DSLRBodies

This article originally appeared in the Nikon DSLR Report, issue #6, well over a decade ago. A lot has happened both in cameras and lenses since I wrote that article. But that article was also my basic treatise on how to make decisions amongst DSLR lenses. 

Over the ensuing years, I've updated this article four times, and again five more times for the new dslrbodies.com site. You are looking at the current version of the article (date last updated is at bottom, as usual).

Warning: this is a long, complex, and detailed article. You may want to print it out or study it over time. I'm dealing with 50+ years of lenses and hundreds of them, all rationalized to an ever shifting set of camera bodies. This is not juggling three or four balls in the air, it's juggling an infinite number of balls in the air simultaneously. I'm a little surprised that I've even attempted this, let alone mostly succeeded.

Some Background
As most of you know, I get dozens of emails every day from Nikon users, and a large group of them fall roughly into the “what lens should I get” category. Before we go there—I’m sure you all know what I mean by “there”—we have to get a few other things out of the way. 

In terms of image quality, the biggest investment you make is in lenses, the second biggest is in a support system, and the smallest is in the camera/film. Digital SLRs distorted that a bit, but consumer/prosumer DSLR body prices have come down to where my ranking is correct again. Even for us pros we all have far more invested in lenses than we do our DSLR and backup bodies, and a lot of money in our support systems, too.

Things were a little more obvious in the days of yore—and the nights, too—when anyone could see that the primary difference between an N65 and an F5 shooting Velvia lay mostly in the feature set of the body, not in the ultimate image quality dictated by the film and lens. After all, Velvia was Velvia, and assuming everything else equal, an N65 body worked just as well at attaching a lens and blocking stray light as an F5. Sure, we could argue about a few minor things, such as mirror slap, but as Galen Rowell once discovered, it was a heck of a lot easier to get an N65 to the top of a rarely climbed peak than it was an F5. And his pictures didn’t suffer for those times when he did just that.

With digital, things got much messier. A three-megapixel camera has some obvious deficiencies compared to a six-megapixel camera, for instance, as it simply has fewer sampling points across the same area, and that has a direct impact on resolving power. Same thing with the six-megapixel to twelve-megapixel leap. Moreover, now we've jumped to 24mp and even 45mp. That 45mp camera has over three times the horizontal axis pixels as that 3mp camera.

Noise tendencies, dynamic range, antialiasing filters, sensor size, and color fidelity also vary amongst the various DSLRs over the years, as I’ve outlined in my reviews and books, and at least two of those things (antialiasing) come directly into play when evaluating lenses, if not all of them. 

Be that as it may, I can still tell when I put a bad lens on any one of the DSLRs I own. The better the body, the more obvious this is, but even with a “lesser” body you’ll see a difference if you know what you're looking for. And when you think about it, this really isn’t any different than putting a very fine-grained, high-quality film in your 35mm SLR (e.g., Provia) or a bigger grained, muddier film (e.g., Kodachrome 200) in the same body. It wouldn’t matter which of those films I put into my F100, I’d still see the difference between a “good” lens and a “bad” one. It’s just that the better film or a better sensor makes it easier to see the difference.

Just so we're clear: 45mp definitely makes it easier to see lens differences than 24mp, and 24mp makes it easier to see than 12mp. 

Before we get to the lenses themselves, we need a brief aside about how resolution works on digital SLRs. The pixel pitch, the filtration over the sensor, and the lens all combine when it comes to our ultimate resolving ability. But let’s go back to film for a second. Back when we all shot Velvia, the resolution possible with our equipment was defined like this:

•      1 / Resolution = ( 1 / Lens_Resolution ) + ( 1 / Film_Resolution )

where "resolution" is measured in some common set of units (usually lines per millimeter or line pairs per millimeter) . Thus, when we shot only with Velvia and moved around between cameras, the film value stayed the same and our ultimate resolving power was really only determined by any change in the lens. Put one lens on a film camera loaded with your favorite stock and you got one resolving ability; put another on and the resolving ability changed. Switching films generally didn’t make a big difference, as the variability of resolving power of most films professionals used was not particularly high. Certainly not as high as the lens choices we had.

With digital, we have more variables, though it’s still the same type of equation that we use to describe the relationship:

• 1 / Resolution = ( 1 / Lens_Resolution ) + ( 1 / Sensor_Resolution ) + ( 1 / AAFilter_Resolution ) + ( 1 / ImageDemosaic_Resolution )

(That might not be a perfect definition, but this simple approach works for our basic understanding of what's changed. Note that raw files can see an improvement over time if the last factor changes due to better software. 

Put a different way: your overall resolution is impacted by the lens, camera (sensor and filter), and data conversion (in camera JPEG or desktop raw conversion).

Suddenly we have several variable factors, as two of those things vary from digital camera to digital camera. I think everyone knows by now that the D2h doesn’t have an aggressive antialiasing filter, but it also has fewer photosites; this combination actually produces pretty reasonable resolution (lens being the same) compared to what you’d expect against a 6mp camera such as the D100, which had an antialiasing filter and imaging ASIC that reduced resolution comparatively. 

If you look closely at the equation I just presented, the D850 and Z7 should immediately leap to mind: they have the highest pixel count of any Nikon mount ILC (to date as I write this, plus no AA filter). Increasing the sensor pixel count by a factor of 3x (over all the 12mp cameras) sounds good, but note that you still have to add in all the other values. A weak lens on a strong sensor can compromise the overall resolution obtained.

So, one thing to remember as we move deeper into our evaluation is that “good lenses” are not the only determiner in our ultimate resolving ability. If you look at a lens on a D100 you'll see one set of results, while the same lens on a D7200 or D850 will produce a different sense of how good it is. Ditto a D1 versus a D3x. Or even a Z6 versus a Z7. Given my unique position of having tested most every combination along the way, I can make somewhat more definitive conclusions than you might be able to if your data set is only one DSLR and a handful of lenses. 

Our goal here is to find the "best lenses" for use in the digital world, so when I make my evaluations you should know that I'm keeping the other variables constant as much as I can (DX and FX sensor sizes make for a bit of a problem that can't be 100% controlled for in evaluations, which is one reason why I sometimes give DX and FX assessments independently).

Evaluating Lenses 
I’m sure you’re wondering how “good” and “bad” get defined when it comes to lenses. Here are some other elements (pardon the pun) that come into play when making a decision about the image quality of a lens.

A good lens has:

• Even exposure edge to edge (vignetting)
• Colors focus at the same point (chromatic aberration)
• Straight lines are straight (linear distortion)
• High acuity (defined edges; sharpness)
• High contrast (MTF)
• Little or no flare tendencies
• No color shifts
• Excellent bokeh in out-of-focus areas
• Focus/Zoom rings smooth in operation
• Doesn't zoom on its own (zoom creep)
• Good weather protection/sealing
• Clear and useful focus and zoom markings
• Autofocus is zippy and doesn't hunt
• Autofocus can be overridden
• VR is present, preferably with flexible settings
• Solid and adjustable tripod mount/collar
• Fast aperture (f/2.8 or larger)
• Wide and/or useful focal length range (zooms)
• Useful focal length (primes)
• Close focusing distance
• Internal focusing (no front rotation)

Wow, that's a lot of attributes to look at. And there are even more I didn't mention.

Some users get excited by metal lenses and are bothered by plastic, or whether the lens has an aperture ring or not, but as long as the lens is otherwise well specified and made, I simply don’t care about these “religious” issues, only the ones listed above. Price point is another contentious issue, but in general, you get what you pay for (I'll try to point out some obvious bargains when we get to the actual lenses).

It ought to be obvious by now that lens designers juggle an enormous number of factors when they design a new lens. The preceding lists are just the tip of the iceberg, actually. These days, Nikon lens designers are designing with a new lens mount (Z mirrorless) that offers them so additional flexibility to their optical choices. Fortunately, we don’t need to drop below the surface and examine the keel; the list so far is enough to keep us busy for far too long as it is. 

One principle that’s necessary to understand, though, is that there is no such thing as a “perfect” lens. There’s no secret formula that allows you to get perfect marks in every decision you make when designing a lens. If the program calls for a 20mm f/1 lens, the size and curvature of the mammoth front element required is going to have trickle down effects on flare, chromatic aberration, and linear distortions at a minimum (not to mention cost, physical size, and other factors). Decide to make a zoom lens and you get away from potentially simple designs with few elements, so internal reflections and light scatter become design issues, as do mechanical issues in moving those elements for both focus and zoom.

So I repeat: there is no such thing as a perfect lens. 

Lens designers are a bit like Zen practitioners: they seek a perfect state, but never quite achieve it. Or they’re like Arnold Schwarzenegger: they sought a perfect State, but never achieved it. (Yes, a Gubernator joke.)

We’re still not “there” yet. Sorry.

Every company that makes lenses has different design tendencies (goals) which often come from different decision making processes. Some of these things show up in ways that we can easily distinguish, some don’t. For example, Sigma lenses tend to use a glass that’s a little warmer in rendering colors than Nikon. Tokina lenses tend to be a little more magenta/cooler in rendering than Nikon glass. Yes, the color of the glass and coatings used in a lens is yet another factor we have to consider. 

