Priority for a lens? Wide Aperture vs AF-S VR etc

[lchamberspics]

I'm an amateur photographer trying to make a speedy improvement and am about to buy the Nikon D700. I'm pretty certain this is the camera for me (I'm interested in portrait/wedding photography and am attracted to it's low light capabilities). However, I'm not so certain as to which lens to buy to start off with. I can't yet afford to make a huge investment and buy the ultimate lenses over £1000 each (hopefully I'll be able to in a year's time!). I think I've narrowed my choice to the 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX, OR the 24-85mm f/2.8-4.0 AF-D IF. There is only about £100 difference in price between the two but I don't know whether I should be prioritising the wider aperture lens (2.8-4.0 of the latter) or the seemingly better AF-S lens with VR. I assume that the wider aperture lens is faster and therefore better in low light, but the AF-S lens is sharper and better quality??

Any help/opinions would be much appreciated!

[ALwin]

1) Just to be clear, are you planning to buy the Nikon D700 (Seven-hundred) or the Nikon D7000 (Seven-thousand)?

2) The Nikon 16-85 lens you mentioned is a DX lens, not suitable for use on a Full Frame sensor camera like the D700 (Seven-hundred). There are currently two options for wide angle zoom lens on D700, 16-35 f4 or the more expensive 14-24 f2.8 which does not have a filter thread if you want to attach filters.

To tell the difference between a lens designed for full frame cameras vs those designed for small sensor (APS-C) cameras:
Nikon calls APS-C lenses 'DX', Sigma calls it 'DC', Canon calls it 'EF-S'.
For full frame cameras, Nikon doesn't have a code, as long as the lens does not mention 'DX' that's a lens which can be used with ff cameras. Sigma uses 'DG', and Canon 'EF'. On a side note, Canon makes 3 sensor sizes, Full Frame 35mm equiv, APS-C which is just a tiny bit smaller than Nikon's APS-C and something called APS-H which is between FF and APS-C. Canon APS-H has 1.3x sensor crop, Nikon APS-C is 1.5x and Canon APS-C is 1.6x.

3) As for the 24-85 lens you mentioned, there are both good and bad reviews about it. Not to mention it's an older lens.

4) Buying a body brand new is good, as for lenses, also look in the second-hand market for good deals on great lenses. But always be careful when buying second-hand, inspect/test it thoroughly and buy from a trusted dealer. Also look for lenses from Tamron, Sigma, or Tokina. Good brands that make lenses which can be used on Nikon, Canon, Sony, etc.

5) Do some online research on the effects of using a wide angle lens compared to a telephoto lens. Pros understand this concept and know which type of lens to choose for genre. A majority of portrait photographers choose a lens between 50mm-300mm range. Most of that majority use lenses such as the ever popular 85mm 1.4 or 1.2 (if they're Canon users).