After reading several posts, I think I can safely say I am in the right spot. I am a "very" novice photographer. I am interested in and have been suggested to in buying a D700 in the KIT form.

My question is: What lenses do I look for?
A little back ground, I am in the outdoors quite frequently and am an avid hunter here in the Western Rockies. I love to take close ups of flowers and long range shots as the Grand Tetons or other landscape pictures.

Like I said I am far from being an expert but would like to have a camera and lenses to help me out to make up for my lack of knowledge.

Any help and information will be much appriciated.

Thanks.

Hi,

the D700 is indeed a great camera, but I am not sure that it is where I would start with photography as a novice. If you are prepared to invest a lot of time and effort, you could take great photos with it. If you want to get there faster, and still take impressive shots, it could be that a less complex camera would suit you better. You are luck in that you have some great scenery to shoot where you live.

If you are sure that you want to invest in photography, and have plenty of cash, then I would suggest that you go for high quality lenses, such as the 24-70mm 2.8 lens (and/or the 14-24 mm 2.8) for landscapes, and the 105mm 2.8 macro lens for flower close ups. To take good macro photos, you would also need to invest in a tripod, as focus is very challenging, and at times is almost impossible when hand-holding.

If you really are a novice photographer, you might find it useful to learn some basics about photography generally, and exposure in particular. Bryan Peterson's book "Understanding Exposure" is a good guide.

Bridget

Being a novice myself and also from Wyoming, I've myself hunted, fished, photographed and roughnecked a bit in those Rockies. If you are asking about a camera to take on hunting trips, I recommend a P&S that pockets easily. Panosonic makes a great line with Leica optics. Stick it in your pocket and concentrate on hunting shoot a good scene when you see one. Careful you don't scare the critters.

Example from the 5 year old Leica 6 MP version.

http://images.nikonians.org/galleries/showphoto.php/photo/153731/size/big/cat/

D700. Oh yeah, it's the beast. I love it. As for lenses, I'll depart from the conventional wisdom that you should get the kit lens to get started. Waste of money for a novice. As the saying goes, the better you get at photography, the less you need great lenses. I s**k so I buy the best I can afford. For landscape, of which you have a plenty, I'd go with the 17-35 or the 14-24. The 17-35 is easier to handle, takes filters (you will want them at some point) and costs less, but the 14-24 is just so darn good. Those bears/elk/moose/deer/antelope/etc. are going to look like ants in something that wide, so you probably want something with some reach (pulll the distant objects closer). I recommend the 80-400 as a great low cost and more importantly, portable long lens. The D700 makes it a serviceable long zoom. There are a few choices for what goes between, and again I'll depart from the conventional standard zoom. It's nice to have a low light lens and here's the opportunity. AFS 50. There are other options now and a real budget performer as well (50 f1.8). You mentioned close ups so you may like the AFS 60 Macro. Not really low light, but it does give you mid range and macro.

Summarizing: Good glass is expensive but worth it. If you buy a D700 don't cheap out on the glass. Cameras come and go but glass lasts a life time.

D700
17-35 (These can be had used for about 1100 mint)
AFS 50 or AF 50 f1.8 or AfS 60 Macro
80-400 (These are also available used)

Buy from a reputable vendor. On-line thats Adorama or B&H. Used gear from KEH is also safe. They are a little high on new gear.

David

Bridget is a lot better photographer than me, but she lives on a tiny island in the middle of nowhere. "Who you gonna believe, me or your own lying eyes." Not original, but I forgot who said it.

You have already received good advice, but if you still want a D700, please forgo the Kit lens as has been said you will soon outgrow it.

I will deviate from some of the other advice by saying a 17-35mm is a better choice for you than a 14-24mm. It is smaller, lighter and much more easily used by a novice since it is an ultra wide. The 14-24 is an Ultra ultra wide specialty lens that takes some skill to use properly. You could even forego even that choice by just buying the 24-70 zoom as has been mentioned as 24 mm is pretty wide in an FDX format. If you have the funds, I would not get either the 60mm or the 105mm macros, as the best Macro lens Nikon makes is the 200 mm f/4 which can also be used as a moderate telephoto lens. It also has the longest "working distance" for shooting things more dangerous than flowers, like snakes and scorpians. For shooting wildlife you will want a long lens, but here is where it gets expensive. The best all around telephoto zoom is the 70-200mm f/2.8 Zoom, but a 300 mm f/4 AFS is also a good choice and about the same price or a little cheaper. But all that said, I would start with the 24-70 and learn how to use the camera as it will give you good landscapes, can certainly shoot flower closeups but not macro's. A cheaper alternative would be a 35-70 f/2.8 zoom which does have a macro mode that gets you to 1:4 but not 1:1.

Bob Baldassano
My Nikonians Gallery

"Nikonians membership - My most important photographic investment, after the
camera"

Retirement is a gift of time - Don't waste it!

Hey, thanks for all the advise. Could you explain why the lens you recommend the (24-70) is so much more expensive the other??

Thanks

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The 24-70 is a brand new lens with AFS focusing and works well through out its range. The 35-70 is an older but excellent AFD lens that has actually been discontinued, but you can still buy them from dealers or on line. It would cost less than $400 now, but is still a very sharp well built lens and the 24-70 is I think about $1400. I own the 35-70, and therefore do not own a 24-70. I also have the 17-35. The advantage of the 24-70 is with it and a 70-200mm you would cover quite a range.

Bob Baldassano
My Nikonians Gallery

"Nikonians membership - My most important photographic investment, after the
camera"

Retirement is a gift of time - Don't waste it!