A few more, a couple featuring the sweet bokeh, a couple stopped waaaay down. I'm really digging this lens. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna buy one as this rental winds down. I don't like not having an aperture ring, and I don't like the big bulbous plastic feel of the thing. But I'm finding uses for AF at this focal length and the rendering is soooo damn sweet. I really like the Voigtlander 58 f1.4 too, and at close focus distances, the bokeh is almost indistinguishable, but once you change the equation with focus and background distances around, the Voigtlander can get kind of busy while the Nikon is still buttah! I'm not a wedding shooter or otherwise a portrait guy, but I'm pretty sure I'll find plenty of use for this lens anyway.
Have you ever owned an Infiniti before? I've been driving an FX45 I bought new, and as it recently rolled over 200k mi, I've had all but 2 reasons in 9 years to take it into the shop (other than scheduled maintenance). The thing is an absolute rock as far as reliability, and it drives like a dream.
Have you ever owned an Infiniti before? I've been driving an FX45 I bought new, and as it recently rolled over 200k mi, I've had all but 2 reasons in 9 years to take it into the shop (other than scheduled maintenance). The thing is an absolute rock as far as reliability, and it drives like a dream.
Thanks Curt! Actually this is my first Infiniti, and I was a between this and the Lexus RX350. This won me over for its compact size and the fact that I am yet to see another one in Houston. Everything exceeded my expectations except the backseat legroom is atrocious, but I knew that before buying it so no complaints
Its a nice lens, but this thread can make you feel guilty for shooting it at anything other than 1.4
Ray S. wrote:
A few more, a couple featuring the sweet bokeh, a couple stopped waaaay down. I'm really digging this lens. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna buy one as this rental winds down. I don't like not having an aperture ring, and I don't like the big bulbous plastic feel of the thing. But I'm finding uses for AF at this focal length and the rendering is soooo damn sweet. I really like the Voigtlander 58 f1.4 too, and at close focus distances, the bokeh is almost indistinguishable, but once you change the equation with focus and background distances around, the Voigtlander can get kind of busy while the Nikon is still buttah! I'm not a wedding shooter or otherwise a portrait guy, but I'm pretty sure I'll find plenty of use for this lens anyway.
mysh wrote:
#3 and 4 are really great shots and composition.
Its a nice lens, but this thread can make you feel guilty for shooting it at anything other than 1.4
Thanks. Yeah, to me it's got two things going for it. One is obviously the gorgeous rendering at large apertures. And the other is the focal length. The rendering and bokeh at wide apertures is what distinguishes it from the Voigtlander I was also considering, which is also very very nice in that regard but the this Nikon is really quite special that way. And the focal length is one I just really seem to prefer over 50mm.
I shot 50mm lenses all the time as a kid in the '70s, mostly because that's just about all there was and all I could afford. But since I got back into photography several years ago, I've found so many other focal lengths I like so much more. And the 50's I'd tried just weren't doing it for me - or more accurately, me doing it with them. There's something about that extra bit of reach and compression that the 58 gives me that I just seem to see better with. I"m mostly a wide angle shooter, spending the bulk of my time between 20-28mm. And then I like portrait length teles in the 85-150 range a lot too. But had all but given up on the middle focal lengths. But then I started playing around with 58s, both the Voigtlander and 58G and I've been enjoying that a LOT more than any 50 I've shot in recent years. Go figure.
So a lot of what I shoot with this lens I'm shooting wide open (or as close as the light will allow) for the gorgeous way it renders. But sometimes I also like to stop it down and go looking for interesting images, rendering aside, which is what I spend the vast majority of my time doing with the wide angles I usually shoot...
Beautiful! I used to live in Telluride (early '80s, MUCH different place than it is now) and rode a bike from Telluride to Moab on dirt roads and trails a few years back, so I get the warm and fuzzies when I see photos from that area. Particularly nice ones like this...
Joe Marquez wrote:
Sweet shots Ray. Look forward to more or your magic with this lens.
Thanks Joe. It was a lot of your very early shots with the 58, way back when, that put this lens on my radar. It's a focal length I wouldn't have ordinarily been interested in, but a lot of your work, particularly shooting ballet, really showed it's potential. I'm really enjoying it a lot. Went out with just the 58 and Zeiss 25 with my DF today and it felt like a combination I'd be happy to carry a lot. With maybe the little Voigtlander 20 in there for really wide stuff...
