jorish

This forum never disappoints; a lot of input and suggestions, reasonings, etc. make me evaluate and question my own line of thinking, which is good. For those of you who are interested, a little more background and (un)reasoning behind my question and my probable solution... I've had a couple of Nikon DSLR's so far; started out with a D50 (which was also my starting into photography), after that a secondhand D200 (disappointed me in IQ, which was probably just my sample), then a D80 (which despite the bad rep worked for me), then a D300. That camera really clicked with me and I might still be using it today. However, my wife wanted to change to digital, so we decided she would take over the D300, and I would buy the successor. That successor kept not arriving however, so I bought the D750. Just a couple of months before the D500 was announced... Now the D750 is a very capable camera, and on paper more than adequate for me. Reality however proved otherwise; I never managed to find my way around the different style of controls and menus. I even lost some of the pleasure in shooting. So I decided I wanted to trade it in on either a D500, or a D8xx. And having gotten used to FX, I wanted to see what the secondhand market here in the Netherlands was like for the D800 or D810. Started to read up on the differences between the D800, D810 and the D850. Now, I'm also prone to GAS/NAS, so a D850 looked mightily interesting but just out of my wallet's reach. What I liked about the D850 was the flip-up lcd (one of the few things I really liked and often used on my D750), the fact that it is more recent (I plan to use this camera for the next 6 years at least), and the better AF. And yes, NAS also chipped in. Now, I had more or less decided to wait for a good secondhand D810, when I noticed a demo D850 at 'my' shop. I can get no VAT (or whatever you call sales tax) back on secondhand models, but that's not true for a demo model. So... 15% off new price because it was a demo and 21% sales tax back brought it just within reach. And this demo model had only 91 clicks... So, less than a fortnight ago, I bought the D850. Now. The question of a walk-around lens. I understand and have tried some of the suggestions made here; * Get a compact. > I had a Sony RX100III for a while. Easy to carry around, good quality images. I just found it too small, did not like the menus and buttons, and it ended up in a drawer. Gave it to a friend who is reallly happy with it. * With all my Nikons I have tried several solutions for city trips, day trips into nature (hills, woods, etc.), etc. I don't mind the weight so much of different primes, or even 2 or 3 zooms. Though weight does take its toll after a while of course. The reason I asked for 1 lens, is that photography is not the main goal of those trips, and my changing lenses leads to people waiting for me, getting annoyed, etc. I want to be able to take my camera out of the bag, aim, focus and click within a couple fo seconds (ok, maybe more like a minute, but you get the drift I'm sure). My experience with the D850 so far... Last week I was working (I work as a techie for theatres and companies). I traveled with acrobats, and tried my D850 in my spare moments. I had brought the 35/1.8 and the 70-200/2.8 VR mk1 with me. Shot out of hand and I really, reallly liked using the D850, though I'm still learning (will be for a long while) what it's really capable of. But the controls made sense, I was able to quickly change settings and try out different things. Tracking movement worked pretty good right from the start. ... In short; anyone who read the original question and my first reply really carefully, will have noticed I did not so much ask for a *light* camera/lens combo, as for a "1-unit, quick-to-grab" comb. I don't need it to be F2.8, and since I have so far never liked variable aperture, it will probably be a F4 lens. Nikon or Sigma, whichever works. And if neither of them please me, a F2.8 is more probable than a variable aperture. I'll keep you posted, though it may very well be a couple of months before I buy.

@ c.p.m._van_het_kaar: I'm not getting the D850 for these hikes. I'm getting the D850. I don't (at this moment at least) want a second camera, so for hikes, day trips, etc. I'm looking for a general purpose lens that will prevent me having to change lenses, yet will still be good enough to print enlarged images now and then. @ everyone else: Thanks very much for your input. It confirms some of the things I thought and read, and clarified some other points. The 24-70 F2/8 models were taken off the short list because of price and (less so) weight. The 28-300 was taken off because I really want the wider 24 mm. As for the 24-85; I have only ever owned 2 variable aperture lenses; the 18-55 and 55-200 kit lenses that came with my first ever camera, the D50. I could never get used to the variable aperture (though admittedly I was also overwhelmed with everything I was learning). Still, I've mentally blocked considering the 24-85. I'll read up on it. I'm hoping to find the time tomorrow to go to the store and try out the Nikon 24-120, the Sigma 24-150 and maybe the Nikon 24-85. Up till now I was very much undecided between the Nikon and the Sigma, but I just read somewhere that the Sigma turns the 'wrong' (Canon) way. That, and the constant power requirement mentioned by Dieter, may very well be the deciding factors.

Hi, I'm planning on getting a D850. I have a couple of primes for my theatre work, but I'm looking for a one-lens solution for holidays and hikes. I don't want to take 4~5 lenses with me when I'm going for day-trips, and maybe more importantly, don't want to change lenses so much anymore 'in the open'. So, I'm reading up on the Nikon 24-120 F/4, and the Sigma 24-105 F/4.I don't need larger apertures. The verdict on those two lenses seems to be "ok to good, but not great". Any thoughts or experiences? From D850 users even? Or tips for a secret gem lens that I overlooked?

A bit late, but better than never, right? "Dead in the water" Handheld, Sigma 150mm Macro on D750.

Taking a walk, just shooting what looks interesting, I came home with this one...

Hiding in the grass...

A couple of years ago; the Notre Dame in Paris, France. Almost tumbling down because of lack of maintenance, so transgressing from one type of 'famous pile of rocks' to another...

I was trying to look at the city where I live with a tourist's eye... Now, like most cities in the Netherlands we have a historical center, monumental buildings (some of which are hundreds of years old), and other 'typical touristy things'. But as a foreign visitor, I guess one of the most Dutch things is the everyday use of bicycles. And especially all the folding bikes that people use in combination with cars or public transport. And alas; even the most humble bikes need motorcylce-strength locks on them. This one is even slightly underprotected IMO...

Nikon D750, Nikkor 24/2.8 AF-D. ISO250, f/6.3, 1/125sec. At the island of Terschelling, last december.

A colleague of mine adjusting theatre lights. We had red, green and blue colour gels, and red looked most dramatic :)

I do not have a lot of wisdom to offer regarding the different lenses. However, for manual focusing, I sometimes use a trick when I shoot theatre/dance performances; During a moment just before 'the action' (and I assume you have a second or two here when the game moves toward a goal for instance) you let the camera AF on something/someone close to where you expect the action, then switch to manual and you don't have to worry about being able to see the correct focus in the 'bad' viewfinder. With f/4 together with the distance, you will very often have enough of the action in focus. I admit it's more of a workaround than a proper solution, but it worked for me until I had the budget for a better lens.

If the card really doesn't matter, it might be possible to drill/force a small hole in the card, thread a piece of metal wire through and fashion a grip? - off-topic: as a non-native English speaker I was thrilled to see that the actress/bishop jokes/replies are not limited to Dutch... Every once in a while my colleagues and I will have an afternoon in which every sentence gets replied to with a 'said the actress to the bishop" or "said the bishop to the actress". A dirty mind is a joy forever, albeit very exhausting sometimes for the people around us :))

Infrequent poster, just as I am an infrequent shooter... This was taken earlier this month, at the beach of West Terschelling, the Netherlands.

In the hope I can upload an image...