We have had some amazing rainfall in Austin recently that managed to fill our river beds with ample water. Two days before this hike, I went for a jog in the same green belt and it was essentially a torrent of dirt water. All with the 21/2.8
Here is the same location only two months ago! The pile of rocks behind my friend is the waterfall just to the left of center in the photo above.
50/2:
And the falls on the far right of the frame (50/2):
[Two shot composite with Lee Big Stopper and long exposure. Only PS trick was slight blending of dress in foreground. Rest was in camera. If it weren't for the
sun rapidly rising and changing the exposure of each test shot, we could have gotten it all in one exposure.]
OK, here is a quandary. If you look at my humble profile, you will see that I have a small but very choice selection of lenses. Did not happen overnight, I assure you!
The Nikon 85 1.5G is the newest. As in brand new. It was a choice between the Zeiss 2.8/21 and that one. My reason for going with the Nikon: I already have the 24 1.4, and I am not that comfortable with wide angle lenses. Most of the on line shots from that lens seem to be (exquisite) vistas of places I will never visit.
On the other hand, my first shots with the 1.4/85 demonstrated my need for a long learning curve. I enjoy the 85mm focal, length, and the Nikon is a classic, so I went in that direction.
Now I wonder. First shots with the Nikon 1.4 don't look appreciably different than the 1.8G, which I was planning to sell. I could simply return the Nikon 85 1.4 for the Zeiss 2.8/21. But that leaves me with my original fear of wide angle.
designdog wrote:
OK, here is a quandary. If you look at my humble profile, you will see that I have a small but very choice selection of lenses. Did not happen overnight, I assure you!
The Nikon 85 1.5G is the newest. As in brand new. It was a choice between the Zeiss 2.8/21 and that one. My reason for going with the Nikon: I already have the 24 1.4, and I am not that comfortable with wide angle lenses. Most of the on line shots from that lens seem to be (exquisite) vistas of places I will never visit.
On the other hand, my first shots with the 1.4/85 demonstrated my need for a long learning curve. I enjoy the 85mm focal, length, and the Nikon is a classic, so I went in that direction.
Now I wonder. First shots with the Nikon 1.4 don't look appreciably different than the 1.8G, which I was planning to sell. I could simply return the Nikon 85 1.4 for the Zeiss 2.8/21. But that leaves me with my original fear of wide angle.
Zeiss 2/25? It would be a compromise lens in terms of focal length between 21 and your existing 35, but it is not remotely a compromise in quality. The 25/2 is one of the Zeiss line's lowest distortion and richest colors, and yet, it has a dreamy bokeh not seen in wide angle lenses. Its bokeh looks quite similar to the 2/100...how? I have no idea, but it is magical.
All that said, my most comfortable focal length is right around 100mm. I bought the ZE 1.4/35 a few years back to force me out of my comfort zone. I fell in love with it and then last year found a great deal on a 21. The 21 is REALLY wide, but it is also nearly distortion free (as is the 25). Part of what I had not liked about wide angle lenses was the distortion. That basically is a non-issue with the Zeiss lenses. Even the 15mm is difficult to create situations where distortion is an issue.
I have not shot the Nikon 85g, but I have shot the 85 AiS and have a friend who is both a Nikonian and a die hard 85 fan. He prefers the Nikon 85 AiS version to the new AF version. If you feel that you wanted a different 85 to have in addition to your Zeiss 85, that might be a different way to go.
designdog wrote:
OK, here is a quandary. If you look at my humble profile, you will see that I have a small but very choice selection of lenses. Did not happen overnight, I assure you!
The Nikon 85 1.5G is the newest. As in brand new. It was a choice between the Zeiss 2.8/21 and that one. My reason for going with the Nikon: I already have the 24 1.4, and I am not that comfortable with wide angle lenses. Most of the on line shots from that lens seem to be (exquisite) vistas of places I will never visit.
On the other hand, my first shots with the 1.4/85 demonstrated my need for a long learning curve. I enjoy the 85mm focal, length, and the Nikon is a classic, so I went in that direction.
Now I wonder. First shots with the Nikon 1.4 don't look appreciably different than the 1.8G, which I was planning to sell. I could simply return the Nikon 85 1.4 for the Zeiss 2.8/21. But that leaves me with my original fear of wide angle.
In general my feelings towards wide angle lenses very much mirror yours. I am not as talented at masterfully composing the large number of subjects that a WA can capture as some of the members here. That said, I picked up the 21/2.8 a few months ago in a pinch where I needed a wide angle wider than my 35mm. I hated the 21 for a good couple of weeks and even put it up for sale for a while. Something clicked though and I decided to hang on to it for a little while longer and I have really started to enjoy using it now. It just adds some extra magic to photos and renders highlights really well. Definitely worth giving it a try if you are OK selling off your newest pride and joy. I could never dump my 85/1.2 since I am constantly starved for light in concerts at smaller venues but if you can without any consequences then by all means do. Best of luck in your decision!
Edit: I'll also add that I greatly prefer to use my 35mm if I am only bringing one lens. The 21 is definitely a specialty focal length in my bag.
Thanks, guys. Actually I had a 85mm 1.4AI-s (and pretty much the entire family of the top AI-s lenses) but sold them in favor of the Zeiss. The 85mm had a lovely focus turn, but none of the Nikon MF lenses really hold up as well as Zeiss on my D800. IMHO. The one I really miss is the 50 1.2AI-s, and I might do something about that.
I am thinking, as I did before, that 21mm is too much for me. The Nikon 24 1.4 is really a great, very versatile lens. Probably best off to stay where I am (which ain't half bad!)
designdog wrote:
OK, here is a quandary. If you look at my humble profile, you will see that I have a small but very choice selection of lenses. Did not happen overnight, I assure you!
The Nikon 85 1.5G is the newest. As in brand new. It was a choice between the Zeiss 2.8/21 and that one. My reason for going with the Nikon: I already have the 24 1.4, and I am not that comfortable with wide angle lenses. Most of the on line shots from that lens seem to be (exquisite) vistas of places I will never visit.
On the other hand, my first shots with the 1.4/85 demonstrated my need for a long learning curve. I enjoy the 85mm focal, length, and the Nikon is a classic, so I went in that direction.
Now I wonder. First shots with the Nikon 1.4 don't look appreciably different than the 1.8G, which I was planning to sell. I could simply return the Nikon 85 1.4 for the Zeiss 2.8/21. But that leaves me with my original fear of wide angle.
The 21mm is a simply magical piece of glass with Pixie Dust liberally sprinkled all over it
I had the 85/1.8g and sold it. It is a lovely lens when you have time to construct your image, however I once used it for a boxing match gig and had to bin it after 5 mins (and switch to the Sigma 50/1.4 which did a great job) - low light and fast action it is surely not designed for !
