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This lens has received good reviews. Congrats! Do you intend to stick only with primes? I've got the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 VC to have a flexible zoom lens for "general purpose". In deed the non-VC version of the lens has better evaluation throughout reviews but I cannot thrust my hand 100% yet :).Quote:
Originally Posted by TheArcane
I will throw you a curve from all the recommendations you have received so far. With the Nikon 85, you will still need a good portrait lens for the wider fl's. I would suggest my midrange: Sigma 17-70 os. One of its best features is its bokeh which is a major plus for portraits. It will cover small group, full body, and all the way to head shots (getting close). Nice for landscapes, too and excellent for flowers with its close focusing ability. I chose it over the Nikon 16-85 primarily because of its superior bokeh (the savings of a couple hundred dollars didn't hurt, either). No worries about third party lenses. Just buy from a reputable dealer and test upon receipt--as you should any lens.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ple-Crops.aspx
This link is for a really great lens-to-lens comparison site. You can compare image quality of 2 lenses side-by-side from pretty much the entire lines of Nikon, Canon, Sigma, Tamron and ZEISS. Plus a few others. You can even see them at various aperatures and at various zoom lengths. Shots are of test pattern charts, so you can easily see blur, distortion, chromatic abberations, center sharpness, edge softness, etc..
They have pretty much the entire line of Nikon, Canon, Sigma and Zeiss lenses. You can compare various Nikon lenses to each other, or compare Nikon to Canon or to Zeiss or Sigma or whatever.
You can even compare the longer lenses with teleconverters mounted, though it is not readily apparent how. Just push the lens past its maximum native focal length and you get to see it with a teleconverter attached.
I'm not sure if I will stick with prime lenses or not. This will be my first prime lens so I really want to spend a lot of time and shooting using it before I move on to another. I know it will be an adjustment, but I'm always excited to try new things.