CGrindahl wrote:
Rambling around camera shops looking at used manual focus lenses is a delight though I generally got better prices shopping on E-Bay. The 105 f/1.8 AI-s is a large lens so I too prefer shooting with an f/2.5. Of course, if I'm going to be shooting portraits I lean toward either the 85 f/1.4 AI-s or the 105 f/1.8 AI-s. It is all enjoyable. Glad you're experimenting.
I have never bought any lenses on eBay. Most of my lenses I bought locally. I recently bought in Germany an 85mm f2.0. But I still prefer the 105 f2.5 if I am not shooting portraits. When my son was young, one of the lenses I most used in my D200 (that I regretted having sold) was the 85mm f1.4D (I still have it and probably would never sell it due to sentimental reasons). However, nowadays, I rarely shoot portraits. Since I started using my manual lenses, it is hard to return to the AF ones (it seems I am cheating!!!). Still, in some situations, it is good to have AF (Like my son's college graduation).
D850 600mm f5.6 ais & TC-16a on a new desktop aluminum tripod and large fine tuning ball head (not as good as my gimbal), but I can shoot and work on the computer at the same time. Perhaps tethering is next?
CGrindahl wrote:
It's funny to have the name FIsherman's Wharf applied to any place other that San Francisco, but I believe you Glen. These are lovely and definitely in line with what happens around the San Francisco Bay Area. Love the two lenses you've used. The 24 f/2.8 NC AI is really one of my favorites. I have the 5.8 cm f/1.4 but can't say I have enough experience with it to speak about it. Clearly it works for you. Lovely set of images.
I too found it weird when I heard that this place in Victoria was called Fisherman's Wharf, considering how famous its namesake in San Francisco is. The 24 NC has become one of my favourite lenses, and the 5.8 is compact, has classic looks, and has given me some very satisfactory results.
On the same day of my visit to Fisherman's Wharf, there was a rather disappointing "sport and import" car show in Victoria. Despite its disappointing aspects, I managed to get a few decent photos, including the one below, which is one of my favourite photos that I've taken in a long time. It is a product of the 24 f/2.8 NC.
CGrindahl wrote:
Raymond... sometimes you need to lift the shadows to get the image you want. That is a fine photo. The 28 f/2.8 Ai-s is definitely a winner whether you're shooting long or short.
leighton w wrote:
This a wonderful image. The composition and the fact that you captured the sun half way up makes it. I also don't think you went too far lifting the shadows as you have just the right foreground interest in the scene.
I appreciate learning from detailed feedback like this, so thanks!
Another 28mm shot, nothing too extraordinary but on this day, it was just after a rain (so the trunks were still a little wet) and the sky was blue.
I have only two AF lenses left, Regina, a 50 f/1.8 D and the venerable 85 f/1.4 D. I came to Nikon after years shooting Canon where my favorite lens is the amazing 85 f/1.2. When a friend began singing the praise of the D700 I was motivated to buy a used one on this website. Because that Canon lens had been so important to me one of the first Nikon lenses I bought was the 85 f/1.4. In fact, I did comparisons of the two lenses, shooting the Canon 5D I used at the time. I was pleasantly surprised by the Nikon lens. Initially I had no plans to sell my Canon gear. My experiment with the D700 was just that... which meant I chose not to buy the most expensive Nikon AF lenses. I bought a few good though not great Nikon AF lenses... then noted that signature lines then displayed for each member often included a 105 f/2.5. I was curious, eventually learning about the Afghan girl photo that appeared on the cover of National Geographic. I'd been spending over a thousand dollars for professional Canon lenses. Buying that first manual focus lens for just under $200 blew my mind... especially when I saw how it performed. Needless to say, I soon began selling Canon lenses and eventually that 5D. In reality, the money liberated by selling Canon gear made building a kit of Nikon manual focus lenses very easy.
I've not used an AF lens in many years, but I doubt I'll sell either of the two I own, and I likely won't sell the D700 either. We'll see what the universe has in store for me. I may change my mind, but I doubt it.
About a week after I started this thread I flew to the Netherlands to spend time with a friend who later appeared here... Rinie. I'd met her years earlier on another photography website called TrekEarth. Since I'd been talking about manual focus lenses, I decided to travel to Europe with ONLY manual focus lenses. I had five of them in my small camera bag, together with a recently purchased D700. I mention all of that to say I found the 28 f/2.8 AI-s my most used lens. This was all a huge experiment for me as I played with each of the lenses I'd brought... a 20 f/2.8 AI-s, the 28, the 50 f/1.2 AI-s, the 105 f/2.5 AI-s and a 135 f/2.8 AI. When a reviewed the thousands of photos I took during that ten day visit I found I'd used the 28 more than half the time. It is just such a fine focal length and great performer, both close and long. Glad you're having fun with it. I'll share one shot from that trip taken with this lens...
CGrindahl wrote:
About a week after I started this thread I flew to the Netherlands to spend time with a friend who later appeared here... Rinie. I'd met her years earlier on another photography website called TrekEarth. Since I'd been talking about manual focus lenses, I decided to travel to Europe with ONLY manual focus lenses. I had five of them in my small camera bag, together with a recently purchased D700. I mention all of that to say I found the 28 f/2.8 AI-s my most used lens. This was all a huge experiment for me as I played with each of the lenses I'd brought... a 20 f/2.8 AI-s, the 28, the 50 f/1.2 AI-s, the 105 f/2.5 AI-s and a 135 f/2.8 AI. When a reviewed the thousands of photos I took during that ten day visit I found I'd used the 28 more than half the time. It is just such a fine focal length and great performer, both close and long. Glad you're having fun with it. I'll share one shot from that trip taken with this lens...
