The essence of photography

[ajay124]

Shivam,

Yesterday I borrowed a Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G and 35mm f/2 AF-D from a friend and shot a few pics. I was a little disappointed with both the lenses. I don't like the finish and feel of the G series "Made in Thailand/China" prime and micro lenses. They are too plasticky for my taste. I shot with the 105mm f/2.8 G micro Nikkor for a very short time. Not long enough to make a good judgement. But my initial reaction was that it was not as sharp as a 60mm 2.8 D micro Nikkor, with which I have experimented earlier. The 35mm f/2D was nicely built and quite sharp, but I found the bokeh distinctly inferior to that of the 50mm 1.8D lens. I also felt that 35mm (and possibly) 28mm may not be wide enough or long enough for my taste! On the other hand, the 18-35 is a good looking (made in Japan) FX lens, which will become a true wide angle when I upgrade to an FX body. At the price at which it is available, the 50mm 1.8D is the greatest Nikon lens in the world. Period! I doubt if any Nikon lens (at any price) would be able to shoot sharper pictures at 50mm than this lens is able to do over a broad f/2.8 - f/11 focal range. The 50mm 1.4D may be more effective from f/1.4 - 2.8, but it costs almost three times more. I can live happily with only the 50mm 1.8D on my cropped sensor camera. I will (personally) never consider a 35mm f/2 D, 35mm 1.8G or 50mm 1.8G, since I have this lens .I am pretty happy with my choice of (all) FX lenses: 50mm 1.8D+85mm 1.8D+18-35 3.5-4.5D . The wide, normal and short telephoto focal range is covered by these lenses. I really don't require any more lenses for the moment. I can't afford, but I would be thrilled, if someone gifted me a 70-200 f/2.8 VR

 

[Shivam]

The lens presently in my camera bag-
18-35mm
50mm 1.8
105mm macro

Another lens that I like to use (if my wife permits it) but hate to carry around is Sigma 150-500. On a DX body and a proper support this is the lens for bird photography.
Ironically, I just get to carry around most of the time and my wife uses it.

 

[ajay124]

"Ironically, I just get to carry around most of the time and my wife uses it"

Such is life!

Our choice of lenses is very similar. Perhaps as a future acquisition, you can also consider one of the two lenses, which I have on my radar:

H Paul Garland: The Nikon 135mm DC lens rules!

Discussion Forums @ Nikonians - FS: AF Nikkor 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED - In Box, Excellent Condition

 

[Jaybe]

Hi !

I am joining this discussion rather late.

After using Olympus, starting with OM2 Film Camera and ending with E3, I have recently shifted to Nikon D7000 with Sigma 17-50 f2.8 lens. The reason for my switching to Nikon was the inability of Olympus to offer a reasonable high ISO performance with decent auto focusing ability. However Zuiko lenses do spoil one. I have been toying with either an 85 mm f1.8 lens or 70-200 f2.8 VRII.

I tried 85 mm f1.8G on a D80 body available at the shop but it didn't impress me in build quality or performance in comparison to Zuiko 50 mm f2. 85 mm 1.8D hasn't been available.

Now I have been offered Nikkor 80-200 f2.8 at Rs. 55K and Nikkor 70-200 f2.8VRII (Grey market) at Rs. 120K. As you may be aware that the former is heavier, no VR and can not take Nikkor teleconverters. Also recently Nikon India has increased the prices of 70-200 (Now Rs. 1,71,950/-) along with several other lenses. So the grey market prices are expected to move up as well.

I would appreciate considered opinions as to which lens should I opt for.

Thanks in advance !

Jayant

 

[grubyhalo]

...After using Olympus, starting with OM2 Film Camera and ending with E3...

The OM2 is a fantastic instrument! What did you do with it?

 

[Jaybe]

The OM2 is a fantastic instrument! What did you do with it?

Still have it ! Once in a while enjoy it with vintage Zuiko lenses.

Cheers!

Jayant

 

[grubyhalo]

Good to know that it's still being loved...

 

[ajay124]

"I tried 85 mm f1.8G on a D80 body available at the shop but it didn't impress me in build quality or performance in comparison to Zuiko 50 mm f2. 85 mm 1.8D hasn't been available. Now I have been offered Nikkor 80-200 f2.8 at Rs. 55K and Nikkor 70-200 f2.8VRII (Grey market) at Rs. 120K. As you may be aware that the former is heavier, no VR and can not take Nikkor teleconverters. Also recently Nikon India has increased the prices of 70-200 (Now Rs. 1,71,950/-) along with several other lenses. So the grey market prices are expected to move up as well. I would appreciate considered opinions as to which lens should I opt for. Thanks in advance !"

jaybe

Welcome to the Nikon club. The two lenses you have mentioned are generally deemed to be among the better Nikon zoom lenses. But before taking the plunge you should try and figure out whether you actually need them. If you are an old hand and a pro (unlike me!) and can afford them, then you should ignore this post and buy one of them. But if you are starting out with your first DSLR (D7000 is packed with Nikon's latest technology but is ultimately from their consumer range), then perhaps you should be looking at more affordable lenses to begin with.