Each company has its own sources for glass and its own recipe for coatings, and those factors influence what they can do in lens designs, too. One reason I don’t tend to use many third party lenses in my own kits is that they don’t always mix well color-wise. I once had a Tokina lens I really liked (it was wicked sharp), but I could spot every shot I took with it on the light table looking at slides simply from the color shift. Professional photographers use discipline to seek consistency, so I disciplined the Tokina by selling it into prosumer slavery somewhere in Michigan.

You’ve perhaps heard about MTF charts, which attempt to convey a particular aspect of lens performance. Some companies design first and foremost for high MTF numbers (probably because they know a lot of magazines and Web sites run MTF tests and report the results to potential buyers), some use it only as a guideline for one aspect of performance (as in “we don’t want MTF to drop below X at Y”). 

For years, Nikon glass has been accused of having more visual punch (overall contrast mostly) than Canon glass, though Canon glass has been said to have higher acuity (edge definition). I think that actually may be design decisions embedded within each organization (both have long histories of legendary designers passing down “knowledge” to protégés), but neither by it itself makes one lens better than the other. A lens with high contrast can have other poor characteristics, and so can a lens with high acuity. In general, I don’t think Nikon or Canon makes better lenses than the other. Some Nikkors are better than some Canons, and vice versa.

These days, the Sigma Art lenses are generally very good, as are Sony G and GM lenses. Zeiss is making excellent lenses still, and Tamron has really upped their game (in my opinion) and now has to be considered in any decision where they have a similar lens to the one you're thinking of. But every one of those other companies is making slightly different design decisions than Canon or Nikon.

So I repeat again: there is no such thing as a perfect lens. To which I can now add: no single company makes “the best lenses.”

And still we have more to chew on (happy dog). Fundamentally, the switch from multilayered, overlapped grain, almost-but-not-necessarily-flat film stocks to singular, separated sensing points with miniature lenses of their own on a perfectly flat surface has caused some ripples in lens design. The most talked about issue is that of the position of the rear element vis-à-vis the sensor. 

In practice, light needs to hit the digital sensor at no more than about 15 degrees off perpendicular, and preferably less than that (a good design point would be 10 degrees). Steeper angles can create a range of problems, including potentially huge light falloff in the corners, internal light bounce off the filter/microlenses, and perhaps even filter issues (both Bayer and antialiasing). 

With wide angle lenses featuring large, deep rear elements, the angle at which light hits the far edges of the sensor is an issue, both for light falloff and for color fringing. Telephoto lenses tend to have long, straight throws from the rear element to the sensor, which delivers light just the way the sensor most likes it. One partial solution was to add microlenses to the top of the sensor, which redirect light that comes in at any angle downwards into the light sensitive area of the photosite (for which Nikon coined the word “telecentrically”). But this isn’t a perfect solution, and there are still interactions worth noting. 

It’s no coincidence that most recent lens designs all use rear element groupings that make sure that no light is doing a deep knee bend coming out the back of the lens. Some companies have even given to adding some sort of digital moniker to their lens specification to indicate such considerations.

But the angle of the last light dangle isn’t the only issue that comes up. Kodak Pro 14n users can tell you about two others that are common. The first is the dreaded “hot spot” of some older lens designs. The older Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D and f/1.8D were the primary culprits, but a number of primes in the 35mm to 85mm range exhibit the issue to some degree. And while the Pro 14n serves up the problem in spades, even film users have reported seeing faint inklings of the dreaded hot spot. 

So what’s this hot spot? It’s the reflection of the IR and Bayer filter on top of the sensor as defined by the aperture opening. The problem occurs at small apertures (f/16) on lenses that have their aperture blades at certain positions in the lens (usually far forward). The Pro 14n users saw it more than the rest of the digital crowd because of the bright red reflectance off the Pro 14n’s filter, which is hard to miss when it gets reproduced in your picture. In the Nikon bodies the problem is still there, but usually a less obnoxious slightly bluish circle due to the lower reflectance and color of the Nikon filters. (On most film stocks, it tends to be a very faint magenta.) Today, Nano coating and other methods are used to help keep this from happening.

So I repeat again: there is no such thing as a perfect lens. You might design for one target (film) and get a different result with something else (digital).

And now I think we’re “there.” It’s time to describe the worthy lenses versus the unworthy. 

I can think of quite a few ways to do this, so I’ll try several and let you pick which way works for you best. One word of caution: with a few exceptions, I’m not going to talk about third party lenses. My comments will be mostly centered on Nikkors, with which I have quite a bit of experience, dating all the way back into the 60’s. My comments here, though, apply to use on DSLRs, so keep that in mind; sometimes there are better choices for film bodies. Prices quoted are essentially B&H prices as I write this—they may vary somewhat in other countries and even in the US due to Nikon’s habit of fiddling with rebates. 

Putting Together Logical Kits
No one lens does it all (those that try end up having significant weaknesses somewhere), so we usually end up with two or three lenses that form the core of our shooting arsenal. We don’t want too many, because we have to carry and care for them, but we want as much flexibility as possible in what those lenses allow us to do. Let’s look at some logical groupings. 

I’m going to assume that everyone needs to go from a true wide angle (74 degrees or more) to moderate telephoto, though you’re going to find that I have a specific bias against the mid-range focal lengths, which just don’t do much for me (the difference between a 40mm and 60mm shot just isn’t enough to warrant using a different lens over using my legs, in my opinion). I’ll try to point out some alternatives as I go, but consider yourself forewarned about my bias.

Economy DX
First up, let’s go the economy route for DX sensor DSLRs (basically all Nikon mount DSLRs except for the Df, D600, D610, D700, D750, D800, D800E, D810, D850, D3, D3s, D3x, D4, D4s, D5, and the Kodak Pro 14n/SLRn). Here’s the low-cost portfolio that makes sense to me:

• 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-P VR DX
• 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G AF-P VR DX (the FX version is preferred, though)

Note: the above lenses require a D3300, D3400, D3500, D5300, D5500, D5600, D7100, D7200, D7500, or D500 with the latest firmware. All older DX body users should pick the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR II and the 55-200mm f/4-5.6G AF-S VR II instead.

If you need a fast normal lens, augment this set with the 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX. If you don't need a great deal of focal range, but want only a single lens, then the 18-140mm is the current preferred solution.)

What you give up in the economy kit is low-light capability. You’ll need 55mm and 58mm filters (or 58mm filters and a 55-58mm step-up ring). You’re going to use the 18-55mm on the camera most of the time, swapping in the 70-300mm when you need real telephoto. These lenses are far better than you'd expect for their low cost. Indeed, each generation of the 18-55mm has improved to the point where the current VR versions have little to complain about in terms of performance. What you have is near state-of-the-art optics between 18mm and 55mm, and again between 70mm and 300mm. At f/8 and f/11 and those focal lengths, these kit lenses can produce results pretty much on par with the more expensive lenses you covet. 

Even at 300mm the results hold up quite well, though they're not absolutely state-of-the-art. Neither of these lenses is much prone to chromatic aberration, and neither has high levels of linear distortion. Both tend to have significant light fall-off wide open, but it rapidly drops to acceptable levels. The VR works, and the AF-P makes for very snappy focus, very close to the more expensive Nikkors. Let me put it another way: in terms of image quality, these two low-cost lenses have very little to complain about. They produce very nice images.

What these lenses don't have is a lot of mechanical or build quality finesse. They are made of polycarbonates (even the mounts) and aren't going to withstand outright abuse well. The zoom and focus rings aren't the best Nikon has produced, though they work decently enough. Both lenses are very small and light. The lens hood designs are terrible and prone to break (plus you usually have to buy them separately).

The only way you can improve on the economy kit is to spend a lot more money. Even buying used lenses will cost you more money to make any tangible improvement. For example, the next step up in image quality for the telephoto end would be a used 80-200mm f/2.8, and that'll come at as much as double the cost of the 70-300mm. True, you then get a faster maximum aperture, slightly better 200mm results, better build quality, and a tripod mount, but you also get a big increase in size and weight and lose 300mm.

Economy FX
It seems a bit like an oxymoron to think of FX economy, though the lowest cost FX body sells for only US$1497 (D610). But here's my take on going the inexpensive route for FX:

• 24-120mm f/4G AF-S VR or 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G AF-S VR
• 180mm f/2.8D 

With the recent FX variable aperture zooms, there are now additional low cost FX options that are fine (very good complements to the D600/D610/D750):

• 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G AF-S
• 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G AF-S
• 70-200mm f/4 AF-S VR or 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 AF-P VR

These four are quite sharp and well-behaved for the most part, particularly the latter two. What you mostly give up is a fast, and/or fixed aperture. The 18-35mm is an unrealized gem. The 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E AF-P is a real gem, priced as a bargain. The 24-85mm is the weakest of the lenses listed in this grouping, but again, on the 24mp D600/D610/D750/D780 (and the lesser mp of the Df, D5, and D6) these lenses are still excellent performers. If you’re using one of the 36mp+ bodies, corners are going to suffer unless you stop down.

