Do you want to know the best lens for Nikon D800 in 2024?
Choosing the best lens is not easy, as many different choices exist.
But in this beginner’s guide, you will discover some of the best Nikon D800 lenses.
Whether photography is your passion or your hobby, or you are just preparing for a family event, Nikon D800 is the best choice.
It has a unique set of features that very few other cameras offer. Moreover, it is adaptable to almost any condition.
That being said, only owning a camera as good as Nikon D800 is insufficient, and choosing the right lens is equally important.
This article will introduce you to some of the best lenses you can use with the Nikon D800.
When it comes to photography, choosing the right lens according to your needs is more important than just capturing a positive colorful image. The lens determines your photograph’s rate and the audience’s interpretation of its meaning.
There are many different types of lenses available in the market, and the most commonly used ones are wide-angle, standard, and telephoto lenses.
There are many more types and subtypes within each class. It might sound like a simple and easy task to select a lens.
Still:
Experienced photographers know how difficult it is to decide which Nikon D800 lens is best for you in terms of functionality and affordability.
Besides your budget, you must consider multiple factors such as aperture, focal length, crop factor, distortion, and much more.
If you are a professional, making the best choice is even more essential.
Nikon D800 camera – How good is it?
As mentioned earlier, Nikon D800 is undoubtedly the best choice for your photographic needs. Unlike many other alternatives, D800 comes with a built-in flash that makes your life easy.
Moreover, it has 3.2 inch rear LCDs, a 36.3MP sensor, and 921000 pixels screen resolution. It also offers a useful DX (APS-C) crop mode, which captures 15.3MP stills. The best part is that you get all this with a durable and attractive weather-sealed body.
Nikon D800 is an ideal choice for all those who love photography in nature because the magnesium alloy construction and environmental sealing prevent dust and water from getting in.
Even in the most extreme conditions, the camera works as smoothly as in a studio. To make it even better, it has a streamlined ergonomic body that facilitates critical photography and video tasks, including, but not limited to, movie recording and live footage.
Nikon 50mm f/1.8G Lens | Nikon 105mm f/2.8G Lens | Nikon 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G |
Unleash creativity with exceptional clarity and depth. Perfect for stunning portraits and captivating close-ups. | Explore a world of intricate details and breathtaking sharpness. Ideal for macro photography and exquisite fine art. | Experience versatility without compromising quality. Capture everything from wide landscapes to zoomed-in shots with ease. |
5.0 | 4.9 | 4.7 |
Nikon 50mm f/1.8G Lens
Unleash creativity with exceptional clarity and depth. Perfect for stunning portraits and captivating close-ups.
Nikon 105mm f/2.8G Lens
Explore a world of intricate details and breathtaking sharpness. Ideal for macro photography and exquisite fine art.
Nikon 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G
Experience versatility without compromising quality. Capture everything from wide landscapes to zoomed-in shots with ease.
Best Prime Lens for Portraits
This prime lens from Nikon offers superb quality and edge to edge sharpness, it produces great portraits while being budget friendly.
If you are a professional photographer looking for a fixed portrait lens’s quality optics at an affordable price, then Nikon 50mm f/1.8G is the best consumer-grade lens for you.
It has a large and fast aperture that will allow you to capture stunning images with a shallow depth of field, isolating your subjects from their backgrounds.
It is also perfect for low-light situations and does not affect your pictures if the weather changes. Moreover, it also helps you create a natural perspective by rendering a beautiful and natural background blur called Bokeh.
Nikon 50mm f/1.8G comes with Nikon’s ‘Super Integrated Coating’ (SIC), which helps enhance light transmission efficiency and facilitates superior color consistency while at the same time reducing flare. Aspherical Lens Element (AS) eliminates coma and other disruptions, no matter how much you widen the aperture.
To enhance this best portrait lens for Nikon D800’s unique qualities, you can pair it with Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor (SWM). It will give you even faster and more accurate results, ensuring all your portraits are smooth and sharp.
