NEED ADVICE JUST BOUGHT NIKON DF WHAT FIRST FX LENSES? No longer sitting on the sidelines. I clicked on a Nikon Df. Need advice on what first lens to add. I currently have D5300 with...

DaveyDitzer Loc: Western PA

No longer sitting on the sidelines. I clicked on a Nikon Df. Need advice on what first lens to add. I currently have D5300 with 16-80 f2.8-f4 and 55-300 f3.5 - f5.6 both DX lenses. Interests include: people, family, wildlife, scenery, travel. I hope to be able to get better images in low light and when cropping is called for, hence the FF. I appreciate you all and look forward to your help. Thank you.

dandi Loc: near Seattle, WA

50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4

GPS Phil Loc: Dayton Ohio

DaveyDitzer wrote:

No longer sitting on the sidelines. I clicked on a Nikon Df. Need advice on what first lens to add. I currently have D5300 with 16-80 f2.8-f4 and 55-300 f3.5 - f5.6 both DX lenses. Interests include: people, family, wildlife, scenery, travel. I hope to be able to get better images in low light and when cropping is called for, hence the FF. I appreciate you all and look forward to your help. Thank you.

If it comes with the 50mm 1.8, then consider the latest Nikon 20mm 1.8. extremely versatile, very little distortion. Mine stays on the Df 80% of the time.

Phil

IBM

dandi wrote:

50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4

That's a good start ,then a good zoom one that starts 18-200mm or or a bit more , or if your into wild life I would skip the mid zoom
For now and get the 200-500 mm nikon, or if you have the bucks a 600m. Prime , that's where the dx comes in you can get the 200-500 mm
And have the equivalent of a 300-750 mm as the cost of a 750 mm for a ff would be LOTS , but the 500m end of the 2-500 mm zoom
Would best my 70-300 mm on a crop camera , it would beat it by 50mm, I'm getting what 450 mm, but 750mm would be nice you could always get a 1.4 add on to get you there . And then again you may not designed into wild life at a distance

JR45 Loc: Montgomery County, TX

This is my opinion only.
I believe the 50mm is a very good lens, but if you only are getting one
lens only, I think the AF-S 28-300 would be more versatile.

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

I would check out the Sigma 24 ART lens. This is the lens that I carry on my FF D810.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

DaveyDitzer wrote:

No longer sitting on the sidelines. I clicked on a Nikon Df. Need advice on what first lens to add. I currently have D5300 with 16-80 f2.8-f4 and 55-300 f3.5 - f5.6 both DX lenses. Interests include: people, family, wildlife, scenery, travel. I hope to be able to get better images in low light and when cropping is called for, hence the FF. I appreciate you all and look forward to your help. Thank you.

The 28-300mm is always on one camera or another.

par4fore Loc: Bay Shore N.Y.

DaveyDitzer wrote:

No longer sitting on the sidelines. I clicked on a Nikon Df. Need advice on what first lens to add. I currently have D5300 with 16-80 f2.8-f4 and 55-300 f3.5 - f5.6 both DX lenses. Interests include: people, family, wildlife, scenery, travel. I hope to be able to get better images in low light and when cropping is called for, hence the FF. I appreciate you all and look forward to your help. Thank you.

people- 50MM, family- use your d5300, wildlife-300mmPF w/ 1.4TC, scenery- 24MM, travel- 28-300mm

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

If you got a Df and you want to play like a film camera and don't mind manual focus, go with some of the classic AiS lenses. You can get them on eBay at reasonable prices. Personally I think the best one is the 50mm f1.2 AiS. I had this lens glued to my F type cameras when I was shooting film, great lens but compared to some other classics a little pricy. If you can stick with the AiS type as they will meter for you and they're a little sharper than the standard AI's or non-AI's.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

A 35mm 1.4 is usually on my Df.
But, for versatility, the 24-70mm 2.8.
Enjoy the Df whatever lens is on it.

Jesterman

Love my 28-300 for walk around but I think I would start with the 24-70 f/2.8

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

DaveyDitzer wrote:

No longer sitting on the sidelines. I clicked on a Nikon Df. Need advice on what first lens to add. I currently have D5300 with 16-80 f2.8-f4 and 55-300 f3.5 - f5.6 both DX lenses. Interests include: people, family, wildlife, scenery, travel. I hope to be able to get better images in low light and when cropping is called for, hence the FF. I appreciate you all and look forward to your help. Thank you.

Looking at what you have been using in DX lenses, I think the 24-70mm f/2.8 is a good place to start. Then the 70-200mm f/2.8 for distance shots. If you have been using the widest part of your 16-80mm, you can consider the 14-24mm f/2.8 or a prime lens to fill that slot. These three lenses are Nikon's classic trio for quality images.

Others are recommending some of the lenses with a wider range of focal lengths. Those are good lenses, too, for convenience [and improving quality in manufacture has made them improved these days]. But it is still true that sharpness will not be as consistent over the full range in those lenses.

Whatever lenses you choose, enjoy your new camera!

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

The 28-300 is an acceptable travel lens that I own and use. But there are much better first options for a new Df-- like the 24-70mm 2.8.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

DaveyDitzer wrote:

No longer sitting on the sidelines. I clicked on a Nikon Df. Need advice on what first lens to add. I currently have D5300 with 16-80 f2.8-f4 and 55-300 f3.5 - f5.6 both DX lenses. Interests include: people, family, wildlife, scenery, travel. I hope to be able to get better images in low light and when cropping is called for, hence the FF. I appreciate you all and look forward to your help. Thank you.

Your list of interests is wide, people, family, wildlife, scenery and travel. Those could include a LOT of lenses. The Nikokn 28-300 f3.5-5.6 could be ideal for travel, the Nikon 200-500 f5.6 would be great for wildlife, the Nikon 24-120 f4 would be great for family and people, I personally use the Nikon 16-35 f4 for scenery and landscape. If I had to start with one it wold be the Nikon 24-120 f4, it is a great all around lens but it is heavy, but it is also sharp, sharp, sharp. I shot my son's wedding a few years ago and my sister in law's wedding a few weeks ago in Sedona, Arizona and everyone raved about the shots. In low light inside I shot at iso 12,000 on my D810 with the flash pointed up and behind me and they came out super, looked like I wasn't using a flash.Good luck in your search and keep on shooting until the end.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

The 50mm f/1.8 is the lens that spends the most time on my Df.
Consider AF lenses in lieu of AF-S lenses. Check them out.