If you need more wide angle choice, pick up a 20mm or 24mm f/1.8G. Another possibility for 20mm is the Voigtlander (now discontinued).

Actually, it's not a bad idea to consider the 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm f/1.8 primes either as an alternative to this zoom set, or as low-light supplements to focal lengths you use often. 

The zoom set I outline here is a step up from the DX economy kit, though perhaps not as much as you’d expect. This kit is also not quite as low-light constrained as DX kit.  Another drawback to any FX economy kit is filters: there is no longer any consistency in Nikon’s filter size choices when you buy the lower end FX zooms and the f/1.8G primes.

What about the 28-300mm? I was tempted to make it the economy package all by itself. Its problems are subtle and multiple, though: you don't get very wide, the telephoto end is highly compromised especially when you focus closer, and it's never a great lens, only at best a good one, plus it's a big heavy lens. The 24-85mm on a D850 versus the 28-300mm is night and day: the smaller lens is way smaller and lighter, plus it's optically better across most of the shared range, and it gives you 24mm, expanding your useful wide abilities. 

The one thing going for a budget FX user, though, is that there are a tremendous number of used lenses—both manual focus and autofocus—that will work well on 16-24mp FX bodies, and thus if you shop around, you can find lots of bargains to build an economy kit. For example, a 24mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8, and 180mm f/2.8 makes a nice fixed focal length economy kit if you shop the used market carefully. 

Let's Go Pro DX
The Let’s-Go-Pro kit for the APS-sensor cameras is going to chew up some cash, so bear with me:

• Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 or 11-20mm f/2.8 (any version)
• Nikon 16-80mm f/2.8-4E VR
• Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8 or Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 (any version)

These lenses also have different filter sizes, but are excellent in quality and specification, and can take a lot of physical abuse. Optically, these are all excellent lenses, with the weakest point being at the wide angle end. Still, if you aren’t getting sharp images with good contrast from this set on even the 24mp of the D7200, there’s something wrong with your camera or your shot discipline. 

Some might wonder why not the Nikkor 17-55mm (or Sigma 17-50mm or Tamron 17-50mm)?  Those are certainly reasonable choices, but I’m opting for best possible optical results here. Those recent Sigma f/1.8 zooms are really that good that at least one of them belongs in this kit (the 18-35mm f/1.8 used to be in this kit, but it just has too many focus issues with the outer focus sensors to be relied upon, and the 16-80mm Nikkor is proving to be a fine substitute). The DX user can get by just fine with the oldest version of the 70-200mm and save a few dollars, by the way; there's almost no measurable difference between the older two 70-200mm lenses on a DX body (the newest one is a bit sharper, though).

If your Mastercard isn’t maxed out yet, you’ll want the Sigma 1.4x/2x (or maybe a TC-14EIII and TC-20E III if you've got the newer Nikkor 70-200mm) for the telephoto lens. With the TC-14E, the 70-200mm performs almost the same as the 300mm f/4, believe it or not (okay, you’re only at 280mm, but the image quality is near equivalent, especially in the center of the frame). The performance is close enough at everything but f/4 to pocket the extra cash, in my opinion. Save up your telephoto bucks for an exotic (see below). That said, the 300mm f/4E PF with a TC-14EIII should be the first thing you add at the telephoto end.

Let's Go Pro FX
On FX bodies things get a little trickier. Two lenses are very easy to pick:

• 24-70mm f/2.8E AF-S VR
• 70-200mm f/2.8E FL AF-S VR

The only thing these two lenses are lacking is really close focus ability. The cheapest and quickest way to add that would be to buy the 77mm Canon 500D close up filter to use on the 70-200mm, but that’s a stop-gap for a real macro lens. The latest 70-200mm is exceptionally good even on the high megapixel count bodies: you’re not going to beat it with anything else. Unfortunately, these two lenses have focus/zoom rings reversed from one another, which is definitely a handling faux pas on Nikon’s part.

The tricky part is when you need wider, longer, or both. Some users can get away with just shooting with these two lenses, but most of us prefer these options that give us more focal length choice at each end:

• 14-24mm f/2.8G 
• 300mm f/2.8G VR or 120-300mm f/2.8E VR

Why is this tricky? Well, at the wide end you don't have a lot of great choices—they all have a significant drawback of some sort. 

The 14-24mm, while an absolutely amazing lens with no real image quality flaws, has one big possibly fatal flaw for some: no filters. Most of us who go wide use some sort of filter from time to time, and you just have to forgo that on the 14-24mm (plus you’ve got different sizes on the 24-70mm and 70-200mm). Pity. Note also that the 14-24mm has field curvature, so pay attention to where you place the focus.

Yes, I know that there are now third-party filter holders for the lens, but they are hard to find and use very large filters. That puts you into the 16-35mm f/4 lens, which is good, but not nearly in the class as the 14-24mm, which is excellent. And you lose 14mm while gaining 35mm, of course. You also gain a lot of linear distortion you might not like.

At the telephoto end the problem is that you're into the exotics immediately if you need even modest reach on an FX body. That means you're going to pay. Both in cost and in size/weight. The 300mm f/2.8G VR is a superb lens, but it's still almost six big bills in cost and six+ pounds (no FL version has appeared yet). And, unfortunately, on an FX body 300mm is not a lot of reach (though the TC-20E III gives you an adequate 600mm f/5.6). If your wallet and forearms aren't up to the heft, the new 300mm f/4E PF is a very reasonable substitute, but your ability to go longer with a TC is somewhat more limited and the lens has significant flare issues with in-frame light sources.

Mirrorless
Some of you reading this are wondering what happens if you move from DSLR to mirrorless in the Nikon system (I'll need to do a different article for Canon users).

Simple answer: things get better and/or cheaper. 

• 14-30mm f/4 S
• 24-70mm f/4 S
• 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E AF-P on FTZ Adapter

That's a remarkably good set of lenses that travel compactly. You're mighty close to what you can do with the Pro FX kit I just outlined, but smaller, lighter, and you may find the corners sharper in the mid-range. You can substitute the 24-70mm f/2.8 S in the mid-range, and get the best mid-range zoom I've seen to date. Stick a 70-200mm f/2.8E on the FTZ adapter, and you've got arguably the best 24-200mm f/2.8 ability that's available anywhere. And Nikon is promising a 14-24mm f/2.8 S for 2020, which if it's anything like the 24-70mm f/2.8 S, means that Z users will be the envy of F-mount users soon.

Getting Close to Your Subject
I’m going to give you a choice. Your choice is either sharpness or convenience. If you’re into sharp-as-you-can-get, then the 200mm f/4D Micro-Nikkor is the hands down winner. Too bad Nikon hasn't thought to update it to E or VR or AF-S (note that I first wrote that line eight years ago). 

Unless you’re using your camera to do copy-stand type macro (e.g., coins, stamps, etc.), the 40mm DX, the 60mm and 105mm Micro-Nikkors, while excellent performers (both the older and newer versions), just don’t have enough working distance for most of us. 

Working distance is important both so as not to scare off your subjects (e.g., insects), but to give you enough room to put some supplemental light on your subject, either by reflector or with flash. Yes, I know you can mount two SB-R200 units to the front of the 105mm to provide light. But that actually doesn’t always solve the lighting issue, as the light is coming all from the camera side, which can make for a flat style. Great for copy stands, not so great for trying to make something look like natural light. With the 40mm and 60mm, the SB-R200s will come in at very steep angles to the front of your subject. If you get the 200mm Micro-Nikkor, also consider that a focusing rail is an absolute requirement (as is one heck of a sturdy tripod/head). It’s just easier to lock in focus with a focus rail. 

Note: Since Nikon has updated the other two Micro-Nikkors, either with AF-S, VR, or both, it might be wise to wait if you’re interested in the 200mm version. Odds are that it is in the list of lenses to be updated (note that I first wrote that line seven years ago, though!).

The convenience route is picking up a used 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6D Micro-Nikkor. But it has two big caveats: it doesn’t get to 1:1 (only to about 1:2 in most uses, or half life-size), and it's no longer available new, and can be difficult to find used. Still, setting up a macro shot quickly with this lens is so much easier than using the 200mm, and a Nikon 5T/6T set (also no longer made; what's Nikon thinking?) solves the 1:1 issue. A focusing rail is also useful with this setup, but I don’t feel quite as naked without one with this lens as I do with the 200mm. 

One final comment: this zoom Micro-Nikkor is no slouch in sharpness, but you have to work hard to get everything this lens is capable of. In particular, the tripod mount is prone to rob some edge sharpness if you don’t get it tightened down all the way. Big heavy bodies hanging off the back also are prone to mirror slap issues that show up big time with this somewhat modest sized lens, so use the mirror up or mirror delay function on the body.