Pros
- Beautiful and smooth bokeh
- Focus is fast and silent
- Ridiculously sharp
- Amazing value for the cost
Cons
- Slow focusing speed
Best Wide-Angle Lens for Landscapes
This is a premium wide-angle lens from Nikon that captures beautiful photos and it is considered as one of the best lenses for landscapes.
With a fast, fixed maximum aperture of f/2.8, Nikon AF-S 14–24mm f/2.8G is the best choice for anyone interested in landscape photography.
This award-winning lens gives you outstanding results in almost any situation, regardless of the weather conditions. Even if you are in a backlit area that makes it near impossible to see your subject, it will not compromise your picture’s sharpness, color, and contrast.
Its reliability makes it necessary for all serious photographers to use it to produce the best photos and HD videos in a natural setting.
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14–24mm f/2.8G also comes with a fast and vast angle, making it a perfect choice for landscape photography. Since it is made for landscape photography, it has a rugged construction and professional-grade dust and moisture resistance, making it nearly impossible for dust and water to affect it.
It is equipped with a ‘Silent Wave Motor (SWM) and ‘Internal Focusing’ (IF) to further improve its performance. Both these rare technologies make it possible to perform ultra-high-speed autofocusing accurately.
Like most Nikon products, it also minimizes ghosting and flare and prevents disruptions with the help of ‘Nano Crystal Coat (N) and ‘Aspherical Lens Elements (AS).
Pros
- Amazing sharpness and clarity
- Distortion is very low
- Glass is extremely well built
- Vibrant colors
Cons
- The slip-on lens cap
- Vignette at a wider focal length
Best All-Around lens for everyday photography
This is one of the most popular Nikon lenses made from durable plastic, it includes a Super Integrated Coating and shots sharp images.
Those looking for an ideal one in all lenses for everyday use should get their hands on Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G. Its unique combination of different features makes it great for portraits, group shots, landscapes, and wildlife photography.
It contains advanced Vibration Reduction (VR II), which adds remarkable clarity to your images even under demanding lighting conditions. Moreover, the image quality is not affected even when the camera is handheld.
The lens is made of high-quality plastics with a metal lens mount and a slightly textured finish that prevents scratch marks. The lens has a powerful 11x zoom capacity to capture the perfect images from far away.
What makes it even better is its 72mm filter thread that does not rotate while focusing. It is ideal to be used with polarizing and neutral-density graduated filters.
It also has a ‘Vibration Reduction system that allows it to take handheld shots at a four times slower shutter speed to improve clarity. Furthermore, ‘Extra-low Dispersion’ (ED) glass helps optimize the optical performance and eliminates chromatic aberration to a great extent.
Finally, one last feature worth mentioning is ‘Super Integrated Coating’ (SIC), which gives you consistent colors with enhanced light transmission and reduced flare.
Pros
- Focus is fast and accurate
- Zoom range covers everything
- Image quality is excellent
- Compact for its range
Cons
- Weight can be an issue
- Creates shadow while using flash
Best Telephoto Lens for Wildlife Photography
A telephoto lens from Nikon that has good build quality, compact body that feels comfortable in hand while providing steady and precise images.
Are you into wildlife photography? If yes, this compact, lightweight AF-S Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G is made for you.
This fast-speed lens is capable of delivering 300mm of telephoto reach. It is equipped with a second generation of ‘Vibration Reduction’ (VR II), which makes it perfect for handheld shooting under low-light conditions.
Moreover, it is also a ‘Silent Wave Motor (SWM), which gives it super-fast and super-quiet autofocusing. With this lens, you will no longer need to carry your tripod for wildlife shoots.
The powerful zoom capacity and Extra-low Dispersion (ED) of the lens make it possible to create stunning photos and high-quality HD videos with minimal chromatic aberration. Another unique feature of this lens is a fantastic focusing mode, which enables the user to switch from automatic to manual and vice versa without any time gap.
All you have to do is to turn the focus ring and enjoy a powerful zoom. All these features make it a perfect choice for wildlife photography.
