Greetings Peter. How you're enjoying summer as we contend with winter rains in California. I guess we're fortunate that at least come of our compatriots have decent weather so photos will continue to appear on this thread that never sleeps...

Hope the new year finds you well and in good spirits.

CGrindahl wrote:
leighton w wrote:
Thanks for the comparison Curtis. I need/want a fast 85 in my arsenal, but I'm not sure I need the speed of the 1.4, (not to mention the cost for having that speed). When I used Nikki, I found f2 or 1.8 was fast enough considering that I could go to 6400 iso with no sweat on my D600. I DO know that Nikki can be sharp as a tack when stepped down a little bit so I'm not sure what I'd gain by getting the 1.4. Perhaps they differ in contrast and color output, I just don't know. Anyway, I may have a beat on a Nikki sister here locally, I'm going to go check it out one day soon. Thanks again!

Ray, if you read this, I'm waiting...

You know that value for money has been a motivator for me through this entire journey. I invested in the high priced spread only after liberating money from the final five Canon lenses and the Canon 5D I sold when the siren call of Nikon overwhelmed me. I'm very happy to own all those fast lenses, but it certainly wasn't dissatisfaction with what the slower lenses were capable of doing. Without those liberated funds, I would doubtless of been very happy with my first collection of lenses. And, of course, my more recent fascination with even older lenses, stirred no doubt by Ben's arrival on the thread, has me enjoying old, SLOW lenses like the 28 f/3.5H AI'd and the embarrassingly cheap 50 f/2 H AI'd. Yes, speed can be important in some circumstances, but as you note, the current crop of DSLR cameras are so good in low light, we have a great deal more flexibility.

Here's a photo taken last summer with the 50 f/2 H AI'd that I bought for $56... not a bad investment.



Ahhh decisions, decisions...after all, have the fun of all of this is shopping for the lens! And quit tempting me with those old lenses by showing stunners like this one!

Oosty wrote:

Leighton - Barbara's blog really tells it the way it is. Here sheep generally lamb naturally and out in the open in very large paddocks but it's not without the trauma of losing lambs to the occasional Caracal lynx or Jackal who tend to cause havoc when they manage to get in. Many farmers have taken on Anatolian sheepdogs who have an amazing protective attitude to sheep and usually keep predators at bay.

Thank you Peter, we don't have quite the predator problem as it sounds like the farmers in your neck of the woods do. We do have the occasional Coyote, but our dogs will take care of them! The Anatolian you mention are another very good protector.

I really like the conversion samples of the glasses. I can't make up my mind which I like better.

Too cold to step out anywhere so I will post an older picture taken with the 28 3.5 PC.

I have come across some very cool hawks sitting on trees in the last couple days but have just so happened not to have the camera handy to take a picture. With no leaves on trees here its actually easier to spot those birds. But too much trouble to zip back home in the cold, grab the camera and hope the hawk doesn't disappear in the meanwhile

Samy

You're right Leighton, half the pleasure is in the hunt. That may be why my ardor is diminished. There really isn't much left for me to buy. The hunt for the H.C. version of the 85 proved too frustrating. Of course, I still have to change aperture rings on the 50 f/1.4 S and S.C. lenses. The 50 I mentioned is in fact the H.C., so nowhere to go in that regard. I'm not interested in long, HEAVY lenses and I don't shoot wide often enough to hunt down a clean 20 f/3.5 UD that has the factory AI conversion. I need better weather so I can simply get out and shoot with the fine lenses already in my kit...

leighton w wrote:
Just a few from the barn today. With the 24mm f2.8.

Thanks Mihai, I think the "Particle" would fit in the mouth of my dog!

Okay, we got a bit of sun and I did my informal, casual lens test that will surely disappoint anyone who is dedicated to precision. No tripod and at approximately the same location relative to the subject, which has no hard edges to take hold of when focusing. All shots were taken wide open. I've noted the lens used in the comparison. Remember, the f/1.4 cost $600, the f/1.8 cost $152 and the f/2 cost $206 if I recall correctly. All lenses have hoods. So here goes Leighton... you decide. NO post processing, merely cropping. These are 100% crops downsized.

And here is a closer look at the images above...

Well, the 1.4 and 1.8 look close to me, with the edge going to the 1.4 in both color and contrast, and also bokeh. The f2 is out of the running. I wonder how the 1.8 H.C. would hold up against the 1.4 since it has a better coating than the H version. All very interesting, thanks Curtis!

CGrindahl wrote:
And here is a closer look at the images above...



Well now, this makes it a wee bit more difficult! That 1.4 is awesome.

Here are the three lenses...