Finally, note that none of the Micro-Nikkors are truly optimized for far-field or infinity focus situations, though they work quite well for general shooting. You can substitute a Micro-Nikkor for another lens, but I wouldn't make any of them my primary lens at their focal length--I think you can do better in all cases. The 70-180mm and 200mm are not snappy focusers, either.

Going Light—Travel Kits
So far I’ve talked almost solely about optimizing image quality. But sometimes you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of image quality for sheer simplicity and ease of carrying. Everyone who’s been to one of my workshops knows I tend to carry a small photo store in my backpack, and am always pulling out some new toy, device, lens, or accessory out to demonstrate. But I usually only carry that 30+ pound beast at workshops; when I’m on my own traveling I sometimes use very stripped down lens kits so that I can move more easily, less conspicuously, and have less to keep track of. Thus, I have some ideas about Travel Kits that you might want to consider when building your lens collection.

First, a story. My late mentor, Galen Rowell was renowned for always carrying a light kit with him on climbs, while running ultra marathons, or simply while training on the trails around his home. When I first met him, his light kit camera was an FM2n. Then for awhile it was an FM-10. Later still, it was an N80 or an N65. If he were still with us today, I’m pretty sure it would be a D3500 or Z50. His emphasis was on light, light, light. 

On the lens side, Galen zipped around with an old 20mm f/4UD and the 80-200mm f/4-5.6D (US$99!) consumer lens (early on, he used a 75-150mm f/3.5 Series E). Until he started carrying the N65 or N80 in the late 90's, he also used to carry a small flash (might have been the SB-22s; I don’t remember exactly). Sometimes he also carried a little plastic table pod. This all “fit” into a very small chest pouch he designed and had made by Photoflex (no longer made). Any time Galen was out training or just tooling around, he’d pass you by on the trail with his little pouch cinched to his chest, mumble a “hi Thom” and quickly disappear off into the woods. When we were staying at various hotels in the third world on most trips, Galen would be up before dawn for a run, and the pouch went with him. 

While I’m not much of a runner or climber (I have run three marathons and climbed to 19,000 feet, though, but in comparison to the way Galen was, I’m positively sedentary), I started taking after Galen a bit, and began carrying an FM2n with a 24mm and 75-150mm with me in a small fanny pack. (Besides, it made an okay backup to my full kit of expensive gear.) One morning in Torres del Paine National Park (Patagonia), Galen skipped out after wolfing down breakfast to go shoot the Towers at dawn (this involves several thousand vertical feet of climb, a rock scramble, and miles of distance; the “average” person is suggested to anticipate the hike taking five hours, and it’s rated moderately strenuous). 

I set out after Galen about an hour later, planning on spending lunch up at the lake that sits underneath the Towers. About a half hour into my uphill slog I noticed that I had forgotten my zoom. About 15 minutes later I bumped into Galen running back from the Towers, stopped him, and asked if I could borrow whatever telephoto he had with him. He obliged and lent me the inexpensive 80-200mm f/4-5.6D.

That was the first time I had noticed what telephoto he had in the light kit, and I was a little surprised at the choice. That lens wasn't reputed to be even a close match for the image quality of the older 75-150mm I used, let alone something like the 80-200mm f/2.8 that existed at the time. Galen mumbled something about “just make sure you use f/8 or f/11,” turned, and in seconds had raced out of sight. 

When I got to the Towers and the sweat of exertion had dried off, I wandered around taking pictures, including several rolls of film using the 80-200mm. When I got home, I was somewhat surprised by the decent quality of those shots. Indeed, had I not known what I had shot with, I wouldn’t have pulled out my best loupe to try to find defects in them (which I couldn’t). Galen was right, at f/8 and f/11 that cheap consumer lens produced fine photos. They sit proudly in my stock photo files right next to those taken during the same period with my F5 and the 80-200mm f/2.8, which I would have never pulled up that last rock scramble and scree slope.

I think the moral of this story is this: you don’t get a picture at all unless you carry a camera with you, and sometimes that means compromising. I’d never carry US$10,000 worth of gear through the open market at Christmas in Quito, Ecuador (too likely to be stolen from you by someone in the huge, milling crowd), but I do carry a camera with me when I go there. Put another way, what I’ve written about up until this section has to do with maximizing image quality; what I’m about to tell you is about maximizing convenience and flexibility while lowering logistics and weight considerations in ways that don’t compromise quality too much.

First, consider getting a D3500 (or D610 if you’re into FX) to use with your travel lenses. Carrying a large, heavy body and one that requires heavier, extra batteries is the antithesis of a travel kit. No other current Nikon DSLR body comes close to the D3400 in terms of convenience for travel, thus it is the body you should be sticking these things on. (Of course, if you only have one digital body due to cost considerations, you’ll have to use what you’ve got, but consider yourself warned—your camera body may be in contradiction to your intended usage here.)

For the DX: 

• 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR
• 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 AF-P VR

Two lenses cover everything but the very widest of angles, give you hand-holding flexibility, and minimize lens changing. What you give up isn’t really image quality so much as lack of flexibility in manipulating depth of field. An aperture of f/5.6 or 6.3 is way too middle-of-the-road for the telephoto ends of these zooms. Optically, both are excellent with only minimal issues. You’ll need 58mm and 67mm filters. Yes, this duo is a bit heavier than you could do otherwise, which runs slightly counter to our goal. Still, it’s a very flexible pair that may let you abandon the tripod (even table top types) or monopod, and thus can’t be ignored. You may wonder why I didn't say 18-200mm here. Well, the 18-200mm isn't really 200mm at most focus distances you'd use it at, so it doesn't give you near as much reach as you think, and that extra 2mm at the wide end of the 16-85mm is very useful in travel circles. The 16-85mm is a better lens optically, too. Indeed, I'd take it almost any day over the 18-200mm.

For the FX:

• 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 VR
• 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 AF-P VR

For Z6/Z7 mirrorless:

• 24-70mm f/4 S
• 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 AF-P VR on FTZ adapter

For Z50 mirrorless just get the two-lens kit Nikon offers (16-50mm, 50-250mm). 

Exotics
Usually, the first serious augmentation considered for any of the basic kits I've mentioned above is an exotic telephoto. These lenses are great for sports, wildlife, and even candid shooting (assuming you can handhold your choice). These are big, heavy, and beautifully made lenses, and you can buy a new car for less than the price of some of them (still true in some parts of the world, though barely). 

Since they are so expensive, they tend to produce a host of questions about them before purchase. Without a doubt, the number one question when you get to the long telephotos is “which focal length?” Just to remind you, in Nikon-land we have:

• 105mm f/1.4E AF-S
• 180-400mm f/4E FL AF-S VR
• 200mm f/2G AF-S VR
• 200-400mm f/4G AF-S VR
• 300mm f/2.8G AF-S VR
• 400mm f/2.8E FL AF-S VR (I've linked my G review, but the E is optically similar)
• 500mm f/4E FL AF-S VR (I've linked my G review, but the E is optically similar)
• 600mm f/4E FL AF-S VR
• 800mm f/5.6E FL AF-S VR

The 200-400mm f/4G AF-S VR is usually the first thing people look at. The focal range fits in nicely atop the Let’s-Go-Pro kits, but the price starts to make this a “brainer” (as opposed to a no-brainer; and the newer 180-400mm is a "brain painer"). The size and weight of the 200-400mm is a decent compromise compared to some of the exotics. But as I note in my review, the 200-400mm is a bit of a mixed bag. I love it at close to moderate focus distances. I hate it at long focus distances and with converters. Okay, those words are too strong. Let's put it this way: it does very well for certain uses, but less well for others. You pay some real penalties for going with a zoom in this range, and as good as the lens is, it doesn't equal some of your other choices (as we'll eventually get to).

The 180-400mm f/4E, on the other hand, is no mixed bag at all. It's a Swiss Army knife—due to the built-in TC—that is wickedly sharp, close or at distance. But it's also US$12,400. Ouch. 

The 300mm f/2.8 has grown on me, especially with the latest VR version. It's perhaps the sharpest of the exotics, and it tolerates TCs pretty well. That makes it more versatile than it at first seems. You've got a sharp and hand-holdable 300mm f/2.8, 420mm f/4 (TC-14E), and maybe even 510mm f/4.8 (TC-17E). On a DX body, that's plenty of reach for anything but the most extreme needs. On an FX body, well, you're probably going to feel a bit short.

So if you have those extreme needs or feel a bit FX-ed short, we always have the almost nine-pound 600mm f/4E FL AF-S VR. Here’s the problem I have with it: airlines continue to crack down on photographers. Especially with the recent high fuel costs, you’ll find significant weight limitations if you start traveling internationally or even just need to hop on the occasional bush plane in Alaska. While I love the idea of owning the 600mm, what I’ve found is that the sweet spot is the 500mm f/4E FL AF-S VR, simply because of weight and size considerations. 

I know I’ll get grief on that comment, but after you’ve packed a big exotic into a single carry-on and trampled around the globe a few 100,000 miles, see if you don’t agree with me. The 500mm has a smaller diameter front (5.5” compared to 6.5” of the 600mm f/4), and a lighter weight (109 ounces versus 134 for the 600mm f/4). Both those things have become meaningful for me in my travels, so the 180-400mm f/4E FL and 500mm f/4E FL are the best travel choices of the Nikon exotics. Too bad both are the cost of a used car.

