Hey everyone, I am finding myself using prime lenses more often than my zoom lenses. Or for example only using my 17-55mm DX at 17mm. I still use my 70-200 as a zoom lens. I primarily shoot NCAA football and news stories for my local paper (The Gainesville Sun). Does anyone recommend a good prime lens that is wide enough to use on a DX body to replace my 17-55? I will be upgrading to a D3 come first of the year and will then be shooting with a D3/D300 combo.
Why? The 18mm 2.8 is expensive and stuck at 18mm. The 17-55 is more flexible, just as sharp and is an AFS lens. If anything, I'd get a 17-35 2.8 as a crossover lens once you go FX. Plus none of the wide-angle primes are AFS and are not as concise to focus from my experience. I tried a 20mm 2.8, but after using one, I found the 17-55 to be still superior.
Good question, Steve. I was shooting a D200 before I got a D3, and I have a 12-24 and a 17-55 that I've been pondering what to do with. Thought about selling them, but haven't pulled the trigger yet, even though I'm considering going FX all the way. Already got a 14-24 for the D3. I'm interested in seeing the advice you get from other members.
I thought about this for a long time. I ended up with the 35f2, the only place you might miss the 17-55 is the speed in the auto focus and the flexibility of zooming without having to move your feet. What you will not miss is the weight.
Thanks everyone, I think I will keep it around until I go FX in January. For now (the rest of football season) I'll shoot with my 17-55 then when I move to the D3 I'll sell the 17-55mm. I have used the 14-24mm on a friends D3 and find it to be an amazing lens and will most likely consider it come January. Though I guess it is just a personal thing, but I seen to get much better photos when I use a prime or set my 17-55mm to 17mm and move myself. Maybe it is just me but the photos always "pop" more because the foreground is more separated from the background. I think I will definitely pick up a 50mm f/1.4G in December when it comes out and a few other primes. Who knows, it is a long road to the end of football season and we'll see where I end up come January. Thank you again for everyone's advice.
