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What lens to get next?

A nifty 50. 50 mm f/1.2
Also 16-35 wide angle f/2.8
I have the 24-70 but use the others more. All L lenses for my canon 5 d m2
 
I'd say the 70-200mm f/2.8 would come in as the most appreciated, but it depends on your shooting style. If you like landscapes, go wide angle. If you like sports, wildlife, or just shooting faraway things, get the 70-200mm.
The macro lens and the tilt-shift lens both occupy a small niche of photography. Once you go out of that niche, you will have to think of creative ways to use them. The wide angle zoom is a little more versatile, but if you want the most bang for your buck then go with the tele.

If you do go for the telephoto, try to get one with VR in it. You will appreciate it a lot.

I am in a similar situation as you, except on the Canon side. I have the 24-70mm f/2.8L USM (which is an awesome lens in and of itself). The next lens I would buy if money was no object would be the ~$2200 70-200 f/2.8L IS II USM. Then probably the 17-40mm f/4L USM (over the f/2.8, because with wide angles and landscapes, one stop of light won't really affect me).
 
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Good points. I can probably get by quite well on the wide side with 24mm for now but not having something long when you need it sucks. A 50 is cheap enough and useful enough that I could also get it. I'm also thinking of getting a lensbaby lens for additional fun, hmm... in fact that (fun) and architecture were my main reasons for mentioning the t/s lens but with a lensbaby I wouldn't necessarily need the expensive t/s lens.
 
What are you looking to shoot?
I think something on the wide side may work out for you but it all depends on what you shoot, i.e., landscapes
 
Depends on what type of shooting you plan on doing. Sports, landscape, macro, portraits. The 24-70 is good general purpose lens, but if you want to focus on specific photography styles as mentioned above you'd have to determine the best lens based on that decision. I know it's not an answer, but let us know where you think your 24-70 is lacking or situations where you think you're pushing its limits, and I'm sure we could help steer you down the right path.
 
As mentioned the most important thing is what you would like to shoot. All the lenses you mention will give you the opportunity to shoot great shots.

After using my kit lens for a few months I decided I needed a wide angle lens because I like shooting landscapes and cities. Then I bought the 105 micro and discovered a whole new macro world that I find absolutely fascinating. But I know this is not for everyone.

My next lens will probably be the 50mm 1.2 just for the fun of photography.

I do have the 70-200 VR on my wish list for the wildlife opportunities, but it is pretty heavy to carry around all day. I have actually become a prime lens fan because I think it forces me to be a bit more creative when it comes to technique and getting the shot. But that's me and we are all different. Good luck.
 
lordonuthin said:
Good points. I can probably get by quite well on the wide side with 24mm for now but not having something long when you need it sucks. A 50 is cheap enough and useful enough that I could also get it. I'm also thinking of getting a lensbaby lens for additional fun, hmm... in fact that (fun) and architecture were my main reasons for mentioning the t/s lens but with a lensbaby I wouldn't necessarily need the expensive t/s lens.
Click to expand...

A lensbaby won't replace a tilt-shift. Most of their optics don't focus on a plane but rather a center focus point that gets blurry on the edges. I personally hate the look because it looks like the focus point suddenly became a warp-hole and everything gets motion blur around it. Only their 80mm seems to have a flat focus plane. But 80mm is maybe too wide for architecture. Also lensbaby aren't tilt shift, they only tilt. The shift in a tilt-shift lens is what makes them able to correct converging lines.
 
As others have said, it depends on what you're planning to shoot.

The 14-24 is an amazing lens. My D800 hasn't been delivered yet, but on a D300 it shows not a trace of distortion, even at 14. I mounted it on my F5 and it was the same.

If wide interests you, then 14-wide on full-frame should blow you away.
 
Maybe I'm rushing things a bit, I took my first real photos this morning with it (D800/24-70) and I love the 24-70! I'm at work now so I can't show you anything, but the camera is fabulous. As far as what I want to do with it... I guess a little of everything!

I actually was a commercial photographer once upon a time but got out of it for a number of reasons, so I am new to digital but not photography in general and I have an interest in architecture, landscapes, and micro. All for fun not profit... and since I have way more money than when I was a starving artist I thought it would be fun to play around with again.

And it will take me awhile to get the hang of a digital camera and Photoshop etc. so I will see if I can do anything useful in a "digital darkroom". Hopefully I can post some pics here soon.
 
If you have 24-70mm covered, I'd go this route for your next lens:

-MS
 
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lordonuthin said:
Good points. I can probably get by quite well on the wide side with 24mm for now but not having something long when you need it sucks. A 50 is cheap enough and useful enough that I could also get it. I'm also thinking of getting a lensbaby lens for additional fun, hmm... in fact that (fun) and architecture were my main reasons for mentioning the t/s lens but with a lensbaby I wouldn't necessarily need the expensive t/s lens.
Click to expand...



Now that we all are shooting digital and we have Photoshop there is not a great need for a lens that can shift or tilt. We can fix up the non-parallel lines in software.
 
Ok, my second lens is: the AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED. It is really nice and sharp!
 
lordonuthin said:
I thought I would see if there are any opinions :p about what my second lens should be. I have only a 24-70 zoom now but will eventually get the following, and I'm torn as to which one will be next, 70-200 f/2.8, 14-24 f/2.8, 105 micro, and maybe a 24 tilt/shift. These are for my full frame D800.
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Well, ask yourself why did you buy the D800?
It caters towards studio & landscape photographers.

Most people have a preference on whether they like zoom or prime lenses but you list both types and we don't know what your shooting.

:confused:
 
Your digital darkroom is the next investment - in time, if not in money. Photoshop is almost certainly over-kill for what you need. Lightroom 4 and Aperture should be able to handle 90% of the "darkroom" work you need to do. Try Elements before Photoshop.

Photoshop can be totally overwhelming to someone just starting, and you will barely be using 3% of the features. And it's expensive. Elements is more geared for photographers (Photoshop for is more geared for graphic designers).

One other thing.... Lr and Aperture are Digital Asset Managers that also do a great job editing. Learn what a DAM can do, and how they work to get the most from them. You could start with iPhoto since iPhoto is also a DAM - it's Aperture Lite, in essence.

Good Luck.
 
monokakata said:
As others have said, it depends on what you're planning to shoot.

The 14-24 is an amazing lens. My D800 hasn't been delivered yet, but on a D300 it shows not a trace of distortion, even at 14. I mounted it on my F5 and it was the same.

If wide interests you, then 14-wide on full-frame should blow you away.
Click to expand...

The 14-24 is among the most staggering lenses, along with the sister lens 24-70mm F/2.8G ED.

So I'd recommend the 14-24. 70-200mm is also a beautiful lens.
 
For architecture the tilt-shift lenses will be perfect for your needs. After all, they were engineered for the genre.
The tilt-shift lenses will almost always be a wide-angle prime, so you could also use them for wide-angle landscapes.

The only disadvantage about these would be the lack of macro capabilities and the fact that they can't zoom.
 
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