(Why is the diameter important? Because you’re going to run into 50-seat regional jets [and turbo props in extreme locales], which have very minimal in-plane storage whose overheads and underseat areas won’t fit some of the bags necessary to accommodate the larger lenses. Yes, you can sometimes manage to stuff a 600mm f/4 under the seat of some planes if you can convince the stewardess to let you lug it into the plane, but with padding you’ll have a tight fit, and once you hit the turboprops, this option is kaput. The 500mm is a little easier to both stuff and protect. The biggest lens I've found that I can safely get into the overhead on the RJs with appropriate padding is the 400mm f/2.8G.)

That’s not to say the 500mm is the best optically. It isn’t. The 400mm f/2.8E FL AF-S is clearly the best, and the 600mm f/4E FL AF-S is slightly better than the 500mm wide open. The 400mm is better with converters. The 600mm is simply a stellar lens all around, with or without converters. None of these lenses are slouches. I’d be happy shooting with any of them. I'm just trying to point out that some are slightly better choices than others, and not just because of image quality. Indeed, in terms of optical quality, I think I'd rank them this way (#7 is way behind #6 at long distances):

1. 200mm f/2G AF-S VR and 105mm f/1.4E
2. 400mm f/2.8E FL AF-S VR
3. 180-400mm f/4E FL AF-S VR
4. 300mm f/2.8G AF-S VR (yes, eagle eyed readers will note I've moved this down)
5. 600mm f/4E FL AF-S VR
6. 500mm f/4E FL AF-S VR
7. 200-400mm f/4G AF-S VR

Yet, in terms of which make the most sense overall for sports and wildlife, I'd probably rank them this way (based upon convenience and applicability):

1. 180-400mm f/4E FL AF-S VR
2. 300mm f/2.8G AF-S VR
3. 500mm f/4E FL AF-S VR
4. 400mm f/2.8E FL AF-S VR

I won't rank the other lenses in this second list because you generally buy the 200mm f/2 and 600mm f/4 because you have a specific need, not an overall need for a general purpose exotic. And on any given day for certain types of shooting I might be convinced to swap places 2 and 3 or between 3 and 4. But today, what I just wrote is what I currently feel.

What I’m not happy about is spending the money for them. These beasts are not only going to break your back, but your bank, as well; your Visa card is going to go places it likely hasn’t been before (prices current in US as of 11/28/2016):

• 200mm f/2G AF-S VR — US$5600
• 180-400mm f/4E AF-S FL ED VR — US$12,400
• 200-400mm f/4G AF-S VR II — US$7000
• 300mm f/2.8G AF-S VR II — US$5400
• 400mm f/2.8E FL AF-S VR — US$11,200
• 500mm f/4E FL AF-S VR — US$10,300
• 600mm f/4E FL AF-S VR — US$12,300
• 800mm f/5.6E FL AF-S VR — US$16,300

Ouch! One solution is to rent these lenses only when you need them. For example, you can generally rent the older 400mm f/2.8D for about $300 a week, which is something you ought to do anyway before making a commitment to caring for one of these special beasts. Worse still, many of these lenses often are in short supply in the US and sometimes difficult to get anyway. Renting is a good option, just make sure that you give yourself extra time up front before your trip with your rental lens so you can both practice with it and test the AF Fine Tune on your camera.

(Side note: most users of the Nikon exotics carry both the TC-14E and TC-20E III with them. Moreover, they’ve filed off the little tab that keeps the two TC’s from being able to mount together and they carry a very small extension tube to place between them. Yes, in a pinch, you can mount a TC-14E and TC-20E on a 500mm f/4 and end up with a kludged 1400mm f/11 lens with barely acceptable, but not great, optically quality. Sure beats carrying that 1400mm f/11 lens with you [Nikon did make a 1200mm f/11 lens, but their real superstar is the special order, 36-pound, 1200-1700mm f/5.6-8P IF-ED; darned if that isn’t a wonderful lens, though it costs more than a Porsche Cayenne.] These days, a better solution for huge reach is to carry a V1 with FT1 in your bag. With my 400mm this makes for a pretty incredible 1080mm equivalent, with better image quality and focusing than you're going to get out of TCs on your normal camera.) 

The good news is that Nikon found a very interesting middle ground you absolutely need to consider: the PF lenses. We have two now, the 300mm f/4E and the 500mm f/5.6E. 

The aperture of light loss and the PF element design combine to do two things over the exotics: reduce the size and the price. Both are exceptionally good optically for the types of uses you'd probably put them to: sports and wildlife. The only caveat is to try to avoid a point light source in the background of the photo, as that can produce PF flare that's tough to remove.

Optically, they're both excellent, excellent enough to be said to be on par with the exotics. Both are easily handheld, too, which for some is useful. On a D500 (DX) body, the 300mm f/4 is a great birder lens for someone on foot: light, fast enough to get reasonable shutter speeds in most conditions at an ISO you can handle, and a great effective 450mm in reach. Can't really be beat by anything else. You'd have left the 300mm f/2.8 back in the car instead of walking with it ;~). 

If you’re absolutely set on building a garage for your own exotic to rest in, you might want to consider the Sigma lineup. 

The Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 is the lens for the crowd that wants to save 75%. Yeah, sure, it doesn't have quite as much reach, but it's a stop faster. It really is a nice flexible lens for those that need flexibility, though I'd say that the focal length range is probably more useful to the DX and/or sports shooter than the FX and/or wildlife shooter. Don't dismiss it, though. It's one of Sigma's better lenses.

I’ve only used the Sigma 500mm f/4 Sport OS HSM a bit, but I think I can speak reasonably about it. It’s a fraction of a pound lighter and has a slightly smaller diameter than the Nikon 500 f/4, so is even more airline friendly. At US$6000, compared to the Nikon it only consumes a bit more than half your checking account. So far, so good. Optically, the Sigma holds its own, and the HSM focusing seems to work about the same as AF-S in speed most of the time, though it hunts more often than Nikkor. Where the Sigma falls down, in my estimation, is with converters. The older 500mm f/4.5 with the Sigma 1.4x HSM converter showed more image quality fall-off than the older Nikkor 500mm f/4 with the TC-14E, and I expect the same with this new Sigma Sport. This was more obvious with the 2x converters. That’s not to say it’s unusable, but be aware of what you’re sacrificing. 

Sigma also has a 300-800mm f/5.6 exotic (US$8000) that also bears looking at. I've handled one but haven’t really shot anything more than a few simple tests with it, so I can’t really tell you how it performs optically in every situation (other than to tell you that 300mm f/5.6 seems a bit dim when you’re used to f/2.8 or f/4). It’s also over 12 pounds in the muscle building department, and it's a very awkward length and heavily front-loaded in weight, so consider how and where you’ll be transporting it (that’s well over half of the carry-on baggage limit for most overseas flights). Most reviews have been very positive with this lens, and my limited testing tends to confirm that; having the flexibility of a zoom in an exotic is very tempting.

I'd also be remiss to point out that you shouldn't fall into the latest/greatest syndrome. Nikon has made AF-I, AF-S, AF-S II, AF-S, and AF-S VR II versions of most of the exotics that are now on E FL status. Optically, older lenses of the same focal length in the exotics are all very similar (obviously, the latest VR version has an optical component—the VR shifter—that the other older ones don't, but the overall design formulas are similar enough to be considered the same). There's no shame in picking up a good quality used 300mm f/2.8 AF-I lens instead of a spanking new 300mm f/2.8G AF-S VR II. Indeed, you can get some quite good bargains from all those dumping their non-VR and older VR versions if you shop around. Optically, you'll be no worse off.

Finally, one other economy approach is to give up the autofocus. The old manual focus Nikkor 500mm f/4P works perfectly fine on all the DSLR bodies (yes, matrix metering works), and can be found at just over US$2000 used in decent condition. To me, that's a real bargain. In practice, I think it’s as sharp as the latest VR version, too. Moreover, with focus peaking on the Z bodies, you can manually focus this lens quickly and reliably (and yes, P lenses work on the FTZ adapter just fine, supporting all capabilities of the lens).

Another bargain option I previously used a lot is the Nikkor 400mm f/5.6 AI-S, which in good condition used goes for about US$500-600. On the D200, D300 series, D500, D600/D610, D700, D750, D800/D810/D850, D7xxx series, D2 series, D3 series, D4 series, and D5 bodies you really don't give up anything (all can be configured to meter with it), and it's svelte and optically excellent. In fact, when people ask what's the best way to get to 400mm without buying the expensive exotic, this has traditionally been is my first answer. Why Nikon doesn't make an autofocus version of this lens I don't know.

