Just how "good" do lenses for use with the NIKON D700 really need to be?

Naboo32

Naboo32

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I've read several conflicting opinions on lenses for the D700, but I'd like to round up a more current and concise set of opinions by throwing it open to the experts assembled here on TP :).

In short, whilst I wouldn't buy DX format lenses to use on a D700 (were I to choose this model over the D300), I would be looking to the cheaper end of the Nikkor FX lens stable for my glass.

So, my question is; what kind of quality (in particular, vignetting visible on the full frame output) could I expect from a combination like say, the D700 with a Nikkor 24-85mm lens, as opposed to both a higher quality FX zoom lens and a D300 with a DX "kit" lens of similar focal range?

As I said, some articles I've read warn against using "cheap" lenses with the full frame sensor D700, or strongly urge the use of "high quality optics" - my question is; how "cheap" is cheap aand how "good" is good ;)!?

Thanks in advance for your opinions :).
 
Always go for glass..

However.. if you ever went from a D50 or D70 to a D200 and thought things looked soft (due to a higher pixel density..) well the D700 is actually low resolution in real terms, you can take fairly standard lenses and they out-resolve the sensor. So its a bit like having a D50 or D70 again - put a coke bottle on it (ie 18-200 VR) and things look good!

The 28-105 AF-D which is only about £125 is superb on the D700 for example. Other folks rave about the 24-85 (never used this myself).

Always go for glass... but the D700 is quite forgiving.
 
so would you say that the 28-108mm whould be better suited on the D700 than say on a D80, and if so please can you explain more , (im thick ,but i come as standard)
 
melevo said:
so would you say that the 28-108mm whould be better suited on the D700 than say on a D80, and if so please can you explain more , (im thick ,but i come as standard)
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I liked the 28-105 on DX as well but with 28mm on the wide end, its much more suited to full frame really.

The lens is really quite sharp anyhow, and on the D700 it works very well indeed.

I got very nice results from 6 megapixel cameras (ie D100, Fuji S5 Pro), the D700 is lower in pixel density than either, so it works great.
 
thanks puddleduck
 
Thanks for your comments so far :).

I understand the "always go for glass" mantra and indeed, were I to choose the D700 over the D300, it would be getting, arguabley, much better glass (as I would be looking to the pricier FF lenses, rather than the mostly cheaper DX lenses).

What I'm still struggling to get clear in my head is whether the 300-400GBP Nikkor lenses, such as the 24-85mm and 70-300mm VR models (which would cover all of my needs, I think) are "good enough" for pairing with the D700, or whether it's a camera that will only be properly served by the 900GBP+ lenses in the Nikkor range, which would then put the whole shooting match right out of my price range!

My goal is to buy the best camera body that I can afford, to avoid having to upgrade it any time in the near future and then add increasingly better quality lenses, as and when I can determine which ones I really need most. In the short term though, I would like to start with a versatile pair of suitable quality zoom lenses, to cover all general types of photography. The D700 is more of a camera than my fledgling skills deserve, but I don't want to be kicking myself in 2 years time for having bought a D300 instead, if it turns out that full frame sensors become standard equipment on every camera and the range of suitable lenses becomes wider and cheaper.

On the other hand, if as some commentators have implied, the D700 is only really at home with the four-figure price lenses, then I might be better off sticking with the cropped image size of the cheaper D300 and adding higher quality DX lenses :thinking:.

Am I making any sense here :| !?
 
Judging by the lack of responses, I guess I'm not making any sense here :D!?

(*cough* Thinly disguised "bump" *cough*).
 
Naboo32 said:
Thanks for your comments so far :).

I understand the "always go for glass" mantra and indeed, were I to choose the D700 over the D300, it would be getting, arguabley, much better glass (as I would be looking to the pricier FF lenses, rather than the mostly cheaper DX lenses).

What I'm still struggling to get clear in my head is whether the 300-400GBP Nikkor lenses, such as the 24-85mm and 70-300mm VR models (which would cover all of my needs, I think) are "good enough" for pairing with the D700, or whether it's a camera that will only be properly served by the 900GBP+ lenses in the Nikkor range, which would then put the whole shooting match right out of my price range!

My goal is to buy the best camera body that I can afford, to avoid having to upgrade it any time in the near future and then add increasingly better quality lenses, as and when I can determine which ones I really need most. In the short term though, I would like to start with a versatile pair of suitable quality zoom lenses, to cover all general types of photography. The D700 is more of a camera than my fledgling skills deserve, but I don't want to be kicking myself in 2 years time for having bought a D300 instead, if it turns out that full frame sensors become standard equipment on every camera and the range of suitable lenses becomes wider and cheaper.

