The Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E VR (B&H / Amazon) is an immediately appealing lens. It is only $1,400 for a telephoto zoom with a superb range of 200mm to 500mm. $1,400 is a very attractive price, especially when other lenses such as the Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VR II (B&H / Amazon), comes in at 5x that price! I had the first version of the Nikon 200-4oomm and it was stellar! I loved it, but didn't use it enough to warrant such an expensive lens mostly languishing on the shelf. But at $1,400 even occasional Read more inside...
lens review: Nikon 50mm f/1.4G vs Nikon 50mm f/1.8G
The 50mm lens in general is an interesting optic. Not necessarily for what it does, but how it seems to have fallen out and back in favor over the years. For example, in the 1970's pretty much all 35mm film cameras shipped with a 50mm lens. Zooms weren't something that just came with the camera as a kit lens. It was the 50mm lens that was the "kit lens". So the first thing the serious amateur would do, is dump the 50mm lens and get a zoom lens to get some variety in their photographs.
Then over the years, more compact and slower Read more inside...
For a long time the only wide-angle auto-focus prime lens that Nikon had available, was the remarkable 28mm f1.4D ... which caused the lens to reach astronomical prices eventually on the used market when it was discontinued. I sold my copy of the 28mm f1.4 a few years ago - a move I still regret - but I couldn't pull the trigger on a $4000.00 wide-angle prime lens when Nikon's wide-angle zooms were so incredible. The Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H), for example, set a new standard for how good a wide-angle zoom can be, surpassing pretty much ever Read more inside...