That said, the recent addition of the 200-500mm f/5.6E AF-S VR changes the bargain equation. At US$1400 it’s nothing short of a bargain. Surprisingly, it’s optically very good, and has quickly become the “poor man’s exotic.” The exotics do trump it a bit in acuity and contrast, plus f/5.6 is a pretty constrictive aperture compared to most of the exotics. So, like the Sigma 300-800mm it’s not a perfect substitute. But it’s probably the best option to try if you think you need 300mm+ and don’t have the money to sample used or new exotics.

Third-Party Manual Focus
Along the way we've seen a number of manual focus lens introductions, most notably from Zeiss and Voigtlander. These classic designs have been modestly updated for the modern era. 

Zeiss makes 15mm, 18mm, 21mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 100mm, and 135mm lenses that fit the Nikon mount. The early versions are all essentially equivalent to AI-S lenses, so you need a camera with the ability to set CPU lens data (D200, D300 series, D500, D600/D610, D700, D750, D780, D800/D810/D850, D7xxx series, D2 series, D3 series, D4 series, D5, and D6) for the exposure meter to work properly. The latest versions (e.g. Milvus and Otus) are equivalent to AI-P, which means all Nikons should meter with them (and they work fine on the Z cameras with the FTZ adapter). 

Optically, these Zeiss optics are all fine lenses—most are better than the Nikkor equivalents. They're also very nicely built, have focus scales and really smooth focus rings. But they're also all fairly large, heavy, and the new Milvus versions are expensive; the Otus lenses are extremely expensive. Still, if you're into prime lenses and manual focusing, all of these lenses are worth exploring, there's not really a dud amongst them. The Otus lenses are probably the best corrected primes you can find at their focal lengths.

Voigtlander lenses were brought back by Cosina with a twist: Cosina is putting CPU chips in the lenses for the Nikon mount. This means that they're equivalent to AI-P, which means they'll meter on all Nikon DSLRs and work on the FTZ adapter for the mirrorless crowd. The other interesting aspect to them is that they tend to have modest apertures and are very small in size. The 20mm f/3.5, 40mm f/2, and 180mm f/4 are all remarkably small lenses for their focal lengths. The first two are small enough to hide in your hand. Voightlander has also made a 58mm f/1.4 as well as some shorter telephoto variants like the 90mm. I'm happy to report that they're all optically quite good. Not quite at the level of Zeiss (which is about as good as you can get), but better than many equivalent Nikkor primes and most zooms. A D3500 with a 20mm, 40mm, 58mm, and 180mm is a very small travel kit that's still flexible, with the primary disadvantage being that you have to manually focus. But buy these lenses when you can, as they're produced in low numbers and tend to sell out within months of appearing on the market.

Best Lens at Every Focal Length
Let’s assume for a moment that money and carrying logistics are no problem for you (you have a well-endowed partner for the former and a well-endowed porter for the latter). 

What Nikon lens would you use for optimal results on a Nikon DSLR at each and every focal length? 

Good question; get ready for another long-winded answer. 

One thing before we start: there's a bias amongst some that primes are better than zooms. As you're about to find out, that's not necessarily true, in my opinion. Many recent zoom designs have performance that would be the envy of some primes. Indeed, let me pick on one prime for a moment: every current Nikkor zoom option that hits 18mm for the FX frame is optically better than the old 18mm f/2.8D fixed focal length Nikkor. Every one. In sharpness and in handling of corners and in chromatic aberration. Maybe not in linear distortion, but that's easy enough to correct in software. The 14-24mm f/2.8G runs rings around the 18mm f/2.8D in every test I've tried. So before reading on, please let go of your primes-are-better-than-zooms bias, if you have one. Computer design, aspherical element creation, better glass, and a host of other things have evened up the playing field. You can design great zooms or primes, or bad ones. 

Also note that I'm going to mostly restrict myself to currently available lenses. In a few cases where a previously made lens is so good that it warrants attention over the currently available, I'll point that out. But for the most part we're going to go with the stuff you'll find on your dealer's shelves currently (or at least were until the latest buying frenzy snapped them all up). Also, we'll be sticking (again mostly) to Nikkors.

We've got a lot of range to cover, so let's go:

