it for a few days, but I love it. There's something about creating an image that is outside the natural human viewing experience. Probably why I'm fond of taking long exposures.

I still haven't done much with the Nikkor 24. Up 'til now, My 18-200 DX on a D5100 was all I had for wide angle, and I mostly used it for telephoto stuff. This thing is a beast. I've seen some gorgeous images taken with my same setup. And I know I need to use it to learn it, but it's capable of doing so much more than what I formerly used—especially with the M-up feature on the D750—that I want to absorb more theory and online samples before I unleash it. Living in the city-burbs of Richmond, Va makes finding nearby excellent views difficult.

Thanks for the kind words and lens advice. I will will ogle them lecherously, as there's freeze on the next major photo purchase in order to remain in good standing with home office ifyouknowwhatimean.


Here are a few I've taken the past few days...

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