doc9900

I am a new participant in UH (but have been reading the forums for a while) and this is my initial post. Have been a hobby shooter for 20+ years, now retired and want to up my game, including going for better equipment. Am a Nikon guy (have had the D7000 since it first came out), so looking hard at the Nikon D810, and wonder about the best lens for landscapes to use with that body. Of course, people will have different opinions about this, but I'll appreciate your thoughts. (Comments about a medium telephoto appreciated as well.)

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

IMHO the 16-35mm would be most versatile. You can use front mounted filters (graduated N.D., or full N.D.) to control part of the scene; or to blur movement as in waterfalls. The other option is to use a longer lens, vertically, tripod mounted and expose multiple frames to stitch into a panorama.Either option would serve you well depending on your ability to post process images.

Robeng Loc: California

For landscape I use Nikon 16mm-35mm, 24mm-70 & 28mm-300mm, lenses. Feel free to look at my website.

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

The first three you will need are referred to as the Trinity; 14-24 2.8, 24-70 2.8, and the 70-200 2.8.
Those should be high on your list but there are several cheaper alternatives. I like the Sigma line of lenses especially the ART series. Don't rule out some of the F4 lenses by Nikon, you don't always need fast glass for landscape.

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

Welcome to the forum, doc9900.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

"BEST" is always totally a matter of opinion, whats best for one camera may not work well with another camera. Whats best for one shooters style may be totally wrong for another shooter. You need to find focal lengths will fill your particular need, and then shop for the best quality lenses you can find in those focal lengths to give you the quality of images you need from that camera. The D810 is such high resolution that it NEEDS high quality lenses to produce the fine images it is capable of. That sensor will quickly show you how bad a lenses image quality is if you get a low quality lens. My personal favorite for landscape on my D800E and D810 is the Tamron 15-30mm F2.8 VC lens, its amazingly sharp.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Welcome to UHH, I would consider for general landscape 24-85 Nikon.Can be used FX if you get a 810, I use it on a D800 and on a DX 300S.
Nikon released the 24-85mm ƒ/3.5-4.5 VR in June of 2012, providing an economically priced wide-to-medium zoom lens for FX (full-frame) camera bodies. Nikon has a long history of lenses in this range, beginning with the 24-85mm ƒ/2.8-4 in 2000, which is still available today; a less expensive version of the 24-85mm ƒ/3.5-4.5, without VR, has now been replaced by the VR version.

The 24-85mm ƒ/3.5-4.5 VR was designed to fit the 35mm frame of FX digital cameras, but can also be used on DX bodies, where it will provide an effective field of view of 36-127mm. This lens isn't a "constant" lens, in that as you increase the focal length, both the maximum and minimum aperture sizes decrease. The following table reflects the change in aperture available for the lens:
Focal length 24mm 35mm 50mm 70mm 85mm
Largest aperture ƒ/3.5 ƒ/4 ƒ/4.2 ƒ/4.5 ƒ/4.5
Smallest aperture ƒ/22 ƒ/25 ƒ/29 ƒ/29 ƒ/29
Super sharp if you check the reviews.

ReFlections Loc: From LA to AL

Lots of good suggestions mentioned. I'm my opinion:
For DX- 10-24mm
For FX- 16-35mm

Welcome to the Hog...

jcboy3

I am partial to the 17-35 f/2.8 D, but you can't go wrong with the 16-35 f/4, 24-70 f/2.8, or 24mm f/1.4. All of these take filters, so you don't have to go shopping for a custom mount. That is of interest if you use graduated neutral density or neutral density filters to control exposure, or want a polarizing filter (although I'd recommend only using them on the long end of the zooms).

Main reason I like the 17-35; no VR, no AF motor. Just lens. Less to worry about breaking. I don't hand hold these for landscape, so VR isn't wanted. And I don't put them on cheap Nikon bodies, so AF motor isn't needed.

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

Give the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED lens a look. It's a quality, fast, wide angle prime lens. You don't need a zoom lens for landscapes.

forjava Loc: Half Moon Bay, CA

Good post. I'm starting to understand that Nikon has overachieved the competion repeatedly in wides. Recent Nikon patents for a wide PC lens (17mm?) and fluorite indicate more to come; see very recent nikonrumors.com, for starters.

par4fore Loc: Bay Shore N.Y.

I have the d7000 and d800e, my opinion if you are buying d810, in order of preference:


https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=662715&gclid=Cj0KEQjw9b6-BRCq7YP34tvW_uUBEiQAkK3svfM28ELzG_8Uw0JEhl32WfBOR13j8-GFDcE3w6VpQaQaApSi8P8HAQ&is=REG&ap=y&m=Y&c3api=1876%2C92051678642%2C&Q=&A=details

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/662714-REG/Zeiss_1767_823_Distagon_T_21mm_F_2_8.html

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/885401-REG/Voigtlander_ba229d_40mm_f_2_0_Ultron_SL.html

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

I use the Nikon 16-35mm f4 and 24-70mm f2.8 (2.8 IMO not really necessary, just a great lens... after all landscape photos unless isolating to a nano pixel, usually you want a greater DOF)

DaveHam Loc: Reading UK

This is a bit like asking how long is a piece of string; the best lens depends upon the shot you are trying to make. A wide angle? A narrow focus on a specific piece of the landscape? One would perhaps be best answered by a 14mm prime, one by a 200mm prime.

Many landscape photographers like the scope offered by a range of lenses, in Nikon world the three main lenses being the 17/35, 24/70 and 70/200. These cover all the requirements except for the ultra wide angle. Other photographers prefer to work with primes and position themselves to make the field of view that they want, rather like the large format photographers do. Here lens choice varies; 35, 50, 85, 105 and 200 being the main selection.

Maybe the right approach is to take a lens that offers a good middle ground in terms of field of view, work with that and see how you get on. Modify your lens selection as your experience dictates.

ephraim Imperio

In my opinion, the best landscape nikon lens ever made by nikon is the 14-24 f2.8 nano coated lens. Here are some photo examples from the internet taken by this lens.

https://www.google.com/search?q=landscape+photos+taken+by+nikon+14-24mm+lens&biw=2056&bih=1281&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwicupPwyv_OAhWEQyYKHUtGD5sQsAQIGw

/Users/ephraimimperio/Desktop/2163_AF-S-NIKKOR-14-24mm-f-2.8G-ED.png