3 must own primes for dx nikon

<p>If money is no object then the Nikkors will be hard to beat in the 24, 50, and 85mm range. But for me I'll have the S-M-C Takumar 24mm f/3.5, S-M-C Takumar 50mm f/1.4, and the S-M-C Takumar 85mm f/1.8.</p>

<p>There isn't even one "must own", since many can get by with zooms. My 11-16 Tokina, and my Nikkor 18-70 and 70-300 can probably get me there for virtually all my photography if it was all I had. If I'm stopping down for a tripod shot to f8, I'd rather have the zoom so I can adjust my field of view a little.</p>

<p>that said, I own a 55mm f3.5 micro, a 35mm f1.8 DX, 105mm f2.5 AI, and a 50mm f1.8. If I lost the 50 I probably wouldn't miss it, but I love those others. My 35 is the stay-on lens and I switch to the others as needed. (I was a BIG 50mm fan when I shot film.)</p>

<p>I use the following three on DX camera and am very happy with their coverage, wight, and IQ:<br>

24/2.8 AF<br>

50/1.8 AF<br>

105/2.8 AF macro</p>

<p>If money is no object, these three:<br>

24/2.8 (street shooter)<br>

85/1.4 (face it)<br>

Tamron 180/3.5 macro (birds and bees)</p>

<p>But I have to admit, the 35/2 sees most use.</p>

Wow! Lots of great info. Sorry I am getting back so late. I currently shoot tokina 12-24; kit 18-105; the 50 1.8; and the 70-300. I shoot a variety of subject matter had a few paid jobs but really hobby and a tech nerd. I even like the zooms I have but love the dof of the primes and the speed in low light. in short just trying to figure out where to spend the tax return. :). Thanks again.

<p>For 40 years I stayed away from zooms because the images were not as good. I cannot discern any difference today and with the power of computer processing it doesn't really matter. Photography today has more power in the CPU for post processing than in the capture of the image with the lens.</p>

<p>As others have said, there are no must own primes for dx. However, if I were limited to shoot with only 3 primes on my dx body, here is what I would select for general shooting:</p>

<p>24mm f/1.4<br>

50mm f/1.4<br>

105mm f/2.8 macro<br>

.</p>

<p>I use the following four AF primes:</p>

 

<ul>

<li>Tokina 17/3.5</li>

<li>Nikkor 24/2.8</li>

<li>Nikkor 35/1.8 DX</li>

<li>Nikkor 50/1.8</li>

</ul>

<p>The all-rounder is the 35/1.8 DX, an excellent lens. The weakest is the 24/2.8, but the Tokina 17 and Nikkor 50 are both very good.</p>

<p>For general usage in FX I use a 28mm, 50mm, and 105mm. For DX I have a 20mm f3.5 on my D5000 "hiking setup". I would like to try and D7000 with my 500mm f4 P which would probably stay mounted. If I could only have three for DX it would be a 20mm, fast 30-35mm and 500mm.</p>

<p>Must own? As you suspect, that would be different for everyone. I am a night shooter so fast lenses are important. For me, that's the speedy use of f2.8 zooms though. As for "must have" primes, hmm. The only one I carry with me is a Sigma 30mm f1.4, for times that even f2.8 isn't fast enough. Really, that's the only one I use any more. Dumped the rest of them. If Nikon releases a 300mm f4 VR, I would very likely buy that one though. I also lust after a 24mm f2.8 PCE, but it's hardly "must have" for me. I still use a 4x5 when I need movements. </p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>I use the following with a Nikon D300:<br>

Nikon 35mm f/1.8<br /><br />Nikon 50mm f/1.8<br /><br />Nikon 105mm f/2.8 macro<br /><br />Nikon 18-200mm f/5.6</p>

<p>To be honest, in my experience wandering around with my D80 I've found the magic number of primes to be 2 - a 35 and an 85. This makes for a wonderfully small/light and flexible kit, and I've travelled many places in the world with just this little setup.</p>

<p>Other primes that I've found handy are the 24 and the 135. I have a 50mm but find it a bit of a 'no-mans-land' focal length on DX. I also have a 180mm prime which is lovely but has limited applications on DX as it becomes quite long (for my taste) so it doesn't come out as often as the others.</p>

<p>If I had to pick just 3 for a DX prime kit I would not hesitate to say 35, 85, and 135. (Note that I limit myself to commenting on stuff I actually own and use; if I loosened that constraint on myself I'd also seriously consider anything good that might become available around 20mm).</p>

<p>To me, a perfect 3 lens prime set for DX would include the 20mm f/2.8, a 35mm f/1.8 , and a 60mm or 70mm micro. </p><div></div>

<p>I use a Zeiss 100 F2 Makro Planar on my D200. Great lens.</p>

<p>I think as always it depends on what you want to shoot and how these primes complement your zooms. I love the <strong>Sigma 50/1.4</strong> for how it renders the out of focus area, which together with the 75mm-ish FOV, makes it my go-to lens for photographing people. I sold my Nikon 50/1.8 because i never use it, once I have the Sigma. Although the Nikon 50/1.8 is small and light, for traveling, I rather use the Tamron 17-50/2.8, which is sharp and delivers better bokeh than the Nikon. I keep a <strong>24/2.8</strong> and <strong>35/1.8</strong> for those days that I wish to use just one lens for a very light package. I love it when I do, although I find myself grabbing the Tamron 17-50/2.8 most of the time as it is not that heavy and big and covers a very wide range. I also have a <strong>85/1.8</strong> for head shots or for traveling as a short telephoto lens as it is rather small and light.</p>

<p>Hey bud, what's up!</p>

<p>My personal opinion, and I am only going to recommend one lens for you...</p>

<p>Many people are talking about the 85 1.4/1.8 as well as the 135 f2 DC. Since you already have the 50 f1.8, I would ignore the 85 and jump to the 135 f2 DC. I am in love with that lens. I think it is just as sharp as the 85 f1.4 and it shows a little contrast as well. It also has the defocus control (DC) which is interesting to play around with. On a DX it will be a great telephoto and it's light and fairly compact.</p>

<p>So go with a wide angle of your choice, keep your 50 1.8 (I have that too) and get the 135 f2.</p>