• 10.5mm – Well, there used to be no choice here, so the 10.5mm DX was it for the DX cameras (the 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E, 16mm f/2.8Dm or the Sigma 15mm f/3.5 are the equivalent choices for an FX camera). But this lens isn’t without its problems. It’s a full-frame fisheye (180 degrees diagonally from corner to corner), so straight lines that don’t go through the center axis will have pronounced barrel effects. Moreover, there’s visible chromatic aberration in the corners, especially wide open. Nikon Capture NX2 allows you to (mostly) correct for curved lines and CA, and Photoshop CS4 and later lets you correct for the CA, but neither allows you to do both corrections perfectly. Essentially, this is a special purpose focal length for the APS-sized sensors, and should be treated as such. The recent 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E fisheye zoom is slightly worse in the mid-frame than the 10.5mm when set to view the same angle of view, but better in the center. 
• 12mm – Again, the lack of choice pretty much gives you the 12-24mm f/4G DX lens. On the APS-sized sensors there’s a hint of softness and chromatic aberration wide open, and depth of field is very difficult to get right (the lens is only marked at five distances). In general, I’m mostly happy with the 12-24mm at 12mm on my bodies, but there’s room for a better lens here (please, Nikon, a 12mm f/2.8 fixed!). The Nikkor 10-24mm is nearly the same optically as the 12-24mm, but the build quality is lower and it's variable aperture. In my samples, I'd still have to rank the 12-24mm over the 10-24mm, but only slightly. Sigma does have a 12-24mm lens that covers the full frame that you might want to try out (I haven’t) if you need this focal length for an FX body. Note: while I haven't reviewed the Tamron and Tokina options that cover this range and this list isn't about third-party lenses, the Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina options are all viable at this focal length. None are perfect. The Nikkor 12-24mm has one thing going for it the others don't, though: it can go DX or FX. That's right, it makes a perfectly fine 18-24mm lens on an FX body, covering the full FX frame at those focal lengths.
• 14mm – The Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G on all bodies. Optically, the 14-24mm is the clear choice and has fewer optical problems than the other choices, but it doesn’t take filters and it has field curvature you need to be aware of. The 14mm f/2.8D has more distortion, more chromatic aberration, plus more edge effects when used wide open, so it is a distant third choice on any camera (the 12-24mm f/4 would be a cautious second choice on DX bodies, particularly older DX bodies). The 14-30mm f/4 S is the reasonable choice for the mirrorless crowd.
• 17mm – The 14-24mm f/2.8G, no questions asked. This is a ground-breaking lens. Indeed, I can’t really find any fault with it at 17mm that I can’t live with. The 17-35mm f/2.8D is probably the second FX choice at this focal length if you need to use filters, though you will need thin filters to keep from vignetting on full-frame cameras. The 12-24mm f/4 DX is a noticeable, but not large, drop downwards in optical performance at this focal length, plus, of course, it can’t cover a full frame at this focal length nor go to f/2.8. But the 12-24mm is a possible second choice at this focal length for the APS-sensor crowd. As are the 17-55mm f/2.8G DX, plus the 16-35mm f/4G VR for the FX crowd, and the 14-30mm f/4 S for the mirrorless user.
• 18mm – Seven lenses are pretty much equal here: the 17-35mm f/2.8D AF-S, the 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D, the 16-35mm f/4G VR, the 14-24mm f/2.8G AF-S, the 17-55mm f/2.8G DX, the 12-24mm f/4G DX, and the 14-30mm f/4 S. On a full-frame camera, the 14-24mm wins, especially if you need a fast aperture (the 12-24mm DX is a close second on an FX body, believe it or not). But if you’re using this focal length predominately for wide-angle landscapes on a DX body, all four are so close to each other at f/11 and f/16 that it’s a complete toss-up. That’s good news all the way round, as the 18-35mm is quite reasonably priced and the 12-24mm tends to make it into a lot of kits simply for its wide end. The 16-35mm is the choice for those that need optical stabilization. Lens to avoid at this focal length: the 18mm f/2.8D. I never thought much of it on a film body, as it produced too much chromatic aberration in the corners and had significant light fall-off, but on a digital body these problems are exacerbated and the results hideous.
• 19mm — The 19mm f/4E PC-E is a special purpose lens, but if you need something in the 18 to 20mm range with top quality, you need to consider it. That's because it's better than any prime or zoom Nikon makes in the 18-20mm focal range. By far. Enough so that you should probably consider it if you don't need a fast or autofocus wide angle lens in that range.
• 20mm – The 20mm f/1.8G on any body (though the 20mm f/1.8 S on a Z is similar). This used to be another very close race, but the appearance of the 20mm f/1.8G ended that. None of the other five choices are perfect at this focal length (e.g. the 17-35mm is getting worse as we zoom in, the 12-24mm better, the 14-24mm is marvelous at any of its focal lengths). But the 20mm f/1.8G trumps them all. 
• 24mm – On all bodies: the 24mm f/1.4G or f/1.8G, or the 14-24mm f/2.8G AF-S. Surprised? So was I. At 24mm, these may be the sharpest lenses Nikon has produced to date, and that’s saying something since the 24mm f/2.8D was no slouch in the film world, nor is the 24-70mm f/2.8E AF-S. The 24mm f/2.8D doesn’t fare as well on digital bodies as it did on film bodies (a trait that continues for most of the older-design prime lenses as we move up the focal length chart). The 17-35mm f/2.8D does a respectable job at this focal length (and is almost free from distortion at 24mm). The 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D is starting to fall off in optical performance at this focal length, but still worth considering if you’re trying to rationalize one lens over multiple focal lengths. The 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G AF-S is more than acceptable at this focal length, but not the equal of the other choices, in my opinion. The 24-85mm f/2.8-4D isn’t as good at 24mm, and it and the 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S VR is barely acceptable at this focal length (the 24-120mm f/4 version is better, but still not up to the level of the best lenses at 24mm). You've got a lot of choices to pick from, but those first two I mentioned are the ones you should probably consider. The recent 24mm PC-E is the winner here for FX bodies if you're going for landscape, architectural, or other work that would benefit from the tilt-shift. In low light, the new 24mm f/1.4G AF-S is also a clear-cut winner, but you're going to pay big money for that, and it's a physically large and heavy lens.
• 28mm – The 28mm f/1.8G or 28mm f/1.4E are the best choices. In zooms, the 28-70mm f/2.8D or the 24-70mm f/2.8E AF-S. The 16-35mm f/4G VR and 17-35mm f/2.8D are respectable performers, but not quite at the same level. The 28mm f/1.8G does have issues you need to be aware of (see my review). The older prime lens designs just don’t seem to deliver on the digital bodies, though the 28mm f/2.8D is more than acceptable. The 28mm f/1.4D has a rear element design that I think contributes to less than ideal results on digital bodies, and I don’t really recommend it unless you need that fast aperture, especially now that we have the 28mm f/1.4E, which is far better. The older f/1.4  is good, but not great, IMHO. A number of zooms make it through this focal range adequately (the 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D, the 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D, all of the 24-xx zooms, and the 28-300mm), but adequate isn’t what we’re looking for. The older 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6D and 28-200mm f/3.4-5.6G can both be dismissed out of hand at this focal length. You are compromising optical performance with those lenses for either low cost or focal length convenience. Don’t. 
• 35mm – Toss-up: The 24-70mm f/2.8E AF-S, with the 16-35mm f/4 VR being not too far behind. I’m not a fan of mid-range focal lengths (which I’d define as 35mm to 70mm on FX, and 16-35mm on DX), so the mid-range zooms don’t generally excite me, despite their fine optical performance at this and other focal lengths. To me, these are expensive lenses that rarely get used, so I ended up selling mine. The 35mm f/2D does a very respectable job at this focal length, by the way, so don’t toss it if you have it. The 35mm f/1.8G doesn’t really beat the older f/2D version by much, but is also a very respectable choice here. The 35mm f/1.8G DX is a bargain; not a perfect performer but excellent for the cost and worth carrying in most DX bags. I have not yet tested the 35mm f/1.4G AF-S, but like the 24mm f/1.4G update, it's a big, heavy, expensive lens. My comments in the 28mm group about the rest of the zoom pack apply here as well.
• 50mm – The 50mm f/1.8 S blows away all the DSLR options, so Z users should be aware of that. The 45mm f/2.8P, or the new 50mm f/1.4G or 50mm f/1.8G are the choices for the F-mount with mild reservations. Both of the older Nikkor 50mm lenses (f/1.8D and f/1.4D) have significant central circle aberrations at small apertures (most noticeable on the old Kodak Pro 14n, but still present on every body I've tried to some degree, and clearly seen on IR-converted cameras). The 60mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkors (old or new version) aren’t really optimized for far-field and infinity use even though they perform very well there, so that leaves us with only one older “normal” lens and one newer one to consider. The 45mm is a fine, sharp, optic that shows just how poor the 50mm’s really are. The newest 50mm f/1.4G and f/1.8G are very good, but not great. The biggest issue I see with the f/1.4G is clear longitudinal chromatic aberration, which makes that f/1.4 less usable. If you're a rich and patient person and don't mind manual focusing, consider the 58mm f/1.2 NOCT. Ever since I wrote early after the D1's appearance that I felt it was the best portrait lens for DX, they've been hard to get and very expensive. Nikon made very few of them, but the NOCT is an exquisite lens. 
• 58mm — You have two choices here, the old AI-S 58mm f/1.2 NOCT or the new 58mm f/1.4G. Both are excellent lenses, and make very nice DX portrait focal lengths. The NOCT is probably the best corrected lens for astrophotography. Neither lens is a slouch. Both are expensive. Mirrorless users have the 58mm f/0.95 NOCT S to choose from, and it simply is superb optically. But it's a huge, manual focus lens that costs a lot.
• 70mm – The 70-200mm f/2.8E FL VR. Close second would be the original 70-200mm f/2.8G VR, the 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, the 70-200mm f/4 VR, the 80-200mm f/2.8D (obviously at 80mm), the 24-70mm f/2.8E VR AF-S, the 24-70mm f/2.8G, and maybe even the 35-70mm f/2.8D. Nothing else comes close to these lenses, so one of these should be in your kit if you shoot at this focal length much. The big FX issue will be light falloff and sharpness in the corners. The best performers are the mid-range zooms. And again, the mirrorless users have a clear choice: 24-70mm f/2.8 S, which is better than any other mid-range zoom I've tried, and a really good 70mm lens.
• 85mm – The 70-200mm f/2.8E FL VR  or maybe the 70-200mm f/4G VR. Next would be the 85mm f/1.4D and 85mm f/1.4G. The 70-200mm f/2.8E FL AF-S VR II just dominates much of the moderate telephoto realm—it’s fast, it is optically excellent, it has fast focusing, it has VR, and it works well with converters. Yes, the 85mm f/1.4D and f/1.4G have somewhat better bokeh (but not by a lot) and they go to f/1.4, but you have to shoot a lot at this focal length with fast apertures to prefer them over the 70-200mm, in my opinion. Still, the older 85mm f/1.4D and f/1.8D aren't in the same class when used on the digital cameras (and are also prone to the center spot artifact at small apertures); the newer f/1.8G is my preferred model when price and performance is considered (the f/1.4G is also good, but pricey). All of the variable aperture zooms that get into this range (e.g., the 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G AF-S, 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G AF-S VR) all have too small an aperture at 85mm to be considered, as you’ll find that you can’t get that great depth of field isolation at f/4.5 or f/5.6 that you can at f/2.8. But don’t forget the 85mm f/3.5G if you’re a DX owner: it’s sharp. And the 85mm f/2.8 PC-E is also quite a good lens, especially for product photography.
• 105mm – The 105mm f/1.4E hands down. Others you might consider: The original 70-200mm f/2.8G VR for DX bodies, the new 70-200mm f/2.8E for FX bodies. The 105mm f/2D DC is also good for FX bodies. 80-200mm f/2.8D for budget hunters. The 105mm f/2.8G Micro-Nikkor is good, but it doesn't make it to the same level as the regular lenses.
• 135mm – The 70-200mm f/2.8E FL VR and 120-300mm f/2.8E for FX bodies, the original 70-200mm f/2.8G VR for DX bodies. You might also consider: The 135mm f/2D DC for FX bodies. 80-200mm f/2.8D for budget hunters. The 135mm f/2.8 Series E is a strong budget choice for manual focus users.
• 180mm – The 180-400mm f/4E. But the 70-200mm f/2.8E FL VR and 70-200mm f/4G VR put in a very respectable performance and become the choice simply due to flexibility and current specs.  You might also consider the older 180mm f/2.8D which is optically excellent, though prone towards chromatic aberration. Sensing a pattern in the moderate telephoto range?
• 200mm – The 200mm f/2G AF-S VR, the 70-200mm f/2.8E FL VR, and the 120-300mm f/2.8E win hands down. Nothing else is even within shouting distance. For close in work, the 200mm f/4 Micro-Nikkor comes into play. For budget, the 70-200mm f/4G.
• 300mm – The 120-300mm f/2.8E and 300mm f/2.8G AF-S VR, hands down. Again, nothing else is close. The latest 300mm f/2.8 is arguably the best exotic telephoto Nikon has made, and the 120-300mm f/2.8E pretty much matches it in my initial testing. Still, both the 300mm f/4E and the 70-200mm f/2.8E FL VR with a TC-14E do a respectable job here, almost equaling the bigger lens at anything beyond f/5.6. But as you move up in telephoto range, depth of field control becomes an important consideration, and the 300mm f/2.8G AF-S VR is the choice because of that, even if it weren't such a stellar performer. Note that the 300mm f/4E has flare issues with in-frame light sources, but is otherwise quite a respectable performer, giving up only a little from the f/2.8.
• 400mm – The 400mm f/2.8E FL AF-S VR, hands down (or any previous version). Again no contest; nothing else comes close. The 300mm f/2.8D with a TC-14E falls into a slightly distant second place that's quite usable. The 80-400mm f/4-5.6G VR and 200-500mm f/5.6E aren't in the same league, though they will produce acceptable results on the APS-sized sensor bodies with careful shot discipline. Corners on a full-frame body are problematic at 400mm with the 80-400mm. The best budget choice is the 200-500mm f/5.6E.
• 500mm – The 500mm f/4E FL AF-S VR is the winner, but the 500mm f/5.6E PF is a very close second, and I mean very close. The 400mm f/2.8 with a TC-14E makes a good 560mm f/4, by the way. Again, the budget choice is the 200-500mm f/5.6E.
• 600mm – The 600mm f/4E FL AF-S VR, hands down (or any previous version). This is a decision by default: there is nothing else Nikon makes at this focal length. The 300mm f/2.8D with the TC-20E gives barely acceptable results here, as would the 400mm f/2.8D with the TC-14E, but if you shoot at this focal length regularly, you don’t want any compromise, so just mortgage the house (if you've still got one) and get the 600mm f/4 in one of its iterations.
• 800mm — The 800mm f/5.6E FL AF-S VR is your only rational choice, but only if you’re rich and have a sherpa handy.

