Definitely Spring is arrived Ram. Love seeing flowers from your part of the country. I expect there are a few folks who frequent this thread who are becoming impatient since their winter has been so long.
I took a stroll with Sue yesterday morning with Df in hand, which was challenging since my camera bag had been in the trunk of my car overnight and all that metal was COLD... not below zero cold but California cold... mid forties on Saturday night. Here are a couple from that stroll taken with the 105 f/2.5 P AI.
Sue was all bundled up but the sun was warm with temperatures approaching fifty degrees. She is excited by the prospect of flying to Florida late Tuesday. I told her of Reagan's weather reports and she is more than ready for warmer weather.
Stay warm everyone... we're supposed to have temperatures in the mid-seventies this week with sunny skies. I think its time to get back on the trail...
ramkumar999 wrote:
Amazing shot Jose. Shows the old glass is still useful if you know how to understand their behavior and get close to their habitat.
So true Ram. I spend part of the weekend reading the revamped Nikkor - The Thousand and One Nights series. Really great insight to the design and strength and limitations of this old glass. Here is a link below for those who have not visited that Nikon site in a while. Some image samples have been updated with D750 shots.
I am making notes of best apertures for the lenses I use and where they best perform (landscape, portraits, close, distance, etc). Even putting labels on some.
gbohannon wrote:
So true Ram. I spend part of the weekend reading the revamped Nikkor - The Thousand and One Nights series. Really great insight to the design and strength and limitations of this old glass. Here is a link below for those who have not visited that Nikon site in a while. Some image samples have been updated with D750 shots.
I am making notes of best apertures for the lenses I use and where they best perform (landscape, portraits, close, distance, etc). Even putting labels on some.
Thank you George. It would be good if you can share the condensed version of those performance details somewhere so I can also use it.
I have been picky on some of the lenses performance in the past but I now overlook the performance that these pixel peeping on 24/ 36 mp DSLRs were never even conceived when these lenses were produced. Its so surprising that they still hold their performance against their newer plastic cousins.
I still love these MF and AF D lenses as they seem ageless in this digital era. Given that most of the audience are consuming the results in Facebook/ Instagram/ Whatsapp etc, I have no problem mounting them and showing their results.
I shot the flower shots wide open using the 135mm focal length which is already star studded with so many great performers (f2, f2.8, f3.5) and I love the organic bokeh and the natural glow that these lenses seem to show.
gbohannon wrote:
(...) I spend part of the weekend reading the revamped Nikkor - The Thousand and One Nights series. Really great insight to the design and strength and limitations of this old glass. Here is a link below for those who have not visited that Nikon site in a while. (...)
Thanks for sharing the link, George. I did not know the old site but saw it being mentioned frequently.
The only color besides gray and brown around her is green.
Shot using the wonderful combination of ED 180 F2.8 and PN-11 extension tube.
Revisiting this thread after Curtis brought it to mind with a post at Nikon Cafe, where I usually hang out.
My current Nikon MF inventory includes 24/2.8, 35/2.0. 55/3.5 micro. 105/2.5, 105/4 micro. 135/3.5 and 200/4. I have a gap between 55 and 105, and since I'm reading Galen Rowell now I wondered about the 85/2, which was one of his favorites. Any comments or examples?
JRT64 wrote:
Revisiting this thread after Curtis brought it to mind with a post at Nikon Cafe, where I usually hang out.
My current Nikon MF inventory includes 24/2.8, 35/2.0. 55/3.5 micro. 105/2.5, 105/4 micro. 135/3.5 and 200/4. I have a gap between 55 and 105, and since I'm reading Galen Rowell now I wondered about the 85/2, which was one of his favorites. Any comments or examples?
Hey everyone, is the 1000mm f/11 Nikkor worth having? KEH has one for $528 in "BARGAIN" condition, thought it looks just fine as far as I can tell from the pics.
NightOwl Cat wrote:
Just go for the 85 f/1.4 and be happy
Or the 85/1.8, which I always liked best of the 3 Nikkor 85's from that era. It's got rendering on par with the 1.4, but is smaller, while it also has that fast lens look that the 85/2 lacks.
Rowell loved the 85/2 because it is tiny for an 85 and is a great landscape lens. But it's the least of the Nikkor 85's at wide apertures.
JRT64 wrote:
Revisiting this thread after Curtis brought it to mind with a post at Nikon Cafe, where I usually hang out.
My current Nikon MF inventory includes 24/2.8, 35/2.0. 55/3.5 micro. 105/2.5, 105/4 micro. 135/3.5 and 200/4. I have a gap between 55 and 105, and since I'm reading Galen Rowell now I wondered about the 85/2, which was one of his favorites. Any comments or examples?
The only lens of Galen's that I know he positively raved about was the Series E 75-150/3.5. I have had a couple of copies, truly a great lens.
I have two copies of the 85 f/1.8 HC Auto, lovingly referred to as Nikki by the participants of the Lens Around The World a few years ago, photos and dialog can be found there:
mawz wrote:
Or the 85/1.8, which I always liked best of the 3 Nikkor 85's from that era. It's got rendering on par with the 1.4, but is smaller, while it also has that fast lens look that the 85/2 lacks.