The 50mm 1.8D is a no brainer. Every Nikon DSLR user should have one. If you can't find the 85mm 1.8D, then I would suggest you either wait or look for a 50mm 1.4D. This lens is equally sharp, has a better bokeh and low light performance and is also cheaper. One of the legendary Nikkor D series lenses which may soon vanish from the dealers shelves because the new G(elded) series is here. Personally I am completely underwhelmed by the G series. The optics may be good, but the outer shells are too cheapy-plasticky for my taste! Even the optics don't seem to be as good as the D series.

If you are an amateur who has the time to shoot as leisure and is primarily concerned with shooting sharp, high resolution pictures, then you should primarily consider the Nikon D series primes. If you are a pro buy the top end Nikon zooms by all means. But my suggestions for enthusiastic amateurs shooting with a Nikon DX/FX would be:

20mm 2.8D/24mm 2.8D/28mm 2.8D/18-35mm 3.5-4.5 AF D
50mm 1.8D/50mm 1.4D
85mm 1.8D
60mm 2.8D/105mm 2.8D micro nikkor
135mm f/2 DC/180MM 2.8D

Apart from the 18-35, the rest are all affordable fixed focal lenses, which will shoot far better pictures than most of the Nikon zooms.

 

[Shivam]

If you are an amateur who has the time to shoot as leisure and is primarily concerned with shooting sharp, high resolution pictures, then you should primarily consider the Nikon D series primes. If you are a pro buy the top end Nikon zooms by all means. But my suggestions for enthusiastic amateurs shooting with a Nikon DX/FX would be:

20mm 2.8D/24mm 2.8D/28mm 2.8D/18-35mm 3.5-4.5 AF D
50mm 1.8D/50mm 1.4D
85mm 1.8D
60mm 2.8D/105mm 2.8D micro nikkor
135mm f/2 DC/180MM 2.8D

Apart from the 18-35, the rest are all affordable fixed focal lenses, which will shoot far better pictures than most of the Nikon zooms.

Excellent choice of lens.

I always suggest using the lens and camera body before buying.
(it's same as hearing a system in one's own room before buying).

 

[ajay124]

20mm 2.8D/24mm 2.8D/28mm 2.8D/18-35mm 3.5-4.5 AF D
50mm 1.8D/50mm 1.4D
85mm 1.8D
60mm 2.8D/105mm 2.8D micro nikkor
135mm f/2 DC/180MM 2.8D

All of them are FX lenses. DX lenses primarily work on DX cameras. FX lenses work on both FX and DX cameras. Therefore, even though I have a DX camera, my lens browsing and buying is only restricted to FX lenses. I don't want to change lenses when I upgrade to a full frame camera. Some FX glass is more expensive than similar DX versions. In this case, a DX user who does not intend to move to the FX format, may consider DX glass. But if both FX and DX versions are priced in a similar range, then it makes sense to buy FX. It would give a buyer the option of not changing lenses if he/she wanted to trade in the cropped sensor camera body for a full frame one. FX glass would probably command a better resale value as potential buyers would include both FX and DX users.

The 50mm 1.4D (15K) and 85mm 1.8D (20K) are superb portrait lenses. Anybody interested in shooting portraits, streets, flowers or great family/holiday pics, should get at least one of them, before they both disappear from the market. Once they are no longer present on the dealers shelves, the laws of demand and supply would ensure that used prices in the future would be as high, or probably higher, than the new prices right now. Choosing between the 1.8D and 1.4D versions of the 50mm Nikkor is a tough call. One would have to pay roughly 9K extra one pays for the 1.4D. But the higher price is justified by it's better build quality, bokeh and lowlight performance. Wide open, a 1.4D would probably give better results than a 1.8D. But once you stop down a bit, the light weight 1.8D is the heavy weight champion of the world. It floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee!

 

[ajay124]

Birds of a feather flock together.

birdland | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[Jaybe]

Good to know that it's still being loved...

