Just bought a Nikon D700!

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JonShar

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Have a D90 with all DX lenses unfortunately, so it's time for me to start the lens collection again!

(I'm having a huge amount of buyer's remorse right now, because I don't make any money from my photography and my D90 was just fine really... but I really wanted to make the jump to FX. Haven't yet convinced myself that I won't just put it on eBay as soon as the D700 gets here, so if anyone could help me justify my purchase I'd appreciate it!)

Must-have lenses?

Seen some good reviews of the Tokina 16-28mm, anyone have any experience?

Cheers! :)
 
I've had my D700 a few months, but not really added to my FX lens collection. Thought I'd just sell the D90, but haven't done that yet (love its compact form), and often asked myself if I should keep the D700 (which I need for some low-light indoor shots). Not making money from either, and that makes me think I should start to do so - or sell one or the other cameras.

I love the D700 with the 70-200 (no crop factor so an ideal range for many applications - except motorsport). Otherwise, I use a 50mm all the time. I even use the DX 35mm - it can be used (not in crop mode) with some limitations. Just my feeling, but I'm more minded to move to primes since I got the D700. Edit - which is why I've not yet gone for the Tamron 28-75 (love the 17-50, non-VC on my D90).

Just why did you buy the D700?
 
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JonShar said:
Have a D90 with all DX lenses unfortunately, so it's time for me to start the lens collection again!

(I'm having a huge amount of buyer's remorse right now, because I don't make any money from my photography and my D90 was just fine really... but I really wanted to make the jump to FX. Haven't yet convinced myself that I won't just put it on eBay as soon as the D700 gets here, so if anyone could help me justify my purchase I'd appreciate it!)

Must-have lenses?

Seen some good reviews of the Tokina 16-28mm, anyone have any experience?

Cheers! :)
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Well the 24-70 2.8 is a great all rounder but not cheap. the 85mm 1.8 can be picked up for a reasonable price second hand and with the D700 makes a killer portrait set up.

You'll probably enjoy a 50mm on the full frame too.
 
this thread is bad for me...i'd LOVE a d700 but can i really justify it having only had my d90 for 4 months or so...

I pretty much only use prime lenses for street shots...hmmn, is it worth it...i've got a 1970's fender mustang guitar hanging on my wall that i NEVER play...i could get about 750 for it i reckon, then put that towards getting something that i'd love and use every single day.

or wait for a d800 :)
 
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kartracer said:
I've had my D700 a few months, but not really added to my FX lens collection. Thought I'd just sell the D90, but haven't done that yet (love its compact form), and often asked myself if I should keep the D700 (which I need for some low-light indoor shots). Not making money from either, and that makes me think I should start to do so - or sell one or the other cameras.

I love the D700 with the 70-200 (no crop factor so an ideal range for many applications - except motorsport). Otherwise, I use a 50mm all the time. I even use the DX 35mm - it can be used (not in crop mode) with some limitations. Just my feeling, but I'm more minded to move to primes since I got the D700. Edit - which is why I've not yet gone for the Tamron 28-75 (love the 17-50, non-VC on my D90).

Just why did you buy the D700?
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Yeah I love the compact form of the D90 too, and haven't convinced myself that I'll sell it once the FX collection starts to build.

I have the DX 35mm and will give it a go on the D700. Does it end up just covering a DX-sized portion of the sensor, resulting in a 5MP-ish file?

I think I'll mainly go with prime lenses too. I started my photography days with an FG, then an FE2, then an F3 before I went digital, so I'm used to using mainly prime lenses with those. (Should have kept them all!) I also think that's where my longing to go back to FX comes from! The Nikon 16-35mm f/4 looks like a great lens too.

You're right, the 17-50mm DX is a cracking lens.

Why did I buy the D700? I've had my eye on it for a year, and just saw it for 1479.99 on Curry's... I thought I'd snap it up while it was on sale. Even when a replacement comes out for it I don't see the price dropping much for a while.