If you were keeping track, that means you need something like the following lenses to be “maxed” out at every focal length:

• 14-24mm f/2.8G AF-S
• 19mm f/4E PC-E 
• 20mm f/1.8G AF-S
• 24-70mm f/2.8E VR AF-S [24-70mm f/2.8 S for mirrorless]
• 45mm f/2.8P (or 50mm f/1.8G)  [50mm f/1.8 S for mirrorless]
• 70-200mm f/2.8E FL AF-S VR 
• 200mm f/2G AF-S VR (or 120-300mm f/2.8E for this and next entry)
• 300mm f/2.8G AF-S VR II
• 400mm f/2.8E FL AF-S VR
• 500mm f/4E FL AF-S VR
• 600mm f/4E FL AF-S VR
• 800mm f/5.6E FL AF-S VR

Generally, you’d tend to only have four of the first six and one of the last six in your bag. Except for the complete stable of exotics at the end, that’s pretty much exactly what’s in my lens locker these days: 14-24mm, 19mm, 20mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm, 200mm, 400mm. 

So if money were no object and I wanted to be ready for both DX and FX, a potential five lens set looks like this:

• 14-24mm f/2.8G AF-S 
• 24-70mm f/2.8E VR AF-S
• 70-200mm f/2.8E FL AF-S VR
• 120-300mm f/2.8E or 180-400mm f/4E (or 300mm f/4E PF if you don't need speed or zoom)
• 500mm f/4E FL AF-S VR (or 500mm f/5.6E PF, or 400/600mm/800mm, as desired)

Expensive? Yes. Exceptional optics across the board? Yes. With converters that could take you from 14 to 1000mm! Still, there's something to be said for lenses like the 105mm f/1.4G and others that didn't make these last two lists. I'm an "opportunity shooter," meaning that I will try to pick the lenses I bring for the opportunity I'm shooting. At a wedding reception, for example, I'd probably want that 105mm f/1.4G over the 70-200mm f/2.8E FL. Sitting on top of my Land Cruiser in Masai Mara, I want the 70-200mm f/2.8E FL on one body and a longer exotic on my other. 

Oddballs
I still have some cleanup to do, as there are a lot of things I haven't said that relate to lenses. 

• Let's start with teleconverters – If you have the 70-200mm f/2.8G, 70-200mm f/2.8G II, the 70-200mm f/2.8E FL, the 120-300mm f/2.8, the 200mm f/2G, the 200-400mm f/4G (either version), the 300mm f/2.8G, the 300mm f/4E, the 400mm f/2.8G or E, the 500mm f/4G or E, or the 600mm f/4G or E, you should probably get a converter and maybe two. The non-zoom lenses mostly do quite fine with the TC-14EIII, even wide open. The 300mm f/4E almost seems like it was designed to love the TC-14EIII. The zoom lenses tend to need to be stopped down a stop to get optimal results. In my opinion the older TC-20E is too much converter for anything other than maybe the 200mm f/2 and 300mm f/2.8 in all but a pinch, and even on those two lenses you'll see clear lowering of image quality.
  
  The new TC-20E III works well with the 70-200mm II, the 70-200mm f/2.8E FL, the 200mm f/2, 300mm f/2.8, and 400mm f/2.8, and seems to work okay on near subjects with the 200-400mm f/4. On the f/4 lenses you'll probably lose reliable autofocus, though. The TC-17E is somewhere between the two other converters in terms of image quality, but seems to retain decent focus performance on all of the lenses I've tried it on, including two of the f/4 lenses. D500, D750, D8xx and D4/D5 users should note that the new autofocus system does indeed make the longer TCs more interesting, as focus is maintained across more sensors across a wider area than before. I used to carry a TC-14E and old TC-20E. These days I sometimes carry all three: TC-14E, TC-17E, and TC-20E III.
  
  Note that while you can (usually) use third party converters with the Nikkors, I've yet to find any that match the TCs in quality. Some models also don't pass information correctly between lens and camera. Also, you really shouldn't be trying to use teleconverters on new Nikkors other than ones just listed as the optical decisions for lens and converter were considered together (obviously, many older Nikkors have TCs that were designed to work with them, but that's another article: "best of the older lenses"). In some cases, you can damage your lens if you tried the wrong converter (Nikon's TCs all clear the rear element of Nikon exotics correctly). 
  
  See the Teleconverter section of this Web site.
  
  
• Macro Lenses – The 40mm f/2.8G DX or 60mm f/2.8G Micro-Nikkor for copy stand work, the 200mm f/4D Micro-Nikkor or the older 70-180mm f/4-5.6D Micro-Nikkor for most outdoor nature work, depending upon your macro shooting style, or perhaps the 105mm f/2.8G VR for casual (largish) flower work. Of these, the 200mm f/4D is probably the sharpest, but they're all very sharp lenses. The 70-180mm makes for very quick macro set ups in the field, but only goes to about 1:2 in most cases, so you end up carrying either extension tubes or close-up lenses for really close work. Nature photographers should have at least one of the latter two and should probably avoid the 60mm and 105mm Micro-Nikkors simply due to the close working distances involved (note that they all lose focal length at full extension, and even with the SB-R200's it's difficult to get light on all subjects reliably). The economy macro solution is the Tamron 90mm (see the end of my 105mm review). Sigma also makes several macro lenses that others seem to like, but I haven't tried them. The alternative for people who don't want to invest in a macro lens is to use "close-up" lenses (such as the Canon 500D on the 70-200mm) or extension tubes. Both these economy alternatives work quite well in terms of image quality, but are difficult to set up (it'll take you time to learn how both impact what you can and can't focus on, as both will change the focus range of the lens you put them on).
  
  
• Finally, we have perspective control lenses. At present, there are seven choices, four new, three old. The old choices are the 28mm and 35mm shift lenses and the first generation 85mm tilt-shift lens. The two older wide angles are only modestly useful now and aren't in the same league as the new ones. On digital cameras the limit you can shift them and retain good image quality (and no vignetting) is significantly less than the lenses are capable of moving (perhaps 8mm instead of the full 12mm). Plus they only shift. The older 85mm, however, is just as good as the new one, with the main differential being the metering flexibility of the new one. The new 19mm PC-E, 24mm PC-E, 45mm PC-E, and 85mm PC-E are full tilt and shift lenses and incorporate a new metering option that works only with the most recent Nikon bodies (post D3/D300). All are decent optically, and the new PC-E design makes doing tilt-shift on a D300 or D3 or later DSLR less painful than ever before. However, to me the choice boils down to one of two: the new 19mm on an FX body if you are into landscape or architectural photography, and either version of the 85mm on DX or FX body if you're doing product photography (e.g. catalogs, eBay, etc.). All the PC-E lenses make for a convenient modest panorama stitch option, giving you high quality at about 24x52mm even on a D3 era camera.

So, if you're keeping score, the final tally:

• 14-24mm f/2.8G AF-S 
• 24-70mm f/2.8E VR AF-S
• 70-200mm f/2.8E FL AF-S VR
• 120-300mm f/2.8E or 180-400mm f/4E (or 300mm f/4E PF if you don't need speed or zoom)
• 500mm f/4E FL AF-S VR (or 500mm f/5.6E PF, or 400/600mm/800mm, as desired)
• TC-14E
• TC-17E (maybe)
• 70-180mm f/4-5.6D Micro-Nikkor or other Micro-Nikkor based upon your need
• 19mm f/4 PC-E or 85mm f/2.8 PC-E based upon your need

Sprinkle in some set from the 20mm, 24m, 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 58mm, 85mm, and 105mm fast primes for low light use, and you've got one heck of a gear bag.

But lest you bemoan the fact that you'll never have enough disposable income to afford all that, remember this: there will be a few photographers out there with that D3400 and two AF-P kit lenses that are shooting up a storm. People keep asking me what the best lenses are. You now have two answers. One is the list of lenses you see above, the other is what you've got, used right. Start by learning to do the latter, then add better options as you can afford to.

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