Pros
- Useable Focal Length
- Long zoom and good colors
- Metal mount gives a sturdy feel
- Performs well with proper lighting
Cons
- Mediocre low-light performance
- Loss in Sharpness at 250-300mm
Best Macro Lens for Macro Photography
Nikon 105mm f/2.8G is one of the best macro lens that is designed for macro photography and it delivers lovely photos with beautiful bokeh.
If you are one of those photographers who love taking close-distance photos and want the best lens for close-up and macro shooting, then you must add AF-S Nikon 105mm f/2.8 to your bag. It delivers fantastic results for a distance of up to 105mm.
Moreover, it includes a fast f/2.8 maximum aperture, a ‘Silent Wave Motor (SWM), and a ‘Vibration Reduction’ (VR). All these features make it possible to give you high-quality and stable blur-free images. It does not require a tripod and is customized to give you the best handheld shooting results.
Since it has a long focal length, it is ideal for capturing close-up images of flowers and small moving insects. Its medium-telephoto angle-of-view helps create perfect portraits of tiny creatures, and its sturdy and stable zoom capacity ensures dramatically sharper and more detailed photos.
Combining these unique features makes this lens an ideal choice for all interested in macro photography.
Pros
- Excellent image quality
- Feels sturdy and well built
- The hood is very nice
- Relatively long focal length
Cons
- Very heavy
- VR performs poor at a micro distance
Maximizing Your Nikon D800 Photography: Practical Advice for Enthusiasts
The Nikon D800 is a remarkable tool in the hands of a photographer, but to truly harness its potential, it’s vital to go beyond simply selecting a high-quality lens. Here are some actionable tips tailored to the Nikon D800 that will help you elevate your photography:
Understand Your Photography Goals: Before you decide on a lens, consider what you aim to capture. Are you into landscapes, portraits, macro, or wildlife photography? Each genre might require a different lens characteristic, such as wide-angle for landscapes or a fast aperture for low light.
Learn About Sensor Dynamics: The Nikon D800 features a 36.3MP full-frame sensor, offering exceptional detail. To get the most out of this high-resolution sensor, use lenses with a wider maximum aperture to capture more light and detail.
Balance Focal Length and Portability: While a wide zoom range is convenient, consider the size and weight of the lens in relation to your shooting style. If you prefer to travel light, prime lenses or a mid-range zoom might be more practical.
Experiment With the DX Crop Mode: The Nikon D800’s DX crop mode reduces the image size to 15.3MP, which extends the reach of your lenses by 1.5x. This is particularly useful for wildlife photography where getting close to the subject is challenging.
Prioritize Sharpness and Resolution: To make full use of the D800’s high resolution, opt for lenses known for their sharpness. This will allow you to capture the finest details, which is essential for large prints or heavy cropping.
Consider the Lighting Conditions: If you frequently shoot in varying lighting conditions, invest in lenses with Vibration Reduction (VR) to reduce the impact of camera shake and achieve clearer images at slower shutter speeds.
Don’t Overlook the Importance of Focus: Accurate focusing is crucial, especially with high-resolution cameras. Look for lenses with a Silent Wave Motor (SWM) to ensure fast and quiet autofocus, which is beneficial for both still photography and video recording.
Maintenance and Upkeep: Protect your investment by regularly cleaning and maintaining your lenses. Dust and moisture can affect image quality, so use lens hoods and caps when shooting in challenging environments.
By keeping these tips in mind and understanding how to leverage the Nikon D800’s features with the right lenses, you’ll be well-equipped to take stunning photographs that match your artistic vision.
Best lenses for Nikon D800 – Conclusion
This article has introduced you to a wide range of high-quality Nikon lenses that go best with the Nikon D800 camera. The report has explained all these lens features so that you can make the best choice according to your needs.
Lenses are a fundamental part of photography, and you can never be proficient at photography until you learn to choose the right lens that meets your requirements.
Whether you want to capture landscapes or are responsible for documenting a family event, the information provided in this article can help you decide to buy the right lens.
If this guide was helpful, you could visit other articles, such as articles for D610 lenses and the Nikon D850 best lens guide.
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