Needing Help

flosphotos · Jan 9, 2017

I am new to full frame. I just got the nikon d700 in December (yes, i know its old but i love it) I have Sigma 50mm F/1.8. I want a new lens. One that zooms. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg on a new lens when i'm still trying to figure out all my settings. What lenses would work for my camera? Also, do any crop sensor lenses work for full frames?

Sent from my iPhone using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app

480sparky · Jan 9, 2017

Your question is very ambiguous and impossible to answer. It seems that you only it seems that you only have one lens. What to look for in another lens depends completely on what you want to take photos of.

Landscape? Sports? Portaits? Wildlife? Architecture?

Your budget will also your budget will also be a major driving factor in your lens choice to.

DX lenses will work just fine on your camera. It came from the factory with the default setting to detect them and set the camera to DX mode.

nerwin · Jan 9, 2017

Get the Nikon 24-85G non VR which you can find used on eBay for like $250 and under. You can also find the newer VR version maybe $100 more or less. It's a really great lens especially for starting out with full frame.

astroNikon · Jan 9, 2017

If you want to save a good amount of money you can look at AF-D type lenses.

These lenses require the camera to have a focus motor, which your D700 does. The d700 has a very powerful focus motor and can drive these lenses really well.

The 35-70/2.8 AF-D is a nice lens, professional push-pull model. Great imager though may have issues with light flare if pointed towards a bright light source. I had one for a few years.
The 28-80/3.5-5.6ish AF-D lens is a nice and sharp (and super cheap) lens. We had a lens across america thing a few years back and I tried this, nice and sharp.
80-200/2.8 AF-D I have one I've been using for years. Sharp lens, not gigantic like the newer uber-expensive 70-200/2.8s
16-35 AF-D
24-85/2.8-4.0 AF-D .. the list goes on. It just depends what you are looking for in zoom range. These lenses will do fine with your 12.1 mp sensor.

nerwin · Jan 9, 2017

Either way, we gotta know what you are willing to spend. You said you wanted a lens that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, well, that amount differs from person to person. We have no idea what your budget is, we don't have that kind of magical powers.

goodguy · Jan 9, 2017

Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
Or
Nikon 24-85mm 3.5-4.5 VR

zombiesniper · Jan 9, 2017

Lets start over. You say you're new to full frame but neglected to mention if your not full frame previous to this was Nikon. SO......
Can you list all of your current Nikon Gear.
What is it that you wish to shoot and why can't you do it with the gear you have?
If you were to purchase new gear what is the budget and what is the intended purpose of the new gear ie. more reach, better low light performance etc.

With this information people can give more educated information instead of guessing.

flosphotos · Jan 9, 2017

480sparky said:
Your question is very ambiguous and impossible to answer. It seems that you only it seems that you only have one lens. What to look for in another lens depends completely on what you want to take photos of.

Landscape? Sports? Portaits? Wildlife? Architecture?

Your budget will also your budget will also be a major driving factor in your lens choice to.

DX lenses will work just fine on your camera. It came from the factory with the default setting to detect them and set the camera to DX mode.

Sorry, let me be more specific. I don't want to spend more than $500 as of right now. obviously when i get more advanced i'll look into more expensive gear. I love shooting landscapes & portraits.

Sent from my iPhone using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app

flosphotos · Jan 9, 2017

nerwin said:
Get the Nikon 24-85G non VR which you can find used on eBay for like $250 and under. You can also find the newer VR version maybe $100 more or less. It's a really great lens especially for starting out with full frame.

Thank you for your feedback!

Sent from my iPhone using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app

flosphotos · Jan 9, 2017

astroNikon said:
If you want to save a good amount of money you can look at AF-D type lenses.

These lenses require the camera to have a focus motor, which your D700 does. The d700 has a very powerful focus motor and can drive these lenses really well.

