I have an assortment of lenses with my D7100, but the Nikon 18-200 VRII stays on my camera 90+% of the time. The best and cheapest way to purchase that lens is to get it as a kit with camera purchase. Depending on your needs, you can also add the inexpensive, excellent and very sharp Nikon 35mm or 50mm F/1.8. Fabulous camera! Enjoy!

This is likely due to moisture being absorbed by the paper. Try letting your photo acclimate to the place it will be hung before mounting it. This might take a day or so. Then mount it to the back of the mat with a tape having a photo-safe adhesive. I attach the tape only at the top and let the photo hang. The photo will be held flat when sandwiched between the mat and the backing.

As a suggestion, look for a used Nikon 80-200, f2.8. I got mine for $600 and it is excellent. The 80-200 is the predecessor to the 70-200. According to Ken Rockwell it is sharper at 105mm than Nikon's 105mm macro lens.

The 18-200 is a versatile lens that I leave on my camera 90% of the time. That is because I take my camera everywhere and this lens covers the everyday situations perfectly. If I want to do portraits or macro work, I switch to my good glass optimized for those purposes. The Nikon 35mm is an awesome deal for a light, fast "normal" lens that is very sharp.

I don't have much of a problem with plastic bodies. However the plastic mounts can be problematic. It seems the manufacturers like using plastic instead of metal, presumably for cost, as the weight difference shouldn't be significant. I had one break on my Nikon 18-105. The part is relatively inexpensive and a bit tedious to replace.

Manufacturers hear this: It doesn't matter how good the glass is if can't be reliably connected to your camera.

I really like Nikon's 35mm f/1.8 as a "normal" (as in field of view) lens. It is pretty inexpensive, light, fast and very sharp. While setting up for landscape and sunset photos using my trusty 18-200 VRII I find that I frequently end up with a focal length around 35mm. In those cases I switch to the 35 mm lens.

For a freeware program I like Irfanview. It is a fast viewer and does some simple edits and can convert or save as a multitude of file formats. It also does a great job at resizing.

I asked at our motel about a nice spot for a sunset photo and was directed to a beautiful place. Unfortunately it didn't offer a view of the horizon. We set off to find a better location. It was getting cloudy and the sun was setting when we turned off the road at an island ferry. The clouds parted a bit and offered us this view.

Sunset near Pictured Rocks

Both the 50mm and 35mm are excellent choices. I am assuming that you currently have the 18-55 "kit" lens, which is very good. I also assume that you intend to keep your same shooting style and just want a faster, sharper lens. If both assumptions are correct, simply look at the zoom setting that you mostly use and get that lens.

I have gone out with my 18-200mm and set up for some tripod-mounted landscape shots and have done exactly that. Frequently my "normal, 35mm is what I end up using. The 50mm usually comes in for informal portraits.

Painters Pallet in Artists Canyon has some wonderful colors. For golden hour shots you might try the sand dunes. Another place for low angle lighting is the Playa Racetrack, but Although a brutal drive, it offers a truly unique photographic opportunity. I was there midday and the lighting could not do it justice.

If you are looking for a good price for quality glass, check out the used stores at KEH, Adorama or B&H. I also recommend the Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 which has an optional chip for recognition on Nikon cameras. You have to manually focus, but this is a well-built lens that is plenty sharp and fast. Check the reviews.

:)

Thanks to all for the replies. I downloaded DIYPhotobits and tried it out. The program works well. Even though it does not seem to have a "Live VIew" it does show me whether the shot I took was in focus. I agree that the larger computer screen is definitely better than the 3" LCD on the camera.

Thanks for the reply. I'm actually using a tripod for my macro shots. With the diopter adjustments it is difficult to view critical focus through the viewfinder. However when I zoom with the lcd during live view the image is a bit fuzzy, not like it is front-or back-focused, just not sharp. When I zoom in on the final image during playback it is sharper than when zoomed in live view. I don't always use this except for critical focus situations, like macros and portraits and when using manual focus lenses.

I have had my D90 for almost 4 years and am having a great time with it. I would like to use Live View when shooting portraits or macros, however the LCD display is not very sharp. The final image is much sharper than the image on the display.

Has anybody else had this occur? I was under the impression that Live View should be the most accurate way to visualize sharp focus.