The 105mm f2.5 (mine is the P version, the original that I bought in 1967) had some changes over the years. The version with the included hood was the last one, it had a different optical formula and many claim it was the best.
This was the lens that Steve McCurry used in 1984 in a refugee camp in Afghanistan to shoot the famous portrait of "The Afghan Girl" with Kodachrome 64 that made it to the cover of Life.
My lens has seen a good part of the world and has traveled frequently with me throughout this US. Because mine has no multicoating, when shooting against the light I get bright reflections but otherwise, its performance is superb.
I believe its sharpest aperture is about f5.6.
It is a surprise to me that Nikon, now that FX is so popular, has not come up with a newer version.
Shot yesterday early evening with the sun about to drop behind a hill... the golden hour, at least in downtown San Anselmo that loses the sun behind Bald Hill each evening. Jammy's Flickriver thread on the f/1.8 stirs NAS for me but I love this version as well.
Todd Adamson wrote:
...I've been over and over that lens spec site. I still haven't found anything to tell be if curved aperture blades affect the bokeh in any way.
I was bidding on a "mint" 105/2.5 AI last night on eBay, but somebody beat me. Which one o' you bastards is the guilty party??
I'm almost embarrassed to admit this to a pro who has a studio, but I don't OWN a tripod. Everything I shoot is hand held... for better or worse as the case may be. As i've gotten more serious about manual focus glass I've spent time researching tripods and ballheads but haven't gotten there yet. I've been having too much time shooting MF.
With regard to E-Bay, I hope you're availing yourself of one of the snipe services. A friend pointed me in that direction and once I got the hang of it and learned how to use E-Bay resources to research prices of closed bids, I was quite successful. The best part about "sniping" is you set up the limits of your bid and the service takes care of the rest. I certainly don't win every bid, but occasionally I'll use the service to drop in a lowball bid on the off chance I'll steal an item. I did that a month ago and bought a pristine 70-210 f/4-5.6D for a hundred bucks for a friend.
With regard to aperture blades... good luck figuring that one out...
CGrindahl wrote:
I'm almost embarrassed to admit this to a pro who has a studio, but I don't OWN a tripod. Everything I shoot is hand held... for better or worse as the case may be. As i've gotten more serious about manual focus glass I've spent time researching tripods and ballheads but haven't gotten there yet. I've been having too much time shooting MF.
No worries, Curtis. The first 2 years after I opened a studio I was shooting handheld. I recently made a detailed post in the People forum about how I came around to using a 'pod, and why I think they are so essential to getting the BEST possible shots. But that post was apparently deleted due to an "altercation" with another member (who happens to be an extreme tool).
I was going to copy and repost, but it's gone (I PM'ed Fred to see if could be recovered).
Anyway, I will just say it's definitely worth the trouble of getting a decent pod and a good ballhead. It's not necessarily as expensive as some would have you believe. And for macro work, having an Arca-Swiss style setup with an L-plate (or better yet, a tripod collar) is sooo nice.
EDIT: this is a bit of a hijack, so I'll shut up about tripods for now. But feel free to PM me if you have any questions about my own setup.
Todd - I'll be in touch re: tripods and ball heads. I can always benefit from real world experience of others on the path.
Everyone knows that having a camera at hand makes it possible to take photos... duh! I've been keeping the D700 with the 105 mounted in my car as I go about my day. Forgive me, but as a retired person I have a great deal of flexibility with how I spend my day, hence I can keep dropping photos on this thread. I took a short detour this morning and stopped at the storage lot behind the Acura and Honda dealerships. I figured there would something fun to shoot. I'll never own one of these, but BMWs are still quite lovely and a pleasure to shoot with this lens. This image is RAW, resized and converted to JPEG in PS with NO processing.
Before I head out for a bicycle ride I'll drop one more photo from the Honda/Acura storage lot. Again, RAW downsized, converted to JPEG with NO post processing. I call this "In my Element."
Avi B wrote:
A couple that I had up in the Best Nikon shots thread with the 105/2.5, taken in Rajasthan in India.
I saw those shots on the other thread. Lovely. I especially like the colors in the flower shot. This lens is not only tack sharp but renders color and contrast superbly. No wonder there are so many happy folks shooting with this lens...
I don't even own this gem of a lens, but I already know that I can call myself a believer with no regrets. I hope to own this lens eventually.
You simply can't go wrong with this lens. I'd never shot manual focus before trying out this lens and now I find myself preferring to shoot manual focus. And when a lens performs like this it is hard to get it off the camera. Buy it when you're ready and you won't be disappointed.
I shot this yesterday... actually this is a tight crop. I had to reduce exposure because some of the rose petals were blown out, but I did no sharpening or adjustment to colors.
JR Magat wrote:
i hate/love how these appreciation threads make you want you to BUY that particular lens!
Great samples everyone!
Makes me want to kick myself for selling a NICE copy of this lens... but I have my mind set of what I want for my lens setup...
But one of the nice things about these lenses is that you don't have to break the bank to own one. I think I paid $160 for mine, and I'll never sell it.
Yup, this lens should be do-able for $200 or less. I paid $100 for mine from Alt. board member Cogitech (local guy) because I told him that I'd never sell it (and nor do I intend to).
I still haven't found anything to tell be if curved aperture blades affect the bokeh in any way.