The 35-70/2.8 AF-D is a nice lens, professional push-pull model. Great imager though may have issues with light flare if pointed towards a bright light source. I had one for a few years.
The 28-80/3.5-5.6ish AF-D lens is a nice and sharp (and super cheap) lens. We had a lens across america thing a few years back and I tried this, nice and sharp.
80-200/2.8 AF-D I have one I've been using for years. Sharp lens, not gigantic like the newer uber-expensive 70-200/2.8s
16-35 AF-D
24-85/2.8-4.0 AF-D .. the list goes on. It just depends what you are looking for in zoom range. These lenses will do fine with your 12.1 mp sensor.

Awesome thank you

Sent from my iPhone using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app

flosphotos · Jan 9, 2017

zombiesniper said:
Lets start over. You say you're new to full frame but neglected to mention if your not full frame previous to this was Nikon. SO......
Can you list all of your current Nikon Gear.
What is it that you wish to shoot and why can't you do it with the gear you have?
If you were to purchase new gear what is the budget and what is the intended purpose of the new gear ie. more reach, better low light performance etc.

With this information people can give more educated information instead of guessing.

I apologize. I was shooting sony a5000 before switching to nikon d700. i have had this camera less than a month so the only thing i have for it is the lens. sigma 50 mm F/1.8.

Sent from my iPhone using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app

zombiesniper · Jan 9, 2017

Okay. What do you like to shoot most? If this can be done with the 50/1.8, I'd say shoot with it for a couple of months and get used to the camera. Find the limitations of the camera lens combination. Then come back with a better understanding of where the shortcomings are. This way you get the right lens.

greybeard · Jan 9, 2017

Zoom lenses come in ranges. Wide angle zooms are like 16-35, Normal Zooms are something like 24-70, 24-85, 24-120. Then we have the moderate tele zoom 70-200, 70-300, and then there are the big tele zooms 100-400, 150-600. So, you have a lot to choose from. I personally have a 24-120 that I use with my D750. It goes from wide angle (24) all the way to moderate tele (120) and everything inbetween. It stays at an f/4 throughout. You might like something like that and they are available used.

Derrel · Jan 9, 2017

Hundreds and hundred of Nikkor lenses will fit the D700. And YES, as 480sparky said, DX lenses can be recognized by the D700, and they CAN be used on Nikon full-frame cameras. They might not cover the entire 24 x 36mm frame area, at all lengths; some will cover the entire 4 to 5 aspect ratio, leaving the far corners.edges black, but still...makes a nice 4x5 or 8x10 aspect image! PLUS...they WILL cover the entire DX-crop area on a full-frame Nikon body like the D700.

One good good thing about the D700 is that 12MP on FX does not "stress" the optics. The image is big to begin with, (24x36mm sensor), and the MP is low-ish, so...you can use a huge number of lenses!

Yeah...the 24-85mm, non-VR AF-S lens is handy. I have one, not too shabby, very handy a lens, AF-S autofocus, easy to carry.

There are DOZENS of common Nikon zooms that will work on the D700. I would go to Ken Rockwell.com, and look at some of his lens reviews. If you are a beginner, I would tend to stick to the AF, or AF-D, or AF-S, or AF-S G series zoom lenses, for the autofocusing. Some of the older lenses for 35mm autofocus cameras are inexpensive, and decent on the 12-MP FX Nikon. The 28-105mm AF-D is a good example: inexpensive, has a good close-up "macro" mode, and is pretty inexpensive, good for a weekender type lens.

480sparky · Jan 9, 2017

My advice is to save your money for now. Shoot with what you have, and eventually you'll start to answer your own question.

Are you finding you'd really like a wide or ultra-wide lens? If so, start to look at lenses in the 20-35mm range. Or does getting a longer focal length make more sense? If so, maybe a 70-300 is in the cards.

By using what you have and not just buying a lens for the sake of buying a lens, you'll be better positioned to make a better choice. And you may have a few more bucks saved up so you can get one you couldn't with your $500 budget.