OM2 along with OM1 are classic Olympus SLRs. The old timers still fondly remember their designer Mr. Otani ( now retired for many years ) and are convinced that had he been around, the story of Olympus would be different today - Myself included !

Cheers

Jayant

 

[Jaybe]

jaybe

Welcome to the Nikon club. The two lenses you have mentioned are generally deemed to be among the better Nikon zoom lenses. But before taking the plunge you should try and figure out whether you actually need them. If you are an old hand and a pro (unlike me!) and can afford them, then you should ignore this post and buy one of them. But if you are starting out with your first DSLR (D7000 is packed with Nikon's latest technology but is ultimately from their consumer range), then perhaps you should be looking at more affordable lenses to begin with.
[/QUOTE]

Ajay,

Thanks for your welcome ! I am very much an amateur like you though may be for longer time. As you can imagine it has been a difficult decision to switch loyalty both financially and emotionally !

I am in the process of building up a lens portfolio of Nikon mount. 70-200 is a versatile lens and in my opinion a mandatory. To share a secret with you, I too would like a f1.4 lens which I have never possessed before but if I buy 85 f1.8 now, it would pretty much rule out 85 F1.4 ! So with 70-200, I have a decent portrait lens including the 180 mm f2.8 that you like as well !

Agreed that Fixed focal length is desirable for sharpness but the zooms have the advantage of convenience of use and 70-200 has won laurels.

I was considering buying D300S but the D7000 though prosumer came out ahead in most aspects, so that is what I settled for. May be one day I may consider a Full Frame!

I am enclosing some pictures from a trip to Rajasthan earlier in the year.

Udaypur on a winter dusk

At an edge of Lake Pichola

Blessings for all!

Window with a view

Lines and Shades

Images processed in Lightroom.

Enjoy !

Jayant

 

[Jaybe]

Sorry just noticed the small size of the pictures. Hopefully this should fix it.

Udaypur on a winter dusk

At an edge of Lake Pichola

Blessings for all!

Window with a view

Lines & Shades

Jayant

 

[gobble]

^^ Did you try looking at the "Window with a view" in B&W? I think it might look better.


Nice pics!
--G

 

[ajay124]

jaybe

Nice pics.

A few months ago I spent a lot of time mulling over the relative merits of D90 v/s D7000 v/s D300S. Most reviewers consider D7000 to be leagues ahead of the the other two, as it is packed with Nikon's latest technology. Snapsort is a good site for comparing cameras and D7000 outscores the other two on several counts. D90 and D7000 have virtually identical feel and controls. They are the best options among Nikon's entry level DSLR's. In fact they are perhaps the only options worth considering. Personally I would do not like controls, viewfinder and build quality of D3100/D3200/D5100 to anyone. I was offered a new D90 body for 38K and D7000 body for 52K. I opted for a D90, because I intend to upgrade to an FX camera very soon. D7000 is far superior to D90 in many ways, but some actual users have expressed dis-satisfaction on various forums, with its Multi-Cam 4800 DX AF system. I have seldom come across tack sharp images while scanning D7000 photo streams on Flickr. In fact my (subjective) opinion is that the d90's Multi Cam 1000 AF system may be better than the one on D7000. My current impression is that D7000 has a great sensor, colors and low light capabilities, but a focusing system which may fail to satisfy in the long run.

I do not think comparing a D300S with a D7000 is a valid comparison. D300S has far better build quality and manual controls. The 51 point Multi Cam 350DX AF system of a D300/D300S is outstanding. I would be willing to trade all the advanced features of D7000, for the better focusing system of D300S. But the D300S was only a modest upgrade over the D300. It is packed with relatively old technology and the ISO performance is not very good. If it was available at the same price as a D7000, I would still prefer it over the D7000. But I would not be willing to buy it for its current price of 72-75K. I am waiting patiently for Nikon to launch a D600 or D400. Hopefully it will happen soon.

I have been buying some other stuff. Got the 18-35 f/3.5-4.5 Nikkor FX lens from a local dealer. I have just received delivery of a 679B Manfrotto monopod which I had ordered from Smart Shoppers. It has a drool inducing design, finish and build quality from the Italian manufacturer. It will help to overcome the D90's poor ISO performance. I shot a couple of pics in low interior light at 18mm, ISO 400, f/3.5 and 1/8 shutter speed. The pics came out steady, nicely illuminated and noise free. I am expecting delivery of a Flipside 200 Lowepro bag from Flipkart tomorrow. I have had my eye on both these products for a long time now!

Three Section Monopod 679B - Monopods | Manfrotto

Lowepro - Flipside 200

 

[Jaybe]

^^ Did you try looking at the "Window with a view" in B&W? I think it might look better.


