My lenses for my d700 ( and soon to be D800 when i get the damn phonecall ) are nikon14-24mm 2.8 nikon50mm 1.4 nikon24-120mm nikon80-200mm 2.8 i love them all except the 24-120 hardly gets any use.
I have the 24-70....not a good walkabout lens - too bulky, heavy and slow. My walkabout lens is the 50/1.4
Good choice i got the 24-70 and 70-200 so far and love them. As far as zoom lens go, they are the best. I agree with the bulky and heavy, but not slow. 2.8 is about where i want to be or slower for walk around. I dont need extreme shallow DOF for most walk around photography. Even at 2.8 i find the need for a bit more DOF a lot of the time. I would much rather have a sharp 24-70 range and a stop slower, then a prime stop faster for a walk around lens. Now dedicated to a single photo your looking to get. Sure a prime is better
Ohh yeah man its a work of art. Its such a fun lens Its special. Sometimes it makes me feel like my eyes suck compaired to it. Lol
I will eventually get the 24-70 as well. I have the 35-70 and I rarely miss having wider than 35.... Sometimes, but rarely. I would even settle for the 80-200 afs.
I just decided to go with the 24-120 f4 as a main zoom for my D800. I really looked at the rugged and tried 24-70 f2.8 but didn't need the speed and have used a few VR lenses before and liked them. The overall consensus is that the thing is good and sharp much more so that its predecessors with the variable stops. But since it hasn't yet arrived -- don't know - will see. I own the 105 AF VR and love it. Need a zoom for EDC. like I say will see.
I decided to test my D800.. with my 28-300. Here is a 100% crop at 300mm (Hand Held) 300mm (Nikon 28-300) F5.6 1/800 ISO 400 Ambient light shot (No flash) on a cloudy, yucky day! Only post is some mild sharpening.... click the bar to see the full sized image... comments welcome! I don't think it is bad at all for a 100% crop!
But only when you hold it up to take a shot. Otherwise it can just hang from a shoulder strap, or you can put it on a monopod using the lens tripod collar. The Nikon AF-S 70-200 f/2.8 VR II only weighs 54.3 oz. Thats only 3.34 lbs. If your physical condition is so poor that the weight of a 70-200 f/2.8 is an issue as you walk around, you likely have other more pressing problems.