If you're a bokeh junky, the 85 f/1.4 AI-s is tough to beat. It it a gorgeous hunk of glass. This was shot wide open with the 50 f/2 H.C. AI'd.

leighton w wrote:
Well, the 1.4 and 1.8 look close to me, with the edge going to the 1.4 in both color and contrast, and also bokeh. The f2 is out of the running. I wonder how the 1.8 H.C. would hold up against the 1.4 since it has a better coating than the H version. All very interesting, thanks Curtis!

From what I've read, the change in coating had to do with a flaring problem that is managed quite well if you use a lens hood. The optical design is unchanged, at least according to photosynthesis and MIR. Yes, Bjorn lists the H.C. version and that was surely a contributing factor in Ben buying that particular version. I certainly wouldn't turn my back on that lens if I found one with the Nikon AI conversion at a decent price. And, of course, searching for the Holy Grail has occupied men since the beginning of time, so if that particular hunt stirs your juices I say go for it. I bought the H simply to get a feel of the lens and because I found one on E-Bay that was affordable. Perhaps if I stumble on a deal for a non-AI H.C. I'd consider swapping aperture rings, though I haven't done that with the 50 f/1.4 S.C. I bought for the same purpose.

When Nikki arrives I'll do some comparison shooting... for the good of the order.

Leighton, very cool picture of feeding 3 lambs with just two hands :-) The red light (coming from a heating-lamp?) adds a "warm touch" to the picture - great effect.

Alan, love the 300mm-portrait of your son! Maybe you can velcro a small puppet on that lens to cheer him up a bit next time ;-) I'm just kidding - the picture is fantastic.
Btw, the wooden tripod will easily hold every lens I own - including heavy medium-format-combos.

Americo, good job on the cat-portraits!

Jose, love the de-fished pano! The built-in-filters should be really useful for B&W-work on film.
I've finally ordered the 16/3.5 from Adorama and can't wait to try it (a special "Thank you" to John for pointing me into the right direction).
Regarding the CA's on the boats-shot: yes, I've tried Nikon View. View is for sure a much underrated piece of free software. It deals very nicely with the CA's, ACR just fits my workflow better.
I just wanted to show the shortcomings (in extreme conditions) of the otherwise great 135/2.

John, lovely portraits of your happy hair-clip-models ;-)

Tony, very cool pano of the pasturing buffalos! I like especially the wide-open space surrounding these impressive animals. A tight shot with a very long lens is cool for sure, but I really like the cinemascope-feel here.

Curtis, thanks for your kind words! The 85-comparison is pretty interesting. Right now I have 11 Nikon-mount-lenses with focal-lengths between 85 and 105mm and my personal favs are constantly changing ;-)
I like the leaf-image a lot - nice reduction down to a graphical, minimalistic picture.

Peter, I like your experiments with the 105/2.5! I prefer the PSE-conversion over the one done with Topaz.
I'm glad you like the gables-image. I'm sure your beautiful country is rich of many interesting buildings with architectural influences from all over the world.

Samy, nice framing with the PC 28/3.5! I've shot this lens a bit more the last weeks and rarely got a leveled and not crooked shot. It's for sure a Nikkor that calls for a tripod.

Inspired by Kevin's question about SilverEfex I've played with some old files. Here's a summerly image from Ronny's beautiful country:

D700, 28/2 at f/8, one of the very few shots taken in aperture-priority mode (camera ready for quick one-handed shots while rowing and fishing ;-)

georgms wrote:
Inspired by Kevin's question about SilverEfex I've played with some old files. Here's a summerly image from Ronny's beautiful country:

D700, 28/2 at f/8, one of the very few shots taken in aperture-priority mode (camera ready for quick one-handed shots while rowing and fishing ;-)
Very nice! I think I am going to download the demo this weekend. My first paying gig has decided that they want some B/Ws of nearly all their images (27). Will give me an excuse to use it.

georgms wrote:

Americo, good job on the cat-portraits!

Thanks georgms! It's a difficult task working with such a thin DOF, but my Luna Bleu is a fantastic model!!

Kevin, a paying gig is always a good excuse to buy something;-) I'm sure you will like SilverEfex.

Americo, a patient model is a great help for working with a superfast lens like your 85/1.4!

After reading that Monty just got a D800 (congrats!!) and a AF-S 24-70/2.8 I'm in the mood to reveal something really strange, my dark side: "Yes, I love Canon-branded equipment, I really do!".

I love Canon-gear von georgsfoto auf Flickr
...at least this very well made cable-release ;-) It's just a fun-shot after strong German beer.
Nikon D3s at ISO12800, Ai 55/3.5 Micro-Nikkor with some Kenko-tubes

Btw, that's the only piece of Canon-equipment I own.