Thanks for the reply!

lensflair said:
Well the 24-70 2.8 is a great all rounder but not cheap. the 85mm 1.8 can be picked up for a reasonable price second hand and with the D700 makes a killer portrait set up.

You'll probably enjoy a 50mm on the full frame too.
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The 85mm will be one of my first purchases - I had a 1.8 manual focus back in the 90s and absolutely loved it. 50mm is a great idea too, and as above I think the prime lenses will be the way to go initially.

Thanks!
 
rampanthamster said:
this thread is bad for me...i'd LOVE a d700 but can i really justify it having only had my d90 for 4 months or so...

I pretty much only use prime lenses for street shots...hmmn, is it worth it...i've got a 1970's fender mustang guitar hanging on my wall that i NEVER play...i could get about 750 for it i reckon, then put that towards getting something that i'd love and use every single day.

or wait for a d800 :)
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You should email me once a week and ask me if I regret putting that much money into what is probably going to be a very small improvement in my final image quality!
 
As soon as you shoot as ISO 6400, you wont think twice about keeping it.

I did something very similar a few years ago. I had a D200 and bought a D700. I couldnt believe what I had done, but I was so glad I did. I had to sell that one and go down to a D90 due to buying a house. But I bought another D700 last November and I feel right again.
 
TCR4x4 said:
As soon as you shoot as ISO 6400, you wont think twice about keeping it.

I did something very similar a few years ago. I had a D200 and bought a D700. I couldnt believe what I had done, but I was so glad I did. I had to sell that one and go down to a D90 due to buying a house. But I bought another D700 last November and I feel right again.
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this is why i feel i 'need' one...my d90 even starts to loose it a bit over is800, and certainly at 1600 the noise is rather prominent...getting all those extra steps of light from the d700 sure is tempting!
 
TCR4x4 said:
As soon as you shoot as ISO 6400, you wont think twice about keeping it.

I did something very similar a few years ago. I had a D200 and bought a D700. I couldnt believe what I had done, but I was so glad I did. I had to sell that one and go down to a D90 due to buying a house. But I bought another D700 last November and I feel right again.
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This is a solid point, the low light situations are where I'll see the most difference from what I've read.

And thanks for that, I feel better now!
 
My set is:

Nikon D3 (same sensor as D700)

Sigma 15-30mm f3.5-4.5 EX DG
Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 EX DG Macro
Nikkor 50mm f1.4G
Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 ED

works for me. I do lifestyle portraiture, events... 15-200 range covers everything I do.
 
TCR4x4 said:
As soon as you shoot as ISO 6400, you wont think twice about keeping it.

I did something very similar a few years ago. I had a D200 and bought a D700. I couldnt believe what I had done, but I was so glad I did. I had to sell that one and go down to a D90 due to buying a house. But I bought another D700 last November and I feel right again.
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I was at Park Cameras yesturday and was having a go at a D700 and I was so going to buy ony if they had it in stock. ISO 6400 is better than ISO 1600 on my D300s and the view finder is just so bright and a treat to look through.:thumbs:
 
Sebastian said:
My set is:

Nikon D3 (same sensor as D700)

Sigma 15-30mm f3.5-4.5 EX DG
Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 EX DG Macro
Nikkor 50mm f1.4G
Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 ED

works for me. I do lifestyle portraiture, events... 15-200 range covers everything I do.
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The only experience I have with Sigma lenses was back in the early 90s, and they were pretty average at the time - certainly behind Tamron and Tokina when it came to 3rd party lenses.

Looking at your website you've got some quality shots, so obviously you expect a lot out of your equipment - looks like you're happy with the Sigmas!
 
JonShar said:
Have a D90 with all DX lenses unfortunately, so it's time for me to start the lens collection again!

(I'm having a huge amount of buyer's remorse right now, because I don't make any money from my photography and my D90 was just fine really... but I really wanted to make the jump to FX. Haven't yet convinced myself that I won't just put it on eBay as soon as the D700 gets here, so if anyone could help me justify my purchase I'd appreciate it!)

Must-have lenses?

Seen some good reviews of the Tokina 16-28mm, anyone have any experience?

