Lenses for D500/D810 travel kit

[ArthurDent]

I’m thinking of getting a D810 body in addition to my D500. Any suggestions for a lens kit?
I have the following available:
35mm f/1.8 dx lens
50mm f/1.4 afd
28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 afd
35-70mm f/2.8 afd
12- 24mm f/4 dx (would work as 18-24mm on D810 body)
105mm f/2.8 Tokina macro
70-200mm f/2.8 VR (the original)
1.7x teleconverter
I’m going to get the 300mm f/4 PF at some point in time.
I’m thinking the 50mm, 28-105mm, 12-24mm and 300mm would make a serviceable kit without spending much more other than for the 300mm, which I’m going to buy for my D500 in any event.
I have a set of Rokinon extension rings I can use with the 28-105 for macro.
Any thoughts?

[Bent Hjarbo]

It depends on where and what you are going to photograph.
The 300 PF f4 is a fantastic lens, light and compact.

[ArthurDent]

It depends on where and what you are going to photograph.
The 300 PF f4 is a fantastic lens, light and compact.

Traveling it could be virtually anything or anybody, landscapes, buildings, animals, insects, people, flowers, inside or outside. I wouldn’t know in advance. I’d just like to be reasonably well equipped for anything I encounter of photographic interest. With the kit I outlined, I’m pretty much covered from 18mm to 150 and then I’d have the 300 which would cover 300mm on the D810 and 450mm on the D500. The 28-105 has a macro setting and the rings would add some capability there, so I think I’d be reasonably prepared, but maybe there are some holes, hence this thread.
The one thing I’d be lacking, except on the 300mm lens, is VR, but so far in using the lenses I already own, it has not been an issue.
Thanks for your input, and yes, the 300mm f/4 PF is a marvelous lens. I’ve borrowed it a couple of times and have taken my best shots ever with it.

[mxbianco]

...
12- 24mm f/4 dx (would work as 18-24mm on D810 body)
...
... I’d have the 300 which would cover 300mm on the D810 and 450mm on the D500.
...

The 12-24mm f/4 does not vignette on FX down to 15mm (16mm to be on the safe side). On my sample I've marked a white line at 16 mm to mark the safe point for FX usage.
On the telephoto side, if you count that you have a 1.3x mode on the D500, your new 300mm will be covering up to an equivalent of 585mm, a very good reach for those occasions when you have a really distant subject.

Ciao from Massimo

[PeterN]

Just my two cents, as I love traveling and even more so, traveling light.

I’ve owned both the D810 and the D750 and prefer the D750 for traveling (and for events as well). It is lighter and performs better in low light. A3 Prints look fabulous. It might be nice to have the extra megapixels if you love/need cropping.

Regarding lenses. I try to challenge myself to take as less lenses as possible. I do the same for events. Personally I prefer prime lenses and I have shot events with a 24, 58 and 300mm (or 135mm) lens and did not say once ‘ I wish I’d taken... During my last 5-week trip to Australia and Tasmania, I brought the 24mm 1.8 (especially for the Sydney fireworks), the 35mm 1.4 Sigma (I would have brought the 1.8 if I had one), the 60mm 2.8 macro and the 135mm Zeiss (yes, that is quite heavy_. However, when I went out, I took max. 2 lenses with me. The 35mm and 135mm lenses were used 90% of the time.
My problem is that before I leave I always think that I need to take more lenses with me...  I always feel the need to cover every single focal length “just in case”. In reality it is never necessary. So I try to bring one wide-angle, one normal to light Tele, and one Tele. I learned to zoom with my feet (after purchasing the Z6/24-70 kit, I also zoomed with my foot instead of the zoom ring).

To me, a D750 with 3 1.8/2.0/4 prime lenses is a perfect set.  I try to follow Birna’s '2-3x difference in focal length' rule as it works well for me. I am thinking now about only taking a 35mm lens (ok, and perhaps a 135mm lens) with me.

In your case, I do not really see the added value (for travel) of a D810 to the beautiful camera you have unless the 2mm extra width (16mm instead of 18mm) is worth the extra cost and weight. And unless you want the camera anyway ;-) Perhaps you can get a loan D810 and compare the two side-by-side instorting things you like to shoot?

[Øivind Tøien]

My base travel kit is D500 with Nikon AFS 12-24mm f/4, 55mm f/3.5 micro AI  (occasionally replaced or supplemented by AFS 50mm f/1.8 ), 105mm f/2.5 AIS 300PF and 10.5mm fisheye.

I do not own a FX body, instead I often carry the AW1 with the standard zoom, and 10mm + fisheye converter for snorkeling. I do also tend to bring along my 28mm f/2.8 AIS, but that is a lens for when I take a walk with just one lens to "replace" everthing else (although the 300PF has tended to tag along then too...). I do also sometimes bring my D40x IR-720nm body, and/or the D5100 as backup.

[ArthurDent]

The 12-24mm f/4 does not vignette on FX down to 15mm (16mm to be on the safe side). On my sample I've marked a white line at 16 mm to mark the safe point for FX usage.
On the telephoto side, if you count that you have a 1.3x mode on the D500, your new 300mm will be covering up to an equivalent of 585mm, a very good reach for those occasions when you have a really distant subject.

Ciao from Massimo

Thanks for pointing out the 1.3 crop mode, I’d forgotten about it. I’ve never used it, but if I did, and took along my 1.7 teleconverter (which I’d forgotten to include in my initial list, but have now rectified the omission), I’d  have the equivalent of a 995mm lens. I’d probably experience a significant loss of image quality, but then I might get a shot I’d otherwise miss.
Also, thanks for giving me the benefit of your experience with the 12-24 on an fx body. Sometimes, an extra 2mm on the wide side could make all the difference.

