gen

<p>MTF also sells an adapter that works with G lenses.</p>

<p>http://www.mtfservices.com/home.html?page=shop.product_details&product_id=97&category_id=2&flypage=flypage.tpl</p>

<p>One obvious choice would be any of the 105mm macro lenses. Frankly, there's no good reason to buy the new AF-S one if the AF-D one works just as well (which it does.)<br>

If you can find the Nikon 70-180 Macro Zoom lens, that should also be a great option which gives you the flexibility of zooming instead of moving your camera to recompose. Rare lens though.</p>

<p>Did you have insurance to cover the loss? I need to look into insurance now that I have a D700...</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>Yeah but $2500 for a 24mm prime? Really?? </em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Count your blessings! The 21/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH is $6000.</p>

<p>At first I thought that the $2200 price tag was expensive. Then I did some more research and saw that the Leica 24/1.4 ASPH is $6400! The Nikkor looks cheap next to the Leica :)</p>

<p>I was initially excited for the 24/1.4 but if that $2200 price is true, that's obscene.</p>

<p>Lensrentals.com has the <a href="http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon-600mm-f4-af-s-vr/for-nikon">600 AF-S for rent</a> . Note that you will need a pretty strong tripod and probably a gimbal ball head (Wimberly, etc.) to go with that. Not sure if Lensrentals has that for rent as well- you may want to ask them.</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure the <a href="http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Camera-Lenses/1933/AF-NIKKOR-85mm-f%252F1.4D-IF.html">85/1.4</a> is not a "G" lens. It is a D lens, which means that any AF Nikon body should be able to operate it. So you can go with a D40 or D3000.... Of course on DX, it's like a 127.5 or whatever the DX multiplier makes it...</p>

<p>+1 for Thom Hogan's guide. To be able to have both PDF and paper copies is wonderful. It is the definitive guide imo.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/50mmnikkor/index6.htm">http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/nikkoresources/50mmnikkor/index6.htm</a></p>

<p>In 2009, I brought my F3 in to Nikon in Tokyo for a CLA. They told me that the upper end of the shutter speeds had drifted and were off. I had them repair that.<br /> <br /> You should think about sending in your Nikon to Torrance for a CLA and tell them of the issues. They can give you an estimate on what needs to be fixed and how much it would cost.</p>

<p>I think the 28-70/2.8 is pretty heavy for a walk around lens. I use the 24-85 AF-S, which is discontinued but has gotten high marks from most reviewers (bythom.com, etc.)</p>

<p>Note that the higher end of the shutter speeds can drift on older F3s. I brought my F3 (purchased by me in the late 80s) to Nikon here in Shinjuku earlier this year for a CLA, they told me that the shutter speeds above 400 were not accurate. I had them adjust that (I think it was around $100 or so.)</p>

<p>They're both good but in different ways. I think the Sigma is faster, but it is larger.<br>

Also please review this:<br>

http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikond700/discuss/72157612521172308/</p>

<p><em>Photographers have been shooting Candids for Decades, without a single Zoom lens.<br /> We did it long before the first one was ever made. Shot most of them with a Prime 50mm or an 85mm and sometimes with a 135mm.</em><br>

<br /> Absolutely agreed. Zooms are "convenient" but certainly not a must, and they are by nature almost always a stop or two slower than the equivalent fastest fixed focal length lens.<br>

<br /> If you want a great candid photography camera, people might point you to a rangefinder, which is much less obtrusive than any SLR.</p>

<p><em>I've been told the D3S would be a big improvement over the D700 and the D700 would be a big improvement over the D300. Is that true?</em><br>

<br /> I suppose it really depends on your definition of "big improvement." I am coming from a D70s, and the D700 is, for me, a HUGE improvement. There are times when the D700 just astonishes me with the low light sensitivity, but I was coming from a 6MP DX body from a few years ago. I think you'd see a 'big' improvement if you went to the D3s, but it's hard to take candids with that pro body.<br /> <br /> Is there a retailer near you where you can test out the D700 or D3S?</p>

<p><em>is it worth trading the D2X for a D700 to use my primes or just let things be as they are?</em><br>

<br /> I think the major upgrade of the D700 (vs. a D2X) is the light sensitivity. The D700 is not a light body, so that doesn't get you much either. If you want light weight, then a DX body with DX zooms are actually the lightest option (<a href="http://www.bythom.com/rationallenses.htm">Thom Hogan recommends the 16-85 and the 70-300</a> as a lightweight set.)<br>

