Definitive List of Recommended Autofocus Lenses for the D600

The Nikon D600 is the camera that probably 95% of those who bought the D800 should have bought in the first place.  It has superbly high resolution (more than any enthusiast or even professional is ever going to need) and is packed with almost every feature anyone needs.  You also partially avoid the high requirements of computer storage/memory/speed to support the huge files of the D800 (I say partially because the D600's files are darn big too).

Now that it's been released, I'm starting to get questions from people about lens choice.  I could point them to my list of recommended lenses for the D800E, but since a lot of these folks are enthusiast photographers and some are just stepping up to the FX (full-frame) format, I understand that they may not want to shell out for the best lenses.

So, I present my list of recommended lenses for the D600.  These are top performing lenses, but selected with an eye towards affordability and flexibility.  Therefore, I won't be listing some of the exotics, like the amazing 200mm f/2.  For those lenses, check out the recommendations for the D800E.  Again, I am highlighting autofocus lenses only.

The Best Normal Lenses:

• If you want the absolute best and sharpest: Nikon 60mm f/2.8G Micro
• If you want to save money, get the previous generation: Nikon 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro
• I have a hard time recommending any of the AF 50mm lenses as they are really soft wide open, but if you must have one, I would get the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G and make sure you shoot it at its optimum apertures (meaning 4, 5.6, 8, or 11).
• Don't bother with the Sigma 1.4.

The Best Mid-Range Zoom (if you must have a mid-range zoom):

• The best, even for the D600, is still this one: Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G
• If you can't afford the 24-70, then this is a decent compromise.  Just be sure to shoot it at f/5.6 or f/8 for the sharpest photos.  Wide open, you will be disappointed: Nikon 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G VR
• I can't recommend the 24-120mm f/4G because you have to use it at optimum apertures for it to be decent; it's not really up to the standards of the D600 or the D800.

The Best Portrait Lens:

• Easy: Nikon 85mm f/1.8G

Again, don't bother with the heavier, less sharp, more expensive 85mm f1.4G unless you really want that extra 2/3 stop for some reason.

The Best Telephoto Lens (the same list as for the D800):

• This one is great not just for macro, but for any distance: Nikon 105mm f/2.8G VR Micro
• This misunderstood lens is blisteringly sharp, but older: Nikon 105mm f/2.0D DC
• And the same DC system in a slightly longer focal length: Nikon 135mm f/2.0D DC

The Best Wide Angle Lens:

• Easy: Nikon 28mm f/1.8G

The Best Telephoto Zoom Lens:

• If you've got the cash, you will never regret this: Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II
• The budget option is this, if you don't need VR: Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D
• I'm tempted to list the new f/4 zoom, but I've always ended up needing f2.8, so you'll really have to know yourself as a photographer to make this decision: Nikon 70-200 f/4G

The Best Ultra-wide Angle Lenses:

This is more difficult as the venerable 14-24mm shows its corner deficiencies with the resolution of the D800.  This is where you'll want to compromise on the autofocus and go with the Zeiss 15mm when it starts shipping.

The Best Macro Lens:

• Easy: Nikon 200mm f/4.0D Micro

Conclusion:

The lenses above should cover everything that 99% of general users of the D800E will encounter.  If you want to put together a zoom kit that covers everything, I would get the 24-70 and the 70-200 and be done with it (add the ultra wide if you need it).  If you want the utmost in image quality, go with the primes.

Definitive List of Recommended Autofocus Lenses for the D800E (and D800)

Everyone has been asking me what lenses they should get for their D800E (and D800).  Unlike in the medium format digital world, where most all of the lenses are superb, even when shot wide open, in the 35mm world you have to pick and choose your lenses very carefully to ensure that they will be good enough on the D800.

If you pick a lens that's just not up to standard of resolution on the D800E, you're needlessly wasting that 36 megapixel goodness.  (In that case, you may as well just shoot with a lower resolution camera like the D600 or even the D700.  Check out my recommended lenses for the D600.)

So I've decided to put this page together to help D800E and prospective D800E buyers select the very best lenses for their camera.  Now keep in mind that most lenses, if you know how to shoot them with exquisite technique, can give you great results, even on the D800.  But here I'm going to focus on lenses that you can shoot at most any aperture and get stellar results from.

Also, I've decided to limit the selection to autofocus lenses only.  If you're shooting still life or landscapes and don't need autofocus, that's just fine.  But for most people, one of the main reasons to get a DSLR is for their fast and accurate autofocus.  So I'll only be highlighting autofocus lenses.