Rowell loved the 85/2 because it is tiny for an 85 and is a great landscape lens. But it's the least of the Nikkor 85's at wide apertures.
saph wrote:
Peter, strange goings on in your Cape Town game today. Ball tampering and all. Australians seem pretty desperate.
It's a shame. Ball tampering isn't new but we all know that it's "not Cricket''. Having said that I'm concerned that the entire spirit of the game has changed from a sporting contest to a war where winning at all costs matters more than the game itself.
I think the chirping has moved from wit to abuse - again mainly driven by the Aussies who probably feel that they have to win or they've let Australia down. It's a shame that they don't rely on their undoubted talent and if they lose to a better team, that's the game.
All teams have gone too far, India and SA included, and it's time the home authorities set the standards instead of leaving it to the umpires and the match referee. I have fond memories of cricket where there was no such thing as a match referee, players knew when they'd nicked a ball and didn't wait for the umpire too give them out. If they got a bad decision it would probably be cancelled out by a good one at some stage.
Oh dear, my age again - that's like thinking of a Norman Rockwell America!!
jhinkey wrote:
Hey everyone, is the 1000mm f/11 Nikkor worth having? KEH has one for $528 in "BARGAIN" condition, thought it looks just fine as far as I can tell from the pics.
I'd use it for the occasion very long landscape pic as well as the moon, etc.
- J
If you dont have the 500mm f8 Reflex, then you can certainly go for it. Since I have the 500mm f4, 500mm f5, 2x and 1.4xConverters, this lens doesnt speak to me.
I think Jose has one.
The competition on field has gone so fierce be it sledging, slurs, sending batsmen etc. Aggression is good but this is now a little too much trying to do a lot all for the sake of winning rather than displaying sportsmanship.
Hope conditions improve as this is no way to play the "gentleman's game".
Oosty wrote:
It's a shame. Ball tampering isn't new but we all know that it's "not Cricket''. Having said that I'm concerned that the entire spirit of the game has changed from a sporting contest to a war where winning at all costs matters more than the game itself.
I think the chirping has moved from wit to abuse - again mainly driven by the Aussies who probably feel that they have to win or they've let Australia down. It's a shame that they don't rely on their undoubted talent and if they lose to a better team, that's the game.
All teams have gone too far, India and SA included, and it's time the home authorities set the standards instead of leaving it to the umpires and the match referee. I have fond memories of cricket where there was no such thing as a match referee, players knew when they'd nicked a ball and didn't wait for the umpire too give them out. If they got a bad decision it would probably be cancelled out by a good one at some stage.
Oh dear, my age again - that's like thinking of a Norman Rockwell America!!...Show more →
jhinkey wrote:
Hey everyone, is the 1000mm f/11 Nikkor worth having? KEH has one for $528 in "BARGAIN" condition, thought it looks just fine as far as I can tell from the pics.
I'd use it for the occasion very long landscape pic as well as the moon, etc.
- J
Donald Jean has a copy of this lens and has posted a few photos taken with it on the thread, but don't ask me where in the archives it might be. He seemed to get excellent results with both the 500 and 1000 reflex lenses. You certainly aren't going to get to 1000m for less money... might be worth a try, especially given KEH's generous return policy... a thought.
JRT64 wrote:
Revisiting this thread after Curtis brought it to mind with a post at Nikon Cafe, where I usually hang out.
My current Nikon MF inventory includes 24/2.8, 35/2.0. 55/3.5 micro. 105/2.5, 105/4 micro. 135/3.5 and 200/4. I have a gap between 55 and 105, and since I'm reading Galen Rowell now I wondered about the 85/2, which was one of his favorites. Any comments or examples?
Welcome back Jim. As I mentioned at Nikon Cafe, I'd completely forgotten the fact I'd started that thread. It was a delight to see it still operating, though without quite the abundance of this thread. You came back after Fred Miranda trimmed this thread quite dramatically, from about 6300 pages down to slightly over 400. The "lost" pages are in fact in a newly created "archive" so if you want to head back down memory lane you can do so by visiting the second post of this abbreviated thread...
With regard to the 85 f/2 AI-s, it was my first 85mm manual focus lens. At the time I was attempting to keep each lens purchase below $300 and I was fixated on buying the AI-s version lenses, believing they must be the best in terms of design and performance. I was pleased with the lens though I knew even then that the gold standard at this focal length is the 85 f/1.4 AI-s that Laura mentions above. When I finally sold the last five Canon L AF lenses, I liberated enough funds to add the 85 f/1.4 and 135 f/2, as well as the 35 f/1.4 and 28 f/2... great lenses all.
But also I began exploring pre-AI lenses and was introduced to the 85 f/1.8 H.C. that we sent around the world. Laura gives you the link to a blog created for that lens adventure. In fact, the WWW link at the bottom of each of my posts is to that blog.
Knowing what I know now, if funds were limited, I'd be inclined to look for an 85 f/1.8 like this one...
The K version is the last pre-AI lens, though this copy has the Nikon AI conversion kit installed. Many of us prefer the older lenses with scalloped metal focusing rings, but they can be harder to find. Of course, converted K lenses are also a bit scarce. My guess is the f/2 would cost about the same as this K but it will not perform a well as the earlier lens. Good luck. As we say on this thread, "kit building is forever..."
