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Mannequin-
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Registered: Mar 29, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 97
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Review Date: Oct 25, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,700.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Tilt/Shift mechanism allows you to be very creative; great image quality
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Cons:
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Difficult to use well; heavy to hold; somewhat odd focal length
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This is a niche lens that you probably don't need, but you should get it if you can afford to. However, don't put it ahead of your needs. Get what you need, then come back to this lens later as a lower priority.
It's difficult to use. No one says this. In any review you find people rave about this lens for all of the qualities which make it great -- it's fast and it's sharp, among other things. But in my opinion, it's pretty damn hard to use. You really need to learn the technique and you can only do this by using it A LOT.
With this lens I find if you use too much tilt the out of focus blur is excessive. That's the main key element. If you move the dials to the extreme you will get results that are too strong.
Aside from this, you can't meter with the lens so exposure comes as sort-of guess work.
With all of that out of the way, I think you can achieve some really great images. But at the end of the day, they come at quite a heavy cost.
  
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 Oct 25, 2009
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iammikie
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Registered: Oct 20, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 406
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Review Date: Jan 24, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,550.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Build, quality, Sharpness, resolving power, it's just awesome.
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Cons:
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Works best with a D3 or D3x
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I purchased this version (85mm pc-e) specifically for use with the D3X, it did not disappoint. One of the sharpest lenses I have ever used, and with live view, the focus is a snap. Highly recommended.
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Jan 24, 2009
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Brent Ward
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Registered: Jan 22, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 3422
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Review Date: Aug 26, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $925.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Build quality & sharpness!!
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Cons:
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None.
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This is my new studio product lens. Works fantastic on my 1Ds Mark II.
The stop down button is fantastic to use with the nik/EOS adapter.
Highly recommend.
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Aug 26, 2006
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barisaxer
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Registered: Feb 21, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 484
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Review Date: Feb 28, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $900.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very sharp an has gone a long way to replace my large format film camera. I think it allows some real neat effects in some instances. I wish they had a 20mm shift for my digitals. Great lens that you will not regret owning.
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Cons:
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Not the fastest to use but it will reward you.....
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The close up king for flowers. Moving insects only so so as you alsways want to tweak it a bit and the darn subjects keep moving. For static stuuf hard to beat. Will allow some neat tricks.
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Feb 28, 2006
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Henry Goh
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Registered: Sep 23, 2004
Location: Singapore
Posts: 91
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Review Date: Feb 2, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $900.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp lens with good resolving power. Focal length give good working distance in the studio, especially when using a shooting table.
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Cons:
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None that I can think of.
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I used to shoot with 4" x 5" cameras: Sinasr P2, Horseman LF, VH and a Wisner. Now I can avoid using these very cumbersome equipment and still produce good product images.
When the D2X arrives, I'm sure I'll be thrilled to death since the combo of 12.4 MP body with this lens will yield image quality very close to those from 4 x 5 transparencies.
If you shoot small products, I would recommend you take a close look at this lens.
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Feb 2, 2005
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bachnut
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Registered: Jan 9, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Jan 9, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,019.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp optics. Precision construction. A joy to use. A Nikon gem!
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Cons:
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My only complaint about this lens is that Nikon didn't engrave all the markings on the lens. But then no one sees the lens markings when they look at a photograph.
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Having debated the purchase of this lens for two years and read every review on the internet I think I must have talked myself out of this lens at least a half dozen times before I finally bought it. I must say this lens didn't waste anytime making itself one of my all time treasures. This lens is definitely designed for the photographer that uses a tripod. My biggest concern before I bought it was its size. Now that I have it, I realize it's not really any bigger than my 17-35mm zoom.
I must disagree with the previous post, this lens is definitely not a toy, nor is it a lens designed for architecture! If closeup work, stitching, and texture are important to you this is THE LENS! It is one of the finest SLR lenses you will ever put your hands on.
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Jan 9, 2005
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dobrodude
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Registered: Aug 26, 2002
Location: United States
Posts: 256
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Review Date: Jun 1, 2003
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $100.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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sharp, corrects linear abnormalities pretty well and interesting toy for a week-end
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Cons:
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cost, build might be suspect over time, cost....
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The $100 price was a week-end rental cost. I would never actually buy one of these, as the cost would never meet the practicality of owning one. I have an old calumet 4x5 with several lenses that cost less than 1/3 this lens retails for. And....it does all that this does...and more, only much better.
I rented it because I wanted to do some architecture photos digitally. It worked pretty much better than expected, but if I ever need one again, I'll just rent it.
Otherwise, if you've got way more money than you need, and would rather have a lens that's equal in cost to a great tropical island vacation, buy one of these...for sure.
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Jun 1, 2003
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ustein
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Registered: Dec 30, 2001
Location: United States
Posts: 387
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Review Date: Mar 31, 2003
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,400.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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One of the best Nikon lenses and Tilt/Shift makes it very versatile
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Cons:
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A bit too manual. At least the aperture could stop down manually
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We use this lens for stitched panoramics (shifted right and left). This is also a great macro lens and very, very sharp. Probably our most loved Nikon lens. We also have the Canon equivalent 90mm T/S.
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Mar 31, 2003
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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8
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75989
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Oct 25, 2009
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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100% of reviewers
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$1,061.75
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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10.00
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9.20
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9.8
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