BlackRipleyDog

Welcome. The D7100 is a good jumping-off point. Were you using DX or FX lenses on this body? Overall budget? You are proposing to heavily front-load your expense curve with the D850 which is going to impact your options with glass.

I started shooting digital with a D70s in 2008. I had a couple of FX lenses from my film bodies and picked up a couple of others from Ebay, nothing special. As I developed and read more, I made the decision to replace my marginal zooms with primes; the faster legacy AF-D Nikkors. I felt they were better for landscape work including stitched panos. Over time I have built-up a stable of very nice clean specimens - 20mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm & 85mm and did it averaging about $250 a piece. 3 years ago I moved to a D800 progressing from a D600, a D200 and the D70s. All of these bodies I bought used, discontinued and/or refurbished. I have a sizable portfolio of gallery-grade work shot with these bodies and lenses. I sold 9 pieces at a recent art show. Four of them to a collector who selected two from the D70s and two from the D800 to hang in his home.
That is how I started and where I am at today.

whwiden

I wonder whether some of those lenses have less distortion because they were designed to be used with film.

deer2ker Loc: Nashville, TN

I would reaffirm those above who suggested renting - I rented from Lensrental (who I highly recommend) before I bought and the lens I "thought" I wanted just didn't fit my needs. It will save you immense amounts of money. (unless you have money to burn lol)

BlackRipleyDog

Interesting thought since film, while it was the only game in town, has inherent drawbacks as to image quality which is relative to grain size, so to squeeze every ounce of IQ out of the medium, lenses were over-designed to compensate and deliver as accurately as possible the scene with exacting detail, even though those details would get smudged somewhat by the emulsion.
You can say that lens manufacturers were unknowingly preparing for the digital revolution years ahead of sensor tech.
I wonder where Dxo would score film like they do cameras today? Imagine the detail we would see if the Zapruder film had been shot in 4K.

Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

My God! The Nikon D850 costs $3,299 and you're going to skimp on the cost of lenses? A top of the line camera deserves to of the line lenses. That said, for landscapes any FF camera will provide pleasing results. The D750 or the D610 with good glass will give you much of what you are looking for at a much lower cost. Do you really need 45 Mpixel resolution? Are you going the blow up the photos to put on a bill board?

hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

I upgraded to the Nikon D750 a few years ago and bought the Tamron 15-30 wide angle lens.

Real Nikon Lover Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Thank you JCCash. The moon shot was: f/13, 1/160 sec, ISO-250 at 500mm full zoom. To be fair... I hand held it leaning with my back resting against the house! LOL BTW... that was the "SUPER MOON" and it was extra bright and extra large. The moonshot is my favorite PC wallpaper. Peace!

pesfls Loc: Oregon, USA

I own the Nikon 16/35. I suspect you’d be quite pleased with one. On a tripod with mirror up & remote release it’s an outstanding piece of glass. Got it barely used for a bargain compared to new. Good luck.

pesfls Loc: Oregon, USA

I own the Nikon 16/35. I suspect you’d be pleased with one. On a tripod with mirror up & remote release or cable it is outstanding, in my view. Good luck with your decisions. Oops, my apologies for the double post.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

I can understand the OPs situation in not being able to afford the greatest lenses. That was also my situation last year when I went FF - I had to settle for good but not great, not the best, glass. Since then I've been trying to gradually get higher quality lenses. Due to some unexpected financial reverses it's going slower than I would prefer but I still have no regrets about getting the FF camera. My advice to the OP is buy the camera and carefully choose the best lenses you can afford, do a lot of research, as he appears to be already doing, shop carefully searching for good prices, and buy used when advantageous and possible. It's not ideal but at least in my case it was the only option available other than staying with APS -C and I did not want to do that.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Making the decision as to which camera you will buy, assuming you have the funds available, starts with deciding what you want to make images of, how large you want to print, etc.. Both the D750 and the D810 are great cameras and will make a tough choice. If you do a lot of fast action (sports, wildlife) the D750 will keep up better but the D810 will render larger files. If you have all DX lenses, The D500 should be added to the mix. One thing which is also important to me, is how the camera feels in your hands and how you interface with the controls. Perhaps the latter concern is not the driving force, but it should be considered. Finally, if you want the latest technology, you should choose between the D500 and D850. Best of luck.