<br /> If you want to keep using your prime lenses then the D700 is great for that, but it's not a light or small DSLR.<br /> <br /> You sort of have to decide which to prioritize.</p>

<p><em>I shoot a great deal of landscape, portraits and candids of people and am always finding myself shooting in low light where I can't use a flash or tripod. </em><br>

<br /> Landscape: 14-24/2.8 is the lens to own for landscape. If you'd rather not, you could try the Zeiss ZF 18mm, which now comes with a CPU chip, (just out recently.)<br>

<br /> Portrait: 105DC & 135DC Nikkors, 180/2.8 Nikkor, 70-200/2.8 VRII; Zeiss ZF 100/2. Any of these would be excellent portrait lenses.<br /> <br /><br>

Candids:<em> </em> Not sure what "candids" mean to you<em> </em> but any of the fast 50mm lenses (Nikkor, Zeiss ZF, Sigma) (even the cheap 1.8 is excellent) are great candid lenses.<br>

<br /> Has Nikon focused more on DX lens variety? Sure- because that's the bulk of the market right now. Rumors say that there will be more fixed-focal-length Nikkors coming out. Who knows for sure. But between what Nikon has out now, the new ZF.2 Zeiss lenses, and a few of the Sigmas, you can easily cover all of what you need.</p>

<blockquote>

<p><em>I get higher quality images with fixed focal lengths.</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>This is no longer an absolute. The new pro zooms like the 14-24 and the 24-70 are, at many focal lengths, better than any of the fixed focal length lenses Nikon has to offer. This is partly due to the quality of these zooms but also partly due to the fact that Nikon has not updated their fixed focal length lenses for a long, long time.</p>

<p>Also check <a href="http://www.bythom.com/Sigma-50-HSM-lensreview.htm">Thom Hogan's review of the 50mm Sigma vs. Nikon</a> .</p>

 

<p>I can't speak to pricing but I would also recommend a 50/1.4 AF-S or AF-D as the others have. Whether you want the pay the premium for the AF-S is up to you. It's one of Nikon's newest lenses, but the AF is not as fast as we normally expect from an AF-S lens. I say visit a dealer and try both. If at the dealer, they also have the Sigma 50mm Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM, give that one a try too. It's known to have better bokeh than the Nikons but is larger in size.<br>

Glen in Japan did a nice comparison: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikond700/discuss/72157612521172308/">Evaluation Sigma 50mm f1.4 Nikkor 50mm f1.4 Nikkor 50mm f1.2</a><br>

<br /> For portraits, I strongly suggest you look at finding a 105/2.0 DC or 135/2.0 DC (DC = Defocus Control, which in Nikon-terms means you can control how quickly the focus falls off.) I would not suggest trying to use a 105 Micro as a portrait lens. If those DC lenses are a bit expensive, there is the 85/1.8 AF-D which is very reasonable and there are a whole host of manual focus portrait lenses that are amazing such as the 105/2.5 AIS (Gauss design), the 105/1.8 AIS (my favorite), the 85/1.4 AIS, etc.</p>

<p>Does Nikon USA not service the F3 anymore?<br /> <br /> Nikon in Tokyo just adjusted my shutter speed on the F3, which had drifted and was not accurate anymore.</p>

<p>The F6 is Nikon's most versatile camera because it brings much of the D3's technologies (like the meter) to film. You can't go wrong with an F6 for AF-D/AFS or AIS lenses.<br>

That being said, I think the F4 is a great platform for MF lenses. It has a Matrix meter (not as sophisticated as the F6's meter) and can meter with all MF lenses, which the F5 can't. It also has a number of replacement finders, which the F6 does not have.<br>

More info at the amazing MIR site:<br>

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/nikonf4/metering/index.htm</p>

<p>Has anyone found a good/reasonable source of used MN-2 battery packs? I'd like to get 1-2 to rebuild but haven't found any online for a reasonable price.</p>

<p>Nikon knows that there are problems with vignetting on FX with the current 70-200, which is why <a href="http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/lens/af/zoom/af-s_70-200mmf_28g_vr2/index.htm">they are releasing the VRII model later this year</a> . So the vignetting issues with the current 70-200 are not imaginary on FX, they are real.</p>