Lenses for Nikon D700

[Kanga]

I am fortunate enough to have recently become the proud owner of a Nikon D700, and I am in the process of narrowing down the lenses to use with it. The type of photography I currently do is interior architecture, exterior shots when I am travelling (some close up and some distance (say up to 100m's away), nature shots and candid portraits. I have read the tutorials on tilt and shift, but don't want to spend on that type of lens yet. I have a couple of ideas from research I have done and would appreciate any feedback on my choices, and if you have other suggestions. I have tried a couple of the lens in the camera stores and am conscious of the weight of some of them without a tripod. I have tried to stick to FX lenses. My potential choices so far are:

Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.4G
Nikkor AF-S 16-35mm f/4 G ED VR
Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR or AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Cheers, Kanga

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Kanga,

Welcome back.

I recently bought the Nikkor AF-S VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G IF-ED for my 12MP DX format camera and I'm pleased with it.

With more use I am becoming aware it produces better images at f8 than f5.6 when at 300mm.
VR is good, AF is accurate, reasonable speed, but can understandably 'loose it' under certain shooting conditions.

There is quite a difference between the "Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR or AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D" - it is not as if you'd use one or the other for the same subject, so I wondered why those two got grouped together?

Hope that helps a little,

[Kanga]

Dave

Thank you for the welcome back. I have been quietly reading and learning .

Thanks for the feedback on the 70-300mm. I won't even pretend to know much about what each of the lenses are capable of, past what I have read, so I am very happy to take any guidance here. The 85mm is listed as a prime telephoto lens and some reviews and sites list them as alternatives. I was thinking of using those lenses for candid portraits where I may not want or am able to move in closer to the subject and some nature photography. Should I be choosing something another alternative? Again I am conscious of the size & weight of the lens I choose.