Hi all,
I recently got the 58mm 1.4G and simply just love it! It's the perfect sibling in character of my 35mm 1.4G. And they both have a unique look.
My line-up now is 35/58/85 all 1.4Gs. However, I'm considering to sell off the 85, and just roll with 35/58.
The 85 is a great lens, but I find it a bit more "clinical"/"too perfect" in rendering compared to the 35 and 58. Plus 58 and 85 are quite close in field of view, with the 58 being a bit more "fleksible" focal length.
I mainly shoot people (avid amateur, no paid work): My life, family, events, travel and some street. My main concern with selling the 85 is close-up portraits, where the 58 might introduce perspective distortion ("big nose"). On the other hand, I love the idea of a minimal two lens kit, where both lenses I truly love in character and focal length.
mcpallesen wrote:
I mainly shoot people (avid amateur, no paid work): My life, family, events, travel and some street. My main concern with selling the 85 is close-up portraits, where the 58 might introduce perspective distortion ("big nose"). On the other hand, I love the idea of a minimal two lens kit, where both lenses I truly love in character and focal length.
I would love to hear your thoughts/advice?
Nice photo, welcome to the thread! You have a great setup, every one of your three primes is a gem, although you're right that 58 and 85 are pretty close in FL. My thoughts/advice:
hi mcpallesen, just like you i love a 2-lens combo in a small slingshot bag. I use my 58 1.4 together with the 24 1.4 and a D750. I had the 85 also, but i sold it a while ago and i dont really miss it.
And i have not observed any distortion problems when shooting people with the 58.
I guess with the 35/58 combo you will be just as happy as i am with my 24/58
Edit: Bohemien is totally correct. I will also get the the 105 in the future. I tested it @ photokina and i guess this is the most perfect 1.4 AF-S Lens from Nikon so far. It is not a "charakter"-lens like the 58, it is more like a zeiss with AF. Awesome lens!
Thanks Tanari and Bohemien for your thoughtful advice.
I totally see the beauty of the 105 1.4 in it's "pure" rendering and close to optical perfection, but I'm more biased towards character. Hence my love for the 58 1.4 and 35 1.4. Plus weight (and price) of the 105 also makes it less appealling to me.
I did consider looking into either the 105DC or 135DC, if they would provide a special look. On the other hand rolling with just 35/58 two lens combo, would actually be my ideal, and help me just being focused on getting to know these lenses and focal lengths inside-out. What is holding my back from parting with the 85, is whether I'm giving up on the more close-up portraits. But maybe I'm just overthinking it ...
Please feel free to chime in with advice/thoughts, everybody.
mcpallesen wrote:
I totally see the beauty of the 105 1.4 in it's "pure" rendering and close to optical perfection, but I'm more biased towards character. Hence my love for the 58 1.4 and 35 1.4. Plus weight (and price) of the 105 also makes it less appealling to me.
I did consider looking into either the 105DC or 135DC, if they would provide a special look.
I really like your slightly "subdued" processing!
I go with a 2+1 lens setup mostly, in my shoulder bag there's room for the camera with mounted lens, one additional G lens, and one MF Nikkor that is small enough to fit in the remaining space and that provides a lot of additional character.
I wouldn't say the 105E is lacking character from what I've seen on the web. IMHO there are examples on the 105E image thread that show a lot of it, e.g. look at Shawn's beautiful series or Corey's family shots. And it shows swirly bokeh like the 58G. Of course I haven't tried it for myself yet, but it owns the #1 spot on my GAS list right now.
That said, the DC lenses seem to have tons of character, too, for the one who knows how to properly use the DC feature.
mcpallesen wrote:
Hi all,
I recently got the 58mm 1.4G and simply just love it! It's the perfect sibling in character of my 35mm 1.4G. And they both have a unique look.
My line-up now is 35/58/85 all 1.4Gs. However, I'm considering to sell off the 85, and just roll with 35/58.
The 85 is a great lens, but I find it a bit more "clinical"/"too perfect" in rendering compared to the 35 and 58. Plus 58 and 85 are quite close in field of view, with the 58 being a bit more "fleksible" focal length.
I mainly shoot people (avid amateur, no paid work): My life, family, events, travel and some street. My main concern with selling the 85 is close-up portraits, where the 58 might introduce perspective distortion ("big nose"). On the other hand, I love the idea of a minimal two lens kit, where both lenses I truly love in character and focal length.
I hardly ever use a wide angle (for the very rare occasions I need a wider lens a have an old 24-85 AF) so can't comment on a 35/58mm lens kit.
But when I go out for a shoot, the 58mm is always in my bag. Also have an 1.4/85 AF D, but that sees very little use as for my taste it's too close to the 58mm.
As a 2nd lens I most of the time carry the 135mm DC with me, not as blatantly big and intimidating as e.g. my 2.8/70-200 VR of 2/200 VR, which allows a much more discrete presence and shooting style, especially when shooting people
I agree there's definitely amazing work being done with the new 105 including the forum members you mention. I was going over these images previously and they look amazing. For me weight and price is also an significant barrier.
