Two shots wide open with the 50 f/1.2 AI-s that I posted previously on the Nikon Manual Focus Glass thread. It was one of the first MF lenses I bought after beginning my Nikon adventure and contributed substantially to what has been a year long shopped trip...
In addition to producing some lovely images, it is a joy to hold in the hand and use. There is nothing quite like turning the focusing ring and watching the image come into focus in the viewfinder. It is a sensual experience...
Curtis, I've been wanting a really fast lens to pair with my D700 for night club shots and other really low light situations, and this seems like the perfect match in a reasonable price range. (I certainly can't afford or justify the expense of the 58mm 1.2 Noct.)
I can't wait to get my hands on it. Thanks for the sample shots to tide me over. I'll have to go shoot with my 24 f/2.8 AI-S and 105 f/2.5 AI-S in the meantime to get my manual focus "fix".
I have a 17-35mm and I recently had to have the AF motor replaced. The amazing thing is Nikon is still producing this lens so parts are not hard to come by as many older AF-S lenses are. Additionally, I heard somewhere that they have been replacing the motors with higher quality motors. Less squeaking and failure issues. The best part is when I got it back from Nikon the lens is sharper than it was when I sent it off. I was considering a 16-35mm but I think I am going to stick with the 17-35.
BTW How much do you want for your 17mm 3.5? It seems like it may make a great backpacking lens for me.
dionysis wrote:
I have a 17-35mm and I recently had to have the AF motor replaced. The amazing thing is Nikon is still producing this lens so parts are not hard to come by as many older AF-S lenses are. Additionally, I heard somewhere that they have been replacing the motors with higher quality motors. Less squeaking and failure issues. The best part is when I got it back from Nikon the lens is sharper than it was when I sent it off. I was considering a 16-35mm but I think I am going to stick with the 17-35.
BTW How much do you want for your 17mm 3.5? It seems like it may make a great backpacking lens for me. ...Show more →
It's already sold and in the new owner's hands. As soon as I mentioned wanting to sell it someone contacted me. My 17-35 is hopefully on it's way today and hope to get it this weekend or early next week. I hope that mine is one of the sharper copies. The sample that I tested, though good, was not nearly as sharp as the one tested by photozone.de which seemed to be excellent (at least far away from the corners).
I received my 50mm f/1.2 AI-S and have been working on my MF skills with it. Trust me when I say I have a LOT of work to do. It seems harder to MF this one than either my 24 f/2.8 AI-S or 105 f/2.5 AI-S.
What I've found so far is that Sam's comment about "endearingly soft at f/1.2" is true. Not only soft, but the contrast suffers a lot too, which adds to the overall softness of the image. It's better at f/1.4, excellent by f/2.0 and fantastic at f/2.8 and beyond.
I had some time today to snap some samples to show my findings. Nothing artsy here - just testing the lens. These are all SOOC in RAW, exported to JPG in LR3. Camera mounted on tripod. [B]No sharpening or post processing of any type.[/B] Full size and crops.
Disclaimer: I tried to focus on the front sprocket of the bike on the beer label, but I missed it. Instead, the focus is on the word "Belgium" on the bottom of the label.
If you look REAL closely at images shot @ 1.2, the detail/resolution is there but the dramatically lowered contrast gives the impression of diminished sharpness. Because I had a drawer of fast MF Nijkors, I had a split circle focusing screen (KatzEye) put into my D700 not long after purchasing it. This made my focus hit rate rise dramatically, especially in low light situations.
passthegravy wrote:
Jorge, you are a bad influence. Being inspired by your photos, I just bought one of these off the buy-sell board. Perhaps you could post some more photos to tide me over while I wait for mine to arrive.
It's a great lens, but with it's own character.
I recently compared it to the Zeiss Planar 50/1.4 ZF, which was a lens I considered purchasing.
Here is my comparison review sample images, with mouse over comparisons and such. LINK
Well, the Zeiss has benefits, but I have changed my mind with regard to purchasing the ZF and selling the 50/1.2.
