New Nikkor Prime Lens(es)

[GilPhilbert]

Hi All,

I've got a couple of lenses, but I'm not in love with them and I'm looking to replace them. They consist of:
Nikon AF Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G
Sigma 70-300 F4-5.6 DG APO

They've done me well since my original D60, but the Sigma isn't sharp until around f8 and the 28-80 is OK as a cheap zoom, but doesn't set the world on fire - so I'm looking to replace them.

My top priority is a nice wide prime. I'm currently looking at the Nikon 24mm f2.8 AF D as my top candidate, but I'm aware of the crop factor of putting an FX lens on my DX body - this will essentially become a 50mm prime, which is a bit disappointing.

However, I bought my Nikon D300 a year or so ago and although I absolutely love it (it's one of my best purchases ever) I know I'm not going to keep it forever and eventually it'll replaced - probably by a D700 at some point in the next few years. This makes the FX/DX problem a little more, um, complicated.

I'm not sure what to replace the Sigma with - I'd like to stick with Nikkor as I've had the best experience with their lenses and at the end of the day, I'm not looking to cheap on my lenses.

Any ideas on this would be great - and if someone else has faced this same decision and has any hind-sight to add, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!

[Fraucha]

Well with the crop that 24 becomes a 35 rather than 50 so that is not so bad.

I like the 70-200 f2.8 with gives you reach today on your DX and since it is an FX will serve you in the future.

Ken Rockwell has a nice list here: The Nikon FX Dream Team

But ultimately, it depends on what you want to shoot and purchase accordingly.

[scootermcq]

I would look at the exif data on your images and see where you are normally shooting. That would give a good starting point as to what focal length to get your first prime with. FTIW, I find my 35mm prime gets the most use for indoor work and my 50mm gets the most for outdoor.

[jdepould]

Nikon doesn't have a lot of good prime options ... especially if you aren't looking to drop $2,000 on one lens.

The 24 isn't really anything to write home about, it's OK, nothing special. The 35/1.8 is probably a better choice (and lighter).

The 70-300 VR Nikkor is a great moderately-priced tele zoom, but the aperture is the same as what you have, and buying the same focal lengths over and over is silly.

The 80-200/2.8 is a good option, you can pick up a solid used copy for $500-600. It doesn't go to 300, but it's ridiculously sharp. I had the push-pull before I got my 70-200, and in some ways the IQ was better than the one I have now.

[GilPhilbert]

Great. Thanks all - I'm still not 100% sure what I'll buy yet, but I've got a lot more ideas now.

"The 24 isn't really anything to write home about, it's OK, nothing special. The 35/1.8 is probably a better choice (and lighter)."
Is it not? Someone I spoke to said this was really sharp...

I'm planning on getting a 50mm 1.8 too, I think.

[jdepould]

Originally Posted by GilPhilbert

Great. Thanks all - I'm still not 100% sure what I'll buy yet, but I've got a lot more ideas now.

"The 24 isn't really anything to write home about, it's OK, nothing special. The 35/1.8 is probably a better choice (and lighter)."
Is it not? Someone I spoke to said this was really sharp...

I have one. It's meh. The corners get pretty nasty, though it's not as bad on DX. Stopped down it's fine, but so is the kit lens.

[GilPhilbert]

I've been having a good think about this and I've been weighing up my options if I was to stick with the DX format, rather than moving to FX.

I'm not sure I really need full-frame kit, but I'm also aware that the lens options for DX aren't as good, for example there isn't a 50mm prime and the range of zooms isn't wonderful either.

I'd like to future-proof myself, really - I don't want to buy £1000s of kit, just to replace it all later.

Is it worth the upgrade to a D700 or equiv. or am I just wasting my time / money?

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by GilPhilbert

I'm not sure I really need full-frame kit, but I'm also aware that the lens options for DX aren't as good, for example there isn't a 50mm prime and the range of zooms isn't wonderful either.

For my D300, I will pick Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, Nikon 35 f/1.8, 50 f/1.4, Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 DX and Sigma 50-150 f/2.8 OS.

However I have the holy trinity (14-24, 24-70 & 70-200 f/2.8) and Sigma 50-150 f/2.8 since I have a D3 as well.