Sandman1318 Loc: From: Hawaii / In: Oregon

I think 6.5 FPS will be plenty enough for me.

Sandman1318 Loc: From: Hawaii / In: Oregon

OK... I have an update for those that are following my rants. I finally ordered my brand-new and first ever DSLR camera today... hurrah!! Thanks to the advice here, through PM's from whitewolfowner, and just doing lots of research and thinking... I had narrowed it down to Canon 6D vs Nikon D750 (full)... or Nikon D500 vs Canon 7D vs Canon 80D (crop). Since I am looking at getting into very low light, landscape, and wildlife... I decided to go with a full frame (although the D500 was very hard to pass over) and then finally settled on the D750 (as many here had suggested) with the AF-S NIKKOR 24-120mm f/4G ED VR lens. a nice extra bonus is that the camera will come with the free MB-D16 Multi Battery Power Pack. As soon as I can I will get the SB-700 AF Speedlight and a telephoto lens to pretty much complete my set! Any suggestions on the telephoto? I'm thinking maybe the AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR or the AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G ED VR.

HertzSone Loc: West of the Cascades

Indeed a nice bonus with the battery pack. I found looking through David Busch's Nikon D750 book quite worthwhile as questions have come up regarding my 750. I am looking at a tele also, sometime next year. In addition to the two lenses you mentioned, I'm also looking at the Sigma Sport 150-600. I still need to check whether the Nikon 1.4 teleconverter works well with the 200-500 and the 80-400. I hope you get some feedback.

orrie smith Loc: Kansas

The 200-500 is a great lens, although, it is not weather sealed. Not sure about the 80-400.

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

I just purchased the Sigma 150-600 lens , so far its great and you can get a docking station so you can program the lens .... very interesting....so far I love it.

Sandman1318 Loc: From: Hawaii / In: Oregon

How is the quality of the Sigma lens (glass, motor, etc) as compared to the Nikkor lens... better... equal... less... much less??

whitewolfowner

Congratulations on your decision for the D750; I think you made the right choice for the full framer; you as I, both would love the D500 also. For a long telephoto zoom, there are choices from Nikon, Tamron and Sigma. All are good as far as I know. I know that both the Sigma sport and nikon 200-500 are considered to be better than Tamron's first version of the 150-600 (not sure about the Sigma cheaper version, the contemporary). My son owns the Tamron first version of the 150-600, I have used it, and love it. It is not as tack sharp at the long end as 600mm f4.0 prime lenses but you don't have to mortgage your house to own it either, and when using a good software in post processing, most of what it lacks can be made up for if you know how to use it. Tamron's second version is said to be quite a step up from the first version in many areas; but now the first version can be had, brand new, for $889 at B & H; a steal at $1069 when it first came out. The second generation lens is $1399. The Sgma contemporary is $989 and their spost is $1999. The Nikon 200-500 is $1396. The advantage of the Nikon is that it will still auto focus on your D750 with the Nikon TC 1.4 AF-S 14E III teleconverter.

Sandman1318 Loc: From: Hawaii / In: Oregon

whitewolfowner - I really appreciated your breakdown essays... they helped teach me a lot!! BTW- What is a "Nikon TC 1.4 AF-S 14E III teleconverter"? Is this something that I'm going to want for my long-range shots? I already bought the Nikkor 24-120 lens with my D750, so if I then get the Nikkor 200-500 lens... will that 120-200 gap be a major issue? As I will probably have these lenses for a VERY long time... I would rather pay the few hundred more if it is that much sharper, better, and/or easier to use... and will last me the years of good service that I will need from it.

The Nikkor 24-120 is supposed to be an exceptional lens... and when combined with the camera body as a kit... it only raised the total price by $500... instead of the stand-alone price of $1,020 (not much spare money when you only getting military disability, so I need to save where ever I can... but still get good quality).

I'm planning on probably having a total of three lenses... the Nikkor 24-120 (above); a prime lens that's good for my (infrequent) portraits and/or macro (can they do both?); and a Telephoto for wildlife/landscape. What size do I want on the prime to best match up my FX? 35? 50? 85? 110?... I only know that I think I want the F to be 1.4 or 1.8 for a limited depth of field... right??)... and then a very sharp, very long range, Zoom Telephoto... preferably up to 500 or 600 (and it needs to be relatively cheap... as I will never be able to afford a $6.5k lens unless I win the lottery... or even $3k).

I've read about some issues with the SB-700. Is it a great flash... or should I stay away from it??

Thank you... I really appreciate all your inputs!

Sandman

orrie smith Loc: Kansas

Wait on the 1.4 teleconvertor, they are touchy and will only work on certain lenses. they will give a softer focus photo and, in my opinion are not worth the expense. If you need extra reach, you have two feet, step a little closer. As for a prime lens to do what you want, check out the Nikkor 105mm micro lens. It is a great lens for macro and makes a sharp portrait lens as well. The Nikon 200-500mm is a great lens, although it is not weather sealed, so if that is a concern, you may want to consider the sigma 150-600mm sports lens (much better than the sigma 150-600mm normal lens).
The 24-120mm lens will be an excellent lens for general use. Good luck with your new camera and hobby.

whitewolfowner

Sandman:

The TC 1.4 AF-S III teleconverter is nikon's 1.4 teleconverter for their auto focus lenses that have the S motors only. What that does is magnify the mm of a lens by a factor of 1.4 and it also reduces the f stop by one stop. For example a 100mm f2.8 AF-S lens withe 1.4 teleconverter on it, makes it a 140mm f4.0 lens. Note, that it boosts the mm range of the lens, but also reduces the maximum f stop. It can also reduce the sharpness of the lens too. It works differently on every lens, so before you buy one, research it for the lens you intend to use it on to see how it does. I'm you can find a video on you tube with examples to seed directly. Not having 120-200mm at your access, will depend on what your shooting habits are. I can tell you that most photographers 35mm-200mm (in full frame) is their most popularly used ranges. As far as getting quality, good lenses cost money and you usually get what you pay for. If you want the best, buy the pro line lenses for lenses that you use most frequently, good prosumer ones for walk around shooting (so you don't have to carry as many and change lenses as often) and for ones you only use frequently but need to have them. Stay away from the kit lenses.

The 24-120 f4.0 lens that came with the D750 is a very good prosumer lens and an excellent walk around lens or for times when you want the range it offers. A step above this lens is the (24-35)mm - 70mm f2.8 pro lenses. The cream of the crop is the 28-70mm f2.8 optically. Also to fill out and even go past the 24-120 range is the (70-80)mm - 200mm f2.8 lenses. If you feel you are missing the 120-200mm ranges, you can consider one of the these later mentioned ones.

I am not well versed on the Nikon SB700 flash. Any Nikon flash I have owned has performed excellently, as has the Vivitar and Sunpack flashes I used back in the film days. So I , personally, have not had a bad experience with any flash, but there is a first time for everything. I would leave that question with those that have had experiences with that flash and see what they have to say about it. Make sure they are also talking about using it on the D750 because if it has problems, they could be with only one or a few cameras. I know that the SB 800 is an excellent mach for the D750; I not sure, but I think the SB800 was meant to be the D750's companion.