Cheers! :)
Click to expand...

I can't say I suffered from buyer's remorse, the first shot at ISO 5000 convinced me of that ;)
 
You can use the 35mm DX not in crop mode, though there will be some vignette wide open. If your subject is close, its not bad. I would not buy it specifically for the D700, but I have one for my D90, so...

There are many occasions, shooting indoor sports, where I reckon a 85mm f1.8 would do, rather than the 70-200mm. I had some great film lenses, sold those a while back, so I think you're right about where the hankering for primes comes from.
 
kartracer said:
You can use the 35mm DX not in crop mode, though there will be some vignette wide open. If your subject is close, its not bad. I would not buy it specifically for the D700, but I have one for my D90, so...

There are many occasions, shooting indoor sports, where I reckon a 85mm f1.8 would do, rather than the 70-200mm. I had some great film lenses, sold those a while back, so I think you're right about where the hankering for primes comes from.
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I've got the 35mm already in the bag, so I'll keep that and give it a shot - thanks for the tip!

Be nice if we could go back in time and get those film lenses back, eh?!
 
JonShar said:
I've got the 35mm already in the bag, so I'll keep that and give it a shot - thanks for the tip!

Be nice if we could go back in time and get those film lenses back, eh?!
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Certainly the 50 F1.4D (or G) and the 85 F1.8D both shine on the D700 (though you want to stop both down a tad). A good second hand 80-200 F2.8D is a great low cost lens if you can find one, and the Sigma 150mm F2.8 macro is super sharp as well. None of that should set you back too much.

For wide angle, the 16-35 F4 is expensive but useful, or you can find a nice 24m F2.8D - not a perfect lens but adequate stopped down.

However, I bought a 24-120F4. I must have got a good-un because I am quite impressed all round and the VR is very effective.
 
whne I bought my D700 I already had a Nikon 24 - 70 which stays on pretty much all of the time, althogh the 70 - 200 is my favourite piece of glass.
TBH though i absolutley LOVED my tamron 28 - 75 got soooo many keepers from that on the D300 and D80 before, if I couldn't justify the Nikon midrange zoom that would definatly be my day to day lens

(I am also quite tempted ny the tokina 16 - 28 too 0 although cant find much feedback on it yet)

You will grow to truely love your new purchase BTW:love:
 
It will be a great buy, I was worried for about 1 second when I bought mine. I then got the 24-120f4 which may not give the f2.8 of the 24-70 but if your subjects aren't moving you have the benifit of the VR. I've found it to be a superb lens and as I got it for under £800, much cheaper than the 24-70. I would love the 24-70 but just cannot afford it!!!
 
Syd said:
whne I bought my D700 I already had a Nikon 24 - 70 which stays on pretty much all of the time, althogh the 70 - 200 is my favourite piece of glass.
TBH though i absolutley LOVED my tamron 28 - 75 got soooo many keepers from that on the D300 and D80 before, if I couldn't justify the Nikon midrange zoom that would definatly be my day to day lens

(I am also quite tempted ny the tokina 16 - 28 too 0 although cant find much feedback on it yet)

You will grow to truely love your new purchase BTW:love:
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icnoble said:
You wont regret it. I upgraded from a D300
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SimonBalaam said:
It will be a great buy, I was worried for about 1 second when I bought mine. I then got the 24-120f4 which may not give the f2.8 of the 24-70 but if your subjects aren't moving you have the benifit of the VR. I've found it to be a superb lens and as I got it for under £800, much cheaper than the 24-70. I would love the 24-70 but just cannot afford it!!!
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Thanks all, appreciate the thoughts and the justification of my purchase! When I forget about the £ involved I get a bit giddy about the D700s arrival on Saturday. I spent most of last night searching for deals on FX lenses, so my pockets will continue to get emptier!
 
portsmouthman said:
By the way, does anyone know the best lens to be equipped for D700 for general uses?
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That's a "how long is a piece of string" question. But the 24-120 f4 VR mentioned above sounds like a good start if you aren't sure what focal lengths you like!
 
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