On the other hand, if as some commentators have implied, the D700 is only really at home with the four-figure price lenses, then I might be better off sticking with the cropped image size of the cheaper D300 and adding higher quality DX lenses :thinking:.

Am I making any sense here :| !?
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Get what you can afford. The £1K nikkors are stunning. Mind blowing. If you cant afford them, then why worry. I used a 70 to 300 on my D3 for months, loved it. Now I love the 70 to 200 2.8 vr. A lot. Both are great lenses, just one is greater :D

Gary.
 
EdinburghGary said:
Get what you can afford. The £1K nikkors are stunning. Mind blowing. If you cant afford them, then why worry. I used a 70 to 300 on my D3 for months, loved it. Now I love the 70 to 200 2.8 vr. A lot. Both are great lenses, just one is greater :D

Gary.
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Well, that answers part of my question :). The "mid price" Nikkors are suitable for use on the FF sensor D700.

In case you hadn't guessed, I'm trying to figure out and price up the cost of a well balanced, high performance DSLR system, before I buy any of the components. Asking naive questions like mine is sometimes the only way to navigate around all of the sales BS on most retailers' websites ;).

Cheers!
 
Naboo32 said:
Well, that answers part of my question :). The "mid price" Nikkors are suitable for use on the FF sensor D700.

In case you hadn't guessed, I'm trying to figure out and price up the cost of a well balanced, high performance DSLR system, before I buy any of the components. Asking naive questions like mine is sometimes the only way to navigate around all of the sales BS on most retailers' websites ;).

Cheers!
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Go for the fast primes like the 50 and 85 - they are excellent and cheap.
 
Diego Garcia said:
Go for the fast primes like the 50 and 85 - they are excellent and cheap.
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Are you talking about these two, Diego (?) ...

Link 1 ...

Link 2 ...

The prices are fine, I must admit. Just one question; how do they fill up the FF sensor? Do you get much unwanted vignetting, or are the lenses good all the way to the edges?

:)

Andy
 
If i had the choice i would much rather spend £1k on the 24-70 than 1k on a 50mm and 85mm (going on the principle this would be my only lens and it suits my style of shooting).

You don't have to spend thousands of pounds for decent glass though, only spend thousands if you want the best. Sigma make extremely good equivilents to the 1k nikons (24-70 & 70-200). Both of those would perform very well on a d700.
 
Naboo32 said:
Are you talking about these two, Diego (?) ...

Link 1 ...

Link 2 ...

The prices are fine, I must admit. Just one question; how do they fill up the FF sensor? Do you get much unwanted vignetting, or are the lenses good all the way to the edges?

:)

Andy
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The basic lens designs for these two date back to the film days. They'll both be fine on full frame. The 85mm hasn't changed at all since digital has become mainstream, the 50mm has had a slight update. The same is true for all prime lenses.
 
alexisonfire said:
If i had the choice i would much rather spend £1k on the 24-70 than 1k on a 50mm and 85mm (going on the principle this would be my only lens and it suits my style of shooting).

You don't have to spend thousands of pounds for decent glass though, only spend thousands if you want the best. Sigma make extremely good equivilents to the 1k nikons (24-70 & 70-200). Both of those would perform very well on a d700.
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Yeah, I have a confession to make :| ... I posted a link to the wrong 85mm lens :thumbsdown: . I was thinking more along the lines of this one ...

Link 3 ...

... for an affordable partner for the 50mm.

I certainly don't "want the best", either ;). I don't have that much to contribute to the world of photography - I just want a balanced, upgrade proof (for a few years, at least) set-up to allow me to get on with the process of building up shooting experience, without always having one eye on the "Equipment pages" of forums and magazines :|.

... like any of us believe that's gonna happen :D!
 
I've had images published commerically with a D100 + 55-200 VR (total cost £140 + £115)

You really don't need to spend loads.

BTW the 55-200 VR works well on the D700 actually!
 
puddleduck said:
I've had images published commerically with a D100 + 55-200 VR (total cost £140 + £115)

You really don't need to spend loads.

BTW the 55-200 VR works well on the D700 actually!
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... but you shoot a D700 now ;).

Anyway, thanks for the tip about the lens. It seems that there's more choice than I originally thought, with successfully pairing cheaper lenses to the D700 :).

Just gotta wait for the January sales now :thumbs: ...
 
You can get away with worse optics actually. Because your not trying to pull 12mp from a small middle part of the lens but a larger bit of the glass you arent asking as much of the physical material. Obviously at the other end you gotta watch for CA, fringing and vignetting round the edges.

I bought the 24-70 and its only been off the D700 when I use my Tokina for wide shots.
 
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