[Fons Baerken]

Last year we travelled on a coach to Ireland and back, wth limited space available, although i took a few primes, 95 % of all images were shot with the 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6vr on a d500, cheers.

[ArthurDent]

Last year we travelled on a coach to Ireland and back, wth limited space available, although i took a few primes, 95 % of all images were shot with the 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6vr on a d500, cheers.

I really like my 28-105 lens. I hear there is a lot of variability in quality, but I must have gotten a good sample.So I can see your point.

[MILLIREHM]

my travel kit contains the AF-S Nikkor 80-400 4,5-5,6G  VR , the AF_S Micro Nikkor 60 mm f/2,8 G ED (or AI-S 55 mm f/2,8 Micro) and a Super Wide-Angle Zoom. Either I take the D500 ( DX has 1,5 x Crop Factor btw.) - then the AF-S DX 12-24mm f/4 G IF-ED is the lens of choice, or if FX is wanted the D850/D800 is chosen together with the AF-S 17-35 mm f/2,8 IF-ED. The FX cameras are quicky set to DX when needed. (Should I feel the need to take two bodies I would have to decide on which wide angle to come on board).The kit mentioned has its focus on nature photography and general photography, and still fits in a shoulder bag making it easier to change lenses. I have got an Expeed Backpack where the bag fits in if needed. The 80-400 gives me some range where Bird/bird in Flight captures are starting to get some chance and has some decent close- up capability. The Macro lens ist for opportunities more close-up is needed (i prefer 105 mm in principle but thats the compormise). The wide-angle range covers most of needs for landscape and such like. If 400mm is not enough range i take a backpack and the AF-S Nikkor 200-500 mm F/5,6E ED VR instead. I try to avoid flights otherwise even the first setup would be too heavy for the allowed hand-luggage parameters.
For City travels and architecture or people and portraits the choice would be significantly different.

[ArthurDent]

my travel kit contains the AF-S Nikkor 80-400 4,5-5,6G  VR , the AF_S Micro Nikkor 60 mm f/2,8 G ED (or AI-S 55 mm f/2,8 Micro) and a Super Wide-Angle Zoom. Either I take the D500 ( DX has 1,5 x Crop Factor btw.) - then the AF-S DX 12-24mm f/4 G IF-ED is the lens of choice, or if FX is wanted the D850/D800 is chosen together with the AF-S 17-35 mm f/2,8 IF-ED. The FX cameras are quicky set to DX when needed. (Should I feel the need to take two bodies I would have to decide on which wide angle to come on board).The kit mentioned has its focus on nature photography and general photography, and still fits in a shoulder bag making it easier to change lenses. I have got an Expeed Backpack where the bag fits in if needed. The 80-400 gives me some range where Bird/bird in Flight captures are starting to get some chance and has some decent close- up capability. The Macro lens ist for opportunities more close-up is needed (i prefer 105 mm in principle but thats the compormise). The wide-angle range covers most of needs for landscape and such like. If 400mm is not enough range i take a backpack and the AF-S Nikkor 200-500 mm F/5,6E ED VR instead. I try to avoid flights otherwise even the first setup would be too heavy for the allowed hand-luggage parameters.
For City travels and architecture or people and portraits the choice would be significantly different.

I think what Massimo was pointing out is that the D500 offers an additional crop mode of 1.3 so that  a 300mm lens becomes an effective 300 x 1.5 x 1.3 or 585mm on the D500 body with the 1.3 crop mode enabled, and my thought was I could also add in my 1.7x teleconverter and get all the way to an effective 995mm, which is mind boggling.

[MILLIREHM]

I think what Massimo was pointing out is that the D500 offers an additional crop mode of 1.3 so that  a 300mm lens becomes an effective 300 x 1.5 x 1.3 or 585mm on the D500 body with the 1.3 crop mode enabled, and my thought was I could also add in my 1.7x teleconverter and get all the way to an effective 995mm, which is mind boggling.

sorry misunderstand this as indicating the usual crop-Factorbetween FX and DX mode. I forgot about the additional crop option of the D500 because I just dont use it. It would make files smaller and reduce the need for additional cropping in PP at the risk of too narrow crops when shooting moving subjects. It does not make The D500 faster.
(I indeed used DX crop mode with the D800E because it gave me more fps, and I use it for the D850 (despite not giving speed gain) when full format is not needed becasue the filesize is so big. Excluded all other crop options and set the video button to quickly toggle between modes.)

[ArthurDent]

sorry misunderstand this as indicating the usual crop-Factorbetween FX and DX mode. I forgot about the additional crop option of the D500 because I just dont use it. It would make files smaller and reduce the need for additional cropping in PP at the risk of too narrow crops when shooting moving subjects. It does not make The D500 faster.
(I indeed used DX crop mode with the D800E because it gave me more fps, and I use it for the D850 (despite not giving speed gain) when full format is not needed becasue the filesize is so big. Excluded all other crop options and set the video button to quickly toggle between modes.)

In his manual on the D500, Thom Hogan says that using the 1.3 crop mode results in the loss of almost a stop in dynamic range, so that’s a factor in deciding to use it as well.

[Øivind Tøien]

In his manual on the D500, Thom Hogan says that using the 1.3 crop mode results in the loss of almost a stop in dynamic range, so that’s a factor in deciding to use it as well.

Cropping will always reduce photographic dynamic range (as defined by Bill Claff) due to magnification of noise when final total print size is the same. There is nothing special with D500 here. Similar with DX crop of an 800 series image which will be closer to the D500 dynamic range. However the crop will not change what happens at pixel level.

[MILLIREHM]

Did not take this factor into account so far