The Best Normal Lenses:

• If you want the absolute best and sharpest: Nikon 60mm f/2.8G Micro
• If you want the sharpest but don't mind the previous generation to save a few bucks: Nikon 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro
• I have a hard time recommending any of the AF 50mm lenses as they are really soft wide open.  Don't bother with the Sigma 1.4 either.
• My secret weapon normal lens is this one: (coming soon, stay tuned)

The Best Mid-Range Zoom (if you must have a mid-range zoom):

• If you must have the absolute best and sharpest, then there is no question:Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G.
• I'm reluctant to list this, but if you can't afford the 24-70, then this is the next best thing.  You'll need to shoot it at f/5.6 or f/8 for the sharpest photos though: Nikon 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G VR
• I can't recommend the 24-120 f/4, it's not really up to the standards of the D800.

The Best Portrait Lens:

• Easy: Nikon 85mm f/1.8G

You don't need the less sharp, much heavier and more expensive 85mm f1.4G unless you really want that extra 2/3 stop for some reason.

The Best Telephoto Lens (a few good choices here):

• This one is great not just for macro, but for any distance: Nikon 105mm f/2.8G VR Micro
• This misunderstood lens is blisteringly sharp, but older: Nikon 105mm f/2.0D DC
• And the same DC system in a slightly longer focal length: Nikon 135mm f/2.0D DC
• The amazing, super high resolving 200mm: Nikon 200mm f/2.0G

The Best Wide Angle Lens:

• Easy: Nikon 28mm f/1.8G

The Best Telephoto Zoom Lens:

• Another easy one: Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II

The Best Ultra-wide Angle Lenses:

This is more difficult as the venerable 14-24mm shows its corner deficiencies with the resolution of the D800.  This is where you'll want to compromise on the autofocus and go with the Zeiss 15mm when it starts shipping.

The Best Macro Lens:

• Easy: Nikon 200mm f/4.0D Micro
• Or the slightly shorter: Nikon 105mm f/2.8G VR Micro
• I can't recommend the 60mm or 55mm micro lenses because they don't provide enough working distance when shooting macro subjects.

Conclusion:

The lenses above should cover everything that 99% of general users of the D800E will encounter.  If you want to put together a zoom kit that covers everything, I would get the 24-70 and the 70-200 and be done with it (add the ultra wide if you need it).  If you want the utmost in image quality, go with the primes.

Nikon D800E now in stock at Amazon

My highest recommended camera for photographers looking to get into lower end medium format is the Nikon D800E.  It's now in stock at Amazon.

Get it here: Nikon D800E 36.3 MP FX Digital SLR

Rescue dogs and fashion models

For my pro bono work with rescue dogs, I wanted to shoot them with fashion models.  I figure pretty girls sell a lot of things, why not some dogs in need?

Here is top NYC model Barbara Duerrer with Violet.

Captured with the D800E.

UPDATE: Violet was recently adopted!  Yay!

Fashion Yoga

I saw a photo a while back on my friend Mimi's facebook page.  She was doing a cool handstand yoga pose, but dressed like she was going to go out - heels and everything.  She looked great on [iphone] camera, so I asked her if she would like to do a shoot.  Well, she said yes, we did it and here are the results:

QP Card Differences between ICC and DCP Profiles

I've been using the QPcard 203 Book for a few weeks now and have been trying to make it work with Adobe Process 2012.  Unfortunately no matter what I've tried, I couldn't seem to get a DCP profile that was flatter than the stock Adobe Camera Neutral profile for my D800E.  The profile looks OK, and is better than the profiles generated by the Colorchecker Passport, but like I said, still not flatter than the built-in Neutral.

So I tried using the QPcalibration software to create an ICC profile for use in Capture One.  Holy cow, I got a super flat and color accurate image (when using Linear Response Curve) straight away.  Just a little tweak with the skin tone tool, and I got significantly better results than I ever got with DCP profiles in Adobe.

I used Large Gamut, Low Profile Curve, and the High Smoothing settings in QPcalibration.  The QP profile was still very contrasty in Lightroom, even when I dialed the Contrast down by -80.

Here are the results, Lr first, then C1 (the differences are greater on my calibrated editing screen than these small sRGB files will yield, but you can still see the contrast differences in her dress, shoes and face):

So what does this mean?  Maybe the QP Card is only really useful when making ICC profiles for Capture One, and significantly less useful when making DCP profiles for Camera Raw.  That is disappointing as I really want to standardize on Lightroom for raw conversion.  I guess Capture One still wins for best color / contrast / and skin tone.

Mighty Mutts

I've been wanting to shoot some pro bono work of rescue dogs in New York.  When you look at the websites of dog rescue places, and on Petfinder, the photos are so terrible - all you see are crappy cell phone or direct flash shots where the camera is pointed down on the dog.  So when I met a great dog at the dog park a few months ago, and found out he was from Mighty Mutts, I filed that name away in my head.

If you live in New York, you might have seen them in Union Square with the dogs and cats they are fostering for adoption.  This is an amazing all-volunteer no-kill animal rescue organization, run by an equally amazing woman named Michelle.

We had our first shoot on Sunday and here are some of the images.  If you want to rescue any of these dogs here, please feel free to get in touch at http://www.mightymutts.org/ or you can leave me a comment here on the blog.

Thanks for looking,

John