What "all purpose" lens for D600 ?

[kazb]

My friend has almost decided to go with the D600 in a Sea & Sea housing with 2X1200 Solar lights.

Now the questing is what lenses to get.

He is looking for a "all purpose" zoom lens if such a thing even excists.

He doesn't want to start with a macro lens or a ultra wide (weitwinkel) fisheye lens.

I know that you probably have to go either way if you want perfect macro or perfect wide, but is the a good "in between" lens ?

I have looked a bit around and found the 16-35 F4 VR lens - Is that even usable for video ?

Thanks in advance

Kenneth

 

[matdiver]

He is looking for a "all purpose" zoom lens if such a thing even excists.



Kenneth

Difficult! but how about this one:
Nikon | Imaging Products | AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR

I'm not a full-frame user, but depending on the kind of shooting your friend is into I think it's really a good idea to avoid excessively wide lenses.
Matthew

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Nikon's 60mm, AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED from Nikon can be used for anything from a small nudibranch to fish or diver portraits. If you go with the 16-35mm, you will need a large dome port and zoom gear for the lens as well.

 

[PatW]

Difficult! but how about this one:
Nikon | Imaging Products | AF-S NIKKOR 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR

I'm not a full-frame user, but depending on the kind of shooting your friend is into I think it's really a good idea to avoid excessively wide lenses.
Matthew

There are lenses that exist that might work better than this one. But you need a lens which is supported by a port and dome system and more importantly, the zoom gears. A zoom lens is not very useful if you can not use the zoom ring.

I use the Sigma 17-70 macro with my Nikon D7000 as a multipurpose lens. It will do close ups. It really does not have quite the field of view for landscapes. The Tokina 10-17 is the lens for that application. General closeups are best done with the Nikon 60 macro but it is too long for large fish. The Nikon 105 macro is best for true macro and super macro. What the 17-70 does best is photos of large subjects who can not be counted on to sit still: large rays, turtles, big grouper, angel fish and so on.

The 17-70 is a full frame translation of 25-105. It is a bit longer on the long end. Also, it probably allows closer close ups. On the full frame, the 24-85 just will not work as well. The other thing is the Nikon 60 macro is a more versatile lens when used on a full frame. Many DX camera users just use the Tokina 10-17 and the Nikon 60 macro. If you have a specific reason why you want to mid range zoom such as shots on turtles and groupers, you are quite probably better suited to switching between the Sigma 15 fisheye and the Nikon 60 macro. By "you", I mean your friend.

 

[kazb]

As far as I can see the Sigma 17-70 mm is not a full frame lens ?

I have made a search for lenses for the D600 and come up with the Nikkor 14-24, Sigma 12-24 and the Nikkor 16-35.

The problem is that he is getting a Sea & Sea housing for the D600 and there is not a lot of information on which lenses are supported with domes and zoom gear.

Regards
Kenneth