First Nikon Lens

[soboyle]

I'm considering picking up a D800E, once the initial reviews start coming in and there is some consensus on how good it is.
I'm a 10 year Canon user, but want the resolution of the D800 for my landscape shooting.
What would be your first lens to get with the D800E? The 24-70 2.8G ED looks to be the most flexible optic to start with, and it gets stellar reviews.

 

[ptomsu]

I owned this lens and while it is a great lens, I really did not use it quite often.

The lenses I used (use) most are the 2.8/70-200 VR2, 1.4/85G and 1.4/50G.

Another very useful lens is the 16-35/VR

Just the 24-70 was never my favorite - rather boring .....

 

[soboyle]

My current Canon kits is fairly simple, no exotic glass. My most used lens is the 24-70 2.8, followed by the 17-40 f/4, the 35 f/1.4, 70-200 f/4, 50 macro and the 50 1.4
So I would probably follow a similar lens lineup when going to Nikon glass.

 

[pophoto]

I have just sold off most of my Nikon lenses. The two I've kept are the 24-70mm and the 105VR Macro lens, the two I've used most on my D700 at the time. Keeping just for the maybe D800E part

I think the trinity Nikon zooms are wonderful and their updated primes.

 

[Ocean]

I also sold off all my Nikon AF lenses except the 24-70/2.8 zoom. This is the lens that will be on my D800E.

 

[paulraphael]

The 24-70 is my pick for a 1st lens for this camera. I've researched a lot of reviews and bench tests, and have found surprising comparisons between this lens and the primes in its range.

The 24 1.4g and the 85 1.4g both outperform the zoom by a noticeable degree. But the zoom pretty much clobbers all the Nikkor 28, 35, and 50mm primes, by every measure but maximum aperture.

So you may have to do some complex calculus that takes your needs and usage habits and budget into account. For me it was pretty simple, since I don't use 24mm very often, and since the 24 1.4 prime by itself costs substantially more than the zoom.

I plan to get a 50 additionally, just because I'd like one lens that's compact and light and fast. And these can be had on the cheap.