And again rolling with just 35 + 58 would in many way be a liberating "less is more" approach.
How is the 135DC? I heard AF can be a bit hit n miss/not always so precise. But I have seen beautiful images from it.
I like it very much, it has kind of become my 2/200 VR replacement
Although the main reasons are the weight and bulk of the 200VR, I find the background rendering of the 135 DC almost as pleasing, while the lesser optical compression allows a much better 'fusion', and more '3 dimensional' rendering of background and subject (much like the 58mm)
As far as AF speed is concerned, I always push it to the limit ( prefer my models to actively move while I'm shooting, rather then 'pose and wait for the click') so the AF speed of the lens for me only is part of how 'fast' it is (using the best AF settings on the camera, as well as selecting the best AF point are just as vital).
The 135DC has not let me down in that regard.
Obviously not as lightning fast as my 2/200VR or 2.8/70-200 VRII, but in my experience more then competent, and not exactly hit and miss, even under challenging light/shooting conditions.
Elijah, as a 58mm connisseur I would love to hear your thoughts on my question on whether letting the 85mm 1.4G go or not? And the just roll with 35/58 1.4G combo.
mcpallesen wrote:
Elijah, as a 58mm connisseur I would love to hear your thoughts on my question on whether letting the 85mm 1.4G go or not? And the just roll with 35/58 1.4G combo.
If you have the time of course. :-)
I'm not Elijah, but I'm going to be him for Halloween, so there's that.
I had the 85 1.4g first
then I got the 58g
to let you know my feelings on the 85 1.4g, so that my point is validated...
the 85 1.4g is special and sharp wide open, REALLY good lens.
it's known to be great, but even still, I think it's underrated..
it's not that it's just a clinically great lens, like a sigma art. the 85 1.4g has character, CREAMY bokeh.
However, the 58 is more special, and more versatile.
I have found that stopping down to f1.6 is worth while, if you're shooting at higher MP (for added sharpness)...
obviously it will still destroy the background.
I quickly found that I didn't need both.
I decided to wait a full two months before selling the 85, which I did.
My prime collection went from 20/28/58/85
To 24/58/105
The 58 is very light weight, but still feels ok on my d810
I hope this helps in some way
Good luck mate
Thanks Dj R, I really appreciate your input. And great lens line-up you have there.
Yeah, the 85 1.4G is a REALLY nice lens - no doubt - but the 58 has a more unique look. Where the 85 has a more "modern" lens look. And field-of-view is quite close between the two with the 58 being more flexible.
My main concern is giving up the 85's ability for tight "head shots", where the added compression will eliminate perspective distortion, which will still be there to some degree with the 58, when moving in real close for a portrait shot.
The 105mm 1.4 would be a more even progression, i.e. 35/58/105, but for me the weight (and to some extent the price) of the 105 rules it out. Also, the "look" of the 105 in rendering is quite close to the 85 - granted the 105 is probably even more optically perfect.
So for now, the question is mainly to go "less is more" and just roll with the 35/58 combo or keep the 85 for the added compression and reach.
Sounds like you need that 85 for your head shots. You don't want to use the 58 for those. Maybe sit tight for a bit. The 105 is indeed heavy. Good luck. mcpallesen wrote:
Thanks Dj R, I really appreciate your input. And great lens line-up you have there.
Yeah, the 85 1.4G is a REALLY nice lens - no doubt - but the 58 has a more unique look. Where the 85 has a more "modern" lens look. And field-of-view is quite close between the two with the 58 being more flexible.
My main concern is giving up the 85's ability for tight "head shots", where the added compression will eliminate perspective distortion, which will still be there to some degree with the 58, when moving in real close for a portrait shot.
The 105mm 1.4 would be a more even progression, i.e. 35/58/105, but for me the weight (and to some extent the price) of the 105 rules it out. Also, the "look" of the 105 in rendering is quite close to the 85 - granted the 105 is probably even more optically perfect.
So for now, the question is mainly to go "less is more" and just roll with the 35/58 combo or keep the 85 for the added compression and reach....Show more →
mcpallesen wrote:
Elijah, as a 58mm connisseur I would love to hear your thoughts on my question on whether letting the 85mm 1.4G go or not? And the just roll with 35/58 1.4G combo.
If you have the time of course. :-)
I got a new job a month ago, the service here sucks and I almost never have time for Internet at this new job.
With that being said, you guys might not see me posting a lot these days so it might take a little while for me to respond.
To answer your question, I've had experience with this... it's simple: it's either one lens (85G) or two lenses (58G + 105E)
I noticed how sometimes I wished I had a longer FL when I was just shooting with my 28/58 combo.
The same scenario with the wife end; it's either a 20/35G or just one 28G. 20mm is too wide and 35 is often times not wide enough.
Again, I went through all of this I ended up with a 28/58/105 combo; it's the best that works for ME, it might be different for you.
You have a great setup, every one of your three primes is a gem, although you're right that 58 and 85 are pretty close in FL. My thoughts/advice:
I ended up with a 28/58/105 combo; it's the best that works for