what kind of Nikon lens should I buy to take better photos?

File: PHN_0970.jpg (873KB, 1000x667px) Image search: [Google]

873KB, 1000x667px

you can see it in a lot of these

[EXIF data available. Click here to show/hide.]

Camera-Specific Properties:
Equipment Make	NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model	NIKON D500
Camera Software	Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (Windows)
Maximum Lens Aperture	f/5.7
Sensing Method	One-Chip Color Area
Color Filter Array Pattern	846
Focal Length (35mm Equiv)	82 mm
Image-Specific Properties:
Image Orientation	Top, Left-Hand
Horizontal Resolution	240 dpi
Vertical Resolution	240 dpi
Image Created	2017:01:07 14:01:49
Exposure Time	1/200 sec
F-Number	f/5.6
Exposure Program	Aperture Priority
ISO Speed Rating	800
Lens Aperture	f/5.6
Exposure Bias	0.7 EV
Metering Mode	Pattern
Light Source	Unknown
Flash	No Flash
Focal Length	55.00 mm
Color Space Information	Uncalibrated
Image Width	1000
Image Height	667
Rendering	Normal
Exposure Mode	Auto
White Balance	Manual
Scene Capture Type	Standard
Gain Control	Low Gain Up
Contrast	Normal
Saturation	Normal
Sharpness	Normal
Subject Distance Range	Unknown

File: PHN_0981.jpg (308KB, 1000x667px) Image search: [Google]

308KB, 1000x667px

[EXIF data available. Click here to show/hide.]

Camera-Specific Properties:
Equipment Make	NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model	NIKON D500
Camera Software	Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (Windows)
Maximum Lens Aperture	f/4.4
Sensing Method	One-Chip Color Area
Color Filter Array Pattern	846
Focal Length (35mm Equiv)	42 mm
Image-Specific Properties:
Image Orientation	Top, Left-Hand
Horizontal Resolution	240 dpi
Vertical Resolution	240 dpi
Image Created	2017:01:07 14:19:27
Exposure Time	1/8 sec
F-Number	f/8.0
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO Speed Rating	640
Lens Aperture	f/8.0
Exposure Bias	1/3 EV
Metering Mode	Pattern
Light Source	Unknown
Flash	No Flash
Focal Length	28.00 mm
Color Space Information	Uncalibrated
Image Width	1000
Image Height	667
Rendering	Normal
Exposure Mode	Manual
White Balance	Manual
Scene Capture Type	Standard
Gain Control	None
Contrast	Normal
Saturation	Normal
Sharpness	Normal
Subject Distance Range	Unknown

File: PHN_0991.jpg (414KB, 1000x667px) Image search: [Google]

414KB, 1000x667px

[EXIF data available. Click here to show/hide.]

Camera-Specific Properties:
Equipment Make	NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model	NIKON D500
Camera Software	Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (Windows)
Maximum Lens Aperture	f/4.3
Sensing Method	One-Chip Color Area
Color Filter Array Pattern	846
Focal Length (35mm Equiv)	39 mm
Image-Specific Properties:
Image Orientation	Top, Left-Hand
Horizontal Resolution	300 dpi
Vertical Resolution	300 dpi
Image Created	2017:01:07 15:08:04
Exposure Time	1/4 sec
F-Number	f/8.0
Exposure Program	Aperture Priority
ISO Speed Rating	100
Lens Aperture	f/8.0
Exposure Bias	1/3 EV
Metering Mode	Pattern
Light Source	Unknown
Flash	No Flash
Focal Length	26.00 mm
Color Space Information	Uncalibrated
Image Width	1000
Image Height	667
Rendering	Normal
Exposure Mode	Auto
White Balance	Manual
Scene Capture Type	Standard
Gain Control	None
Contrast	Normal
Saturation	Normal
Sharpness	Normal
Subject Distance Range	Unknown

File: PHN_0997.jpg (943KB, 1000x667px) Image search: [Google]

943KB, 1000x667px

[EXIF data available. Click here to show/hide.]

Camera-Specific Properties:
Equipment Make	NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model	NIKON D500
Camera Software	Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (Windows)
Maximum Lens Aperture	f/5.7
Sensing Method	One-Chip Color Area
Color Filter Array Pattern	846
Focal Length (35mm Equiv)	82 mm
Image-Specific Properties:
Image Orientation	Top, Left-Hand
Horizontal Resolution	300 dpi
Vertical Resolution	300 dpi
Image Created	2017:01:07 15:15:52
Exposure Time	1/8 sec
F-Number	f/8.0
Exposure Program	Aperture Priority
ISO Speed Rating	100
Lens Aperture	f/8.0
Exposure Bias	1/3 EV
Metering Mode	Pattern
Light Source	Unknown
Flash	No Flash
Focal Length	55.00 mm
Color Space Information	Uncalibrated
Image Width	1000
Image Height	667
Rendering	Normal
Exposure Mode	Auto
White Balance	Manual
Scene Capture Type	Standard
Gain Control	None
Contrast	Normal
Saturation	Normal
Sharpness	Normal
Subject Distance Range	Unknown

File: PHN_0994.jpg (484KB, 1000x667px) Image search: [Google]

484KB, 1000x667px

[EXIF data available. Click here to show/hide.]

Camera-Specific Properties:
Equipment Make	NIKON CORPORATION
Camera Model	NIKON D500
Camera Software	Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 (Windows)
Maximum Lens Aperture	f/4.3
Sensing Method	One-Chip Color Area
Color Filter Array Pattern	846
Focal Length (35mm Equiv)	39 mm
Image-Specific Properties:
Image Orientation	Top, Left-Hand
Horizontal Resolution	300 dpi
Vertical Resolution	300 dpi
Image Created	2017:01:07 15:13:27
Exposure Time	1/5 sec
F-Number	f/8.0
Exposure Program	Aperture Priority
ISO Speed Rating	100
Lens Aperture	f/8.0
Exposure Bias	1/3 EV
Metering Mode	Pattern
Light Source	Unknown
Flash	No Flash
Focal Length	26.00 mm
Color Space Information	Uncalibrated
Image Width	1000
Image Height	667
Rendering	Normal
Exposure Mode	Auto
White Balance	Manual
Scene Capture Type	Standard
Gain Control	None
Contrast	Normal
Saturation	Normal
Sharpness	Normal
Subject Distance Range	Unknown

>>2997614
this one is sharp at the edges, look at the middle. the top and bottom of the photograph are out of focus because they're not the same distance from the camera.
>>2997623
here you have a similar problem. the camera wasn't parallel to the ground. curved plane of focus can also impact these kinds of shots
>>2997615
here you picked the wrong aperture. this lens has better corner sharpness stopped down to around f/8 (like many slow lenses)
go to dxomark.com, look up your camera, and click on your lens under lenses tested. then look at the sharpness field maps and change the apertures around to find the optimum. bear in mind depth of field will change too. you may also find that you want tomavoid certain focal lengths.
>>2997620
dunno if you shot this on a tripod but there's some motion blur here.
>>2997625
that lower right hand corner does look pretty bad. I think at least some of it's that it's out of focus, you may have gotten better results at f/11.

go to the gear thread if you want dx lens suggestions. sharper lenses are pricey and have a lower range of focal length.