My friend Rinie lives in Rotterdam on an island in the middle of the Maas River AND before retiring worked in Delft for an international company dealing with harbor design and water management. That photo was taken on a bicycle ride from her home to Delft. I'm not a bicycle person but I couldn't say no when she offered a bicycle and suggested we take that ride. My butt was busted by the time we got there... about 20 km and I suggested we take the train back.
Here is one of my favorite photos from Delft... taken with the 50 f/1.2 AI-s. I should note that the day I took that photo two of Rinie's friends were married in town hall on the opposite side of that square and I was included in the party. After the event we got on boats and traveled to the reception. If you check my Flickr account you will find a great many photos from that trip. I got some stunning shots. Delft is a wonderful town.
CGrindahl wrote:
As I said Leighton... I can buy a refurbished 27" iMac today for $1299... a hundred dollars less than that Samsung monitor. I can add RAM to that machine as well. Things are changing with the 24" iMac but my point is still valid. You get a great deal with an iMac...
leighton w wrote:
I agree but, the only 27" iMacs are intel based. After I've tried a Mac with a silicon chip, I cannot go back to intel. YMMV.
I'm struck by the irony of talking about cutting edge computing in a thread full of photos from 60 year-old-lenses. What if we talked computers like we do lenses? "I really feel like the Intel processors help me slow down my editing process and really focus on getting the tone curve just right. Apple silicon is fine, but I really feel more connected with this experience"
leighton w wrote:
I agree but, the only 27" iMacs are intel based. After I've tried a Mac with a silicon chip, I cannot go back to intel. YMMV.
I bought a MacBook Air with the M1 chip for the ridiculously low price of $799 earlier this year to replace a ten year old MacBook Air that could no longer be upgraded. Yes, the M chips are game changers, but then for the kind of work I do, I really don't believe the advantages of the new chip make much of a difference. I know Apple and everyone else, for that matter, insists that we need the latest and greatest. I've resisted that message and along the way have saved quite a bit of money. I usually buy refurbished gear which comes with a full warranty... or as in the case of the MacBook Air, I bought the M1 cheap after the M2 came on the scene. You're right, we each are motivated by our own better angels... or at least we hope they are our better angels...
I likely will never buy a 24" iMac but then at my age I may never need a new computer, a new iPhone or a new car...
BSPhotog wrote:
I'm struck by the irony of talking about cutting edge computing in a thread full of photos from 60 year-old-lenses. What if we talked computers like we do lenses? "I really feel like the Intel processors help me slow down my editing process and really focus on getting the tone curve just right. Apple silicon is fine, but I really feel more connected with this experience"
LMAO...
Of course, there are very few of us shooting film and processing our own photos... so I guess some concessions can be made... old with new working quite well, as we often speak about the digital darkroom.
milt wrote:
I have never bought any lenses on eBay. Most of my lenses I bought locally. I recently bought in Germany an 85mm f2.0. But I still prefer the 105 f2.5 if I am not shooting portraits. When my son was young, one of the lenses I most used in my D200 (that I regretted having sold) was the 85mm f1.4D (I still have it and probably would never sell it due to sentimental reasons). However, nowadays, I rarely shoot portraits. Since I started using my manual lenses, it is hard to return to the AF ones (it seems I am cheating!!!). Still, in some situations, it is good to have AF (Like my son's college graduation). ...Show more →
I grew up on MF lenses with my last set up being the Nikon F3. I sold that and was out of photography for a while until I was hired as the market manager of our local farmers' market. That job required that I take photos and post them on our social media sites so I bought a D70 and then a D7000 and only used AF lenses. I was thinking about getting a micro lens and started doing research and that's when I found this thread that some dude named Curtis started. Well, the rest is history and I became so hooked on these lenses that I sold all of my AF lenses and still do not own one to this day.
GroWeb wrote:
I too found it weird when I heard that this place in Victoria was called Fisherman's Wharf, considering how famous its namesake in San Francisco is. The 24 NC has become one of my favourite lenses, and the 5.8 is compact, has classic looks, and has given me some very satisfactory results.
On the same day of my visit to Fisherman's Wharf, there was a rather disappointing "sport and import" car show in Victoria. Despite its disappointing aspects, I managed to get a few decent photos, including the one below, which is one of my favourite photos that I've taken in a long time. It is a product of the 24 f/2.8 NC.
CGrindahl wrote:
My friend Rinie lives in Rotterdam on an island in the middle of the Maas River AND before retiring worked in Delft for an international company dealing with harbor design and water management. That photo was taken on a bicycle ride from her home to Delft. I'm not a bicycle person but I couldn't say no when she offered a bicycle and suggested we take that ride. My butt was busted by the time we got there... about 20 km and I suggested we take the train back.
Here is one of my favorite photos from Delft... taken with the 50 f/1.2 AI-s. I should note that the day I took that photo two of Rinie's friends were married in town hall on the opposite side of that square and I was included in the party. After the event we got on boats and traveled to the reception. If you check my Flickr account you will find a great many photos from that trip. I got some stunning shots. Delft is a wonderful town.
So you shared SOME of my adventure... traveling with a manual focus lens. That shot looks like it might have come from the main square but all of Delft is a delight. I visited Rinie in the Netherlands again, but we stayed only a few days before heading off to Turkey. Like so many Europeans, she had quite a bit of leave granted each year and she loved to travel. I was happy to be her companion both in Europe and when she visited California where I live. The invitation to visit is always there but the combination of COVID and advancing years have slowed me down. Glad you were able to take a trip.