Nice pics!
--G

Here ya go ! What do you think ? I had tried earlier but discarded it. I use Lightroom for processing and do not like it much for B & W other that for more graphical image as the one posted earlier.

I think Silver Efex Pro of Nikon may hold the answer.

Jayant

 

[iaudio]

Lovely pics Jaybe!

Would have prefered Blessings for all with a tighter crop of the Sanyasi on the right alone!

 

[Jaybe]

jaybe

Nice pics.

A few months ago I spent a lot of time mulling over the relative merits of D90 v/s D7000 v/s D300S. Most reviewers consider D7000 to be leagues ahead of the the other two, as it is packed with Nikon's latest technology. Snapsort is a good site for comparing cameras and D7000 outscores the other two on several counts. D90 and D7000 have virtually identical feel and controls. They are the best options among Nikon's entry level DSLR's. In fact they are perhaps they are the only options worth considering. Personally I would not want to shoot with, or recommend, the D3100/D3200/D5100 to anyone. I was offered a new D90 body for 38K and D7000 body for 52K. I opted for a D90, because I intend to upgrade to an FX camera very soon. D7000 is far superior to D90 in many ways, but some actual users on forums have expressed dis-satisfaction with its Multi-Cam 4800 DX 39 point AF system. While scanning D7000 photo streams on Flickr, I have seldom come across tack sharp images. In fact my (subjective) opinion is that the 11 AF point Multi Cam 1000 AF system on D90 may be better than the one on D7000. This is something one would need to shoot with both bodies and decide for himself. My current impression is that D7000 has a great sensor, but (possibly) a mediocre AF system.

I do not think comparing a D300S with a D7000 is a valid comparison. D300S has far better build quality and controls. The 51 point Multi Cam 350DX AF system of a D300/D300S is outstanding. I would be willing to trade all the advanced features of D7000 for the better focusing system of D300S. The only problem is that D300S is only a modest upgrade over the D300. It is packed with relatively old technology and the ISO performance is not very good. If it was available at the same price as a D7000, I would not even consider the D7000 for a moment. Unfortunately the best price I was offered for a new D300S body was 72K. So I am going to wait patiently until the D600/D400 is launched by Nikon.

But I have been buying some other stuff, like the 18-35 f/3.5-4.5 Nikkor FX lens. I have just received delivery of a 679B Manfrotto monopod from Smartshopper. A drool inducing build and finish from the Italian manufacturer. It will help to overcome the D90's poor ISO performance. I shot a couple of pics in low interior light at 18mm, ISO 400, f/3.5 and 1/8 shutter speed. The pics came out steady, nicely illuminated and noise free. I am expecting delivery of a Flipside 200 Lowepro bag from Flipkart. I have had my eye on both these products for a long time now!

Three Section Monopod 679B - Monopods | Manfrotto

Lowepro - Flipside 200

Ajay,

The induction of higher Megapixel, high ISO cameras in general caused a lot of heartache. People found issues with sharpness and that was across the board - involving Canon 7d and later Nikon D7000. The real culprit was the high resolving and hence unforgiving sensor. The poor camera holding techniques unnoticed on d40 /D80/D90 suddenly became visible on D7000. The issue since has been resolved by using higher shutter speeds than recommended on the earlier cameras.

You are right about the D300S having more accurate focusing system than D300S but I found not by a wide margin. With little experience and discriminating choice of AF mode selection, it is easy to get accurate focus. While I have always longed for the full frame, I am not sure for me it would indeed be a wise choice.

I have not been impressed by 18-35 mm in optical performance as well as the range on DX. On the other hand I think Sigma 17-50 f2.8 is one of the better offerings of that company. All my pictures posted have been with this lens.

I have a Manfrotto monopod gifted by my son - don't remember the model. It indeed earns admiration for quality and workmanship. We also agree on choice of bags. I use Lowepro bags as well.

Cheers !

Jayant

 

[Jaybe]

Lovely pics Jaybe!

Would have prefered Blessings for all with a tighter crop of the Sanyasi on the right alone!

Hi iaudio,

Both these sadhus were offering blessings sitting by side of a staircase leading to the temple with a divider in between. There was a great deal of rush so it was difficult to compose and take any pictures . Here you can see them both in action.

I erred in selecting the f 4.5 rendering the background rather cluttered and not to my liking. When I saw the picture in the night, I went beck the next day to correct my mistake - the incorrigible Photographer ! Alas they were nowhere to be found. Apparently they made out with the rush of the previous day and were enjoying well earned holiday !

Cheers!

Jayant