Nikon D700 question?

Question

This is for my mom, so this would be why I don't know much about this stuff, lol. I want to get her a D700. She will be photographing mainly people, as well as homes, landscapes and things like that. But it will be mainly people. So is this a good camera for things like that?

Also, what lense would be best to get with it?

Thanks soooooooo much! : )

Answer 1

The D700 is great! But unless she is a professional photographer, earning 100% of her income from photography, than she most likely won't need it. And even then, MAYBE the D300 would be fine, especially for Portraiture.

I think the D80 might be a good choice, if she is not a professional, it is good enough to shoot almost as well as the pro cameras, but not very pricey. That way, she could spend more money on what really matters - the lenses.

Again, maybe you would like to go with the D300, which is between the D80 and the D700.

Here is some information on all of them.

D700: http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d700.htm

D300: http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d300.htm

D80: http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/d80.htm

And may I recommend one lens? The Nikon 50mm f/1.4 AF D. I believe it is always good to have a prime 50mm lens, and this lens is extremely good, very sharp, and excellent quality. It is around $300. If that is out of your price range for lenses, try the 50mm f/1.8 - it's only $150!

Good luck,

zlh

Answer 2

For portraits, the Nikon 85 mm or 105 mm macro would be the one a purest would buy, but something like the 24-85 mm or the 70-200 mm (with this lens, she would want another one to take groups and other kinds of shots) would be an excellent choice.

Answer 3

My mum has a Nikon D80, they're really good, a really good allround camera so it would be good for all the things you said she wants to do with it.

It depends on how much you want to spend on a lens but my mum has a whole collection of different ones for different things.

I would recommend that the ideal portrait lens has a focal length in the range 90mm to 135mm. However, if also doing landscape photography then I would suggest that a lens with a focal range beginning at 70 or less would be better.

My Mum's first lens for her Nikon was a Nikon 70mm - 300mm. This is usually quite a good lens for a variety of uses and it was quite a bit cheaper than the others!!