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Archive 2013 · Hi : ) !!! - 24-70 mm. f/2.8 - Is a prime superfluous??

  
 
igmolinav
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Hi : ) !!! - 24-70 mm. f/2.8 - Is a prime superfluous??


Hi,

I remember I had a chance to work with a photographer
back in the days that many people used medium format
cameras with film. He used a Hasselblad with a 120 mm.
Zeiss Macro lens with maximum aperture of f/4 This lens,
the 120 mm., has several characteristics that are similar to
the Nikon 24-70 mm. f/2.8 Both lenses are very sharp, (per-
haps the macro a bit sharper than the other). The 120 mm.
macro lens has almost the "same focal length" on 6x6
format as the Nikon zoom has at 70 mm. on 35 mm. format.
Both have almost the same closest-focusing distance at
around 0.4 meters, and the magnification ratio is around 1:4
for both lenses.

Most people nowadays may not use a Hasselblad. They may
use instead a dslr with a 50 mm. or 60 mm. macro lens in order
to cover what the Hasselblad with the 120 mm. did back then.

With regard to optical quality, a review speaks very well of
the quality of the optics from the Nikon 24-70 mm. compared
to the optics of the Zeiss 24-70 mm.

Here is the review:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/31457878
The same review with one of the main arguments
in regard to the optical quality of the zooms, parti-
cularly that of the Nikon zoom:
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/31536391

So, if the Nikon zoom at any focal length between 50 mm. and
70 mm. gives me (more or less) the same characteristics and
performance perhaps that a 120 mm. macro on a Hasselblad,
then why bother to buy a 50 mm. or 60 mm. macro lens, when
the zoom does the job? Won't the macro prime be superfluous?
This scenario is thought when using a full frame camera like the
d600/610 or d800?

Thank you in advance, kind regards,

igmolinav : ) !!!



Dec 06, 2013 at 09:19 AM
Lars Johnsson
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Hi : ) !!! - 24-70 mm. f/2.8 - Is a prime superfluous??


A 50mm normal prime lens is a lot faster. It have f1,2 --f1,8 depending on what lens you buy. So the zoom can't replace it.
A 60mm macro lens does 1:1 instead of the 1:4 for the zoom. That's a rather large difference if shooting macro/close ups



Dec 06, 2013 at 09:58 AM
jcolwell
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Hi : ) !!! - 24-70 mm. f/2.8 - Is a prime superfluous??


+1


Dec 06, 2013 at 10:00 AM
galenapass
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Hi : ) !!! - 24-70 mm. f/2.8 - Is a prime superfluous??


Yep


Dec 06, 2013 at 10:02 AM
sjms
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Hi : ) !!! - 24-70 mm. f/2.8 - Is a prime superfluous??


a 50mm f1.x will give you speed. a zoom cannot replace it but a 24-70/2.8 will give you versatility at a relatively low cost for some making the 50 irrelevant for many a use. the last time i used a 50 prime was on my Olympus OM-1 in the mid 70's through to about the early 80's and even then i was on to using a 35/2.8 mostly.

when it comes to macro/close up work i like a little bit of room so a lens that focuses to within millimeters of its front element and has the DOF of a thickness of a sheet of paper is great for some not so much for others.

in the 70's the "nifty fifty" was the lens to start off with then came the in the 80's the 35 and round and round the numbers went as fashion changed. now it seems as the old saying goes "everything old is new again".

you learn how to control the lenses you choose to work with. and that may mean turning off all the automation. pretty hard for some.





Glove back knit material low resolution Sigma 150mm 2.8 OS



Edited on Dec 06, 2013 at 10:39 AM · View previous versions



Dec 06, 2013 at 10:18 AM
igmolinav
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Hi : ) !!! - 24-70 mm. f/2.8 - Is a prime superfluous??


Hi,

Thank you for your messages : ) !!!

I guess that in the long run it is much more cost
effective and less of a pain in the neck to have a
lens that goes 1:1 or 1:2, instead of having 1:4
and then cropping the image again and again for
each new job or so! I remember that with the
120 mm. lens on the Hasselblad he had to use
some rings between the lens and the camera
to help him get closer! However, if lack of enough
budget may be an issue, one may, as an alternative,
crop for a while until a macro lens is purchased.

There are some very interesting macro lenses with
focal lenses between 50 mm. and 60 mm. like the
60 mm. Zeiss C/Y(?) and the Leica 60 mm. which
with an adapter may even be used with Nikon
mounts.

Other interesting macro lenses with Nikon mount are
this one:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/545660-USA/Nikon_2177_AF_S_Micro_Nikkor_60mm_f_2_8G.html

and this one:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/662721-REG/Zeiss_1771_845_Makro_Planar_T_50mm_f_2.html

Thank you, kind regards,

igmolinav : ) !!!

P.S. Needless to say some primes can also be seducing.
This video was done with a 35 mm. ZE f/2 lens from Zeiss!
Could the optical quality of the 24-70 mm. zoom have been
as good as the one of the 35 mm. prime? (Perhaps the
music and the artists may not be of your taste, but how do
you like the images??)




Dec 06, 2013 at 10:19 AM
ben egbert
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Hi : ) !!! - 24-70 mm. f/2.8 - Is a prime superfluous??


I used primes mostly to get better image quality than was possible with the zooms I had tried. Then Canon brought out the 24-70 mk2 and I sold the primes in its range.

But I don't do shallow dof or hand held low light work or closeups. The versatility in framing with a zoom trumped the aperture advantage of the prime. I normally used f8 on my primes anyway.



Dec 06, 2013 at 10:38 AM
sjms
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Hi : ) !!! - 24-70 mm. f/2.8 - Is a prime superfluous??


the aperture advantage is only really apparent when in controlled lighting or far away where
the DOF is greater but then you start giving up the detail due to distance. get closer and in
poor lighting and your DOF is reduced you then must take greater care to get your focus
ducks all in a row. (you can pump up the ISO and get off the wide open aperture if your camera
can do well in those upper registers but then what did you get your f1.2 for?). a multi edged sword



Dec 06, 2013 at 10:44 AM





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