Glad you like the lens. It is one of 3 lenses I would not want to be without. The main qualities of the 55 f1,2 are indeed as you describe them.
I like that Porsche portrait. Looks a bit like a photo of an original Mini Cooper I made a few years ago
NNL. wrote:
I recently bought the Nikon 55mm f/1.2 AI (thanks to everyone who gave me their insight regarding the 55mm f/1.2 and its variants a month or two ago on this thread) and today I finally had time to shoot some photos with it.
First impressions:
- Soft and low contrast at f/1.2, as expected (center is not too soft though if focus is perfect).
- By f/2 it's very sharp (I was expecting it to be similar to my 50mm f/1.8 Series E at f/2 but it's far better from what I've seen so far).
- MUCH harder to focus than my 50mm f/1.8 Series E, as expected.
I didn't believe 3D pop nonsense etc was a thing...now I might be starting to, though! At f/1.2 it vignettes nicely for certain subjects and the subject isolation is stellar. From what I've seen so far, bokeh is pretty nice.
So far I'm really pleased with this lens - it's a lot of bang for the buck....Show more →
Time to go to bed - 8:45pm August 22 on Mount Whitney. The tent is at 14,500 feet, just below the summit. Cold for California in August, but for a Wisconsin resident, a balmy fall night. I think it dropped to 20F by about 5am. Windy.
The last light reveals the Great Western Divide range. Small lights on the far right of the frame are cars on US395 deep in Owens Valley, about 10,000 feet lower.
pburke wrote:
Time to go to bed - 8:45pm August 22 on Mount Whitney. The tent is at 14,500 feet, just below the summit. Cold for California in August, but for a Wisconsin resident, a balmy fall night. I think it dropped to 20F by about 5am. Windy.
The last light reveals the Great Western Divide range. Small lights on the far right of the frame are cars on US395 deep in Owens Valley, about 10,000 feet lower.
Unfortunately I had a busy day, spending very little time with Z6. I did late in the night (now is past midnight here) some snaps, just to see how works in low light. I used only the kit lens and 105/2.5 AI-S. Long story short. The kit lens while has at least a shortcoming (at least my copy) - the hood is very loosy, does not click at the end and is made from a thin, cheap plastic - has a stunning IQ. I really have very few lenses that are on par with it. As a bonus, it is amazing on video, keeping the focus when zooming or when moving... There's absolutely no comparison between what is capable for video Z6+kit lens versus my beloved D750 with any lens. During a video you can take up to 50 stills, only jpegs and small size, but still it is a huge advantage. Camera has a silent mode which is really mute.
I also must say that the camera menu, while is bearing Nikon DNA, it is much complex, with lot of new options... I had no time to visit them... it will take some time to get familiar with what's necessary.
Manual focus is a blast... I did only a few snaps indoor and over the window, but having the possibility to see in EVF at 100% gives you instant keepers. A quite major shortcoming is that camera does not records which aperture are you using on non-chipped lenses. I can live with that, but...
The XQD... is wow!... I have no card reader for it so I connected camera with my PC through the enclosed USB cable... the download speed is very fast. Really fast!
Another good thing, Nikon updated Capture NX-D with further fancy picture-controls... I saw some other new tweaking facilities... looks that this piece of software is growing.
Last but not at least, Z6 is a beast in low light... it is much better than anything I used by now. See some samples... like brick shots, nothing else, just to see how good is. I apologise for the high number of pictures in a single post. No NR (only in camera I think)
Z6+FTZ+105/2.5 wide open. ISO25600
https://prologos.ro/FM/ZE6_0038_00001.jpg
ISO 11400
https://prologos.ro/FM/ZE6_0043_00001.jpg
ISO 18000
https://prologos.ro/FM/ZE6_0046_00001.jpg
100% crop
https://prologos.ro/FM/ZE6_0046_00001_01crop.jpg
ISO 25600
https://prologos.ro/FM/ZE6_0048_00001.jpg
ISO25600
https://prologos.ro/FM/ZE6_0051_00001.jpg
ISO 2800
https://prologos.ro/FM/ZE6_0053_00001.jpg
One more thing... the look&feel of Z6 is great. The build quality is on top... and the grip is very deep so keeping it in one hand is easy and safe. For its size it seems heavy. FTZ is quite large... small lenses looks sexy on it. I'm impatient to mount 45/2.8 AI-P. Maybe tommorow....Show more →
Thanks for sharing Mihai, looking forward to my camera. I hate video, literally, so I did not get a lens with my Z6 order, but the kit prices make the lens very attractive. I should have my Z6 tomorrow.
My out of control life gave me a respite with a sunset walk on at Torrey Pines state beach, please come along. Need many photos posted to show you along.
These are not Jeff's artworks but should bring you there.
A year ago the desert bloomed. Posted back then, but more recently learned not to keep my camera dynamic range on extra high 2 all the time as this washes image contrast out when you may want to keep it.
Here is improved processing, Capture NX D has become a useful photo darkroom tool.
Not sure when Chris took his cold November morning photos but we had one of those today.
Decided to take a trek through the public footpaths of Higchlere Castle and walk up to Watership Down.
Low hanging mist was battling with the rising sun that was emerging from behind the hill. Wish we had got there earlier since the moody scene was disappearing quickly.
gbohannon wrote:
What a view Peter! Nice getting the big dipper in there. Had to look at the flickr image to see that.
Big Dipper? Hey, gotta update the caption of the image I had to look up the night sky for the recent Milky Way shot to know what planets were in that shot other than the obvious Mars. I can look at the night sky and just never see anything familiar. My brain isn't wired t recognize constellations.
Good day in the mountains - likely the last weekend before snow closes the roads to most trails.
Mt. Pilchuck
These days only the 16/3.5 AI travels with me into the mountains. Managed to get a daughter to go with me as my usual hiking companion is in Iceland with his wife for their anniversary - slacker!
And in case you don't believe me you can see downtown Seattle in the first picture, here's a 100% crop and if you squint you can just see the Columbia Tower downtown.
Telephoto Shot Of Downtown Seattle With A Fisheye Lense
Since I am posting, here are some more 800mm 5.6 samples, small SD surf. A lot of shots end up out of focus, not due to lack of ability, but due to imprecise focus indicators and screens..... This is where I hope the Z6 focus peaking and image stabilization will make a difference..
rafaelcasd wrote:
Since I am posting, here are some more 800mm 5.6 samples, small SD surf. A lot of shots end up out of focus, not due to lack of ability, but due to imprecise focus indicators and screens..... This is where I hope the Z6 focus peaking and image stabilization will make a difference..
Ah, one MF Nikkor that is still on my list to get eventually - have not seen one come up for sale at a reputable place for a reasonable price. Need to sell some gear . . . need to sell some grear . . .
