sprocket i/o - Latest Comments in Lens Lust

Re: Lens Lust

Doug Drew — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:12:32 -0000

Nice Chart ... I too just upgraded my D70 to the D300. Awesome camera, just getting started with it as it was a xmas present from my wife. I have the follwing (All nikkor / all except the kit lens also from Ebay):
18-70 (D70 kit lens)
35-70 2.8 (not on your chart)
70-210 5.6 (2 of them - I've lent them to friends after I got the 80-200)
80-200 2.8 2 ring (great lens)
60 2.8 Macro

I too have been looking at some more lens with the 18-200 at the top of the list, but after just spending $1800 on the D300 it will have to wait a little while. I also have the SB800 which I use a lot. I use the 35-70 for shots when I need the speed or shallow DOF. I wish it was a tad wider ... If only I had the D3 :-)

Best Wishes, Doug

Re: Lens Lust

thomas — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:14:40 -0000

Hey Todd, Long time no see! I didn't realize you did photography before RTCI! It's awesome to get feedback from someone who did this professionaly. Here's what I translated your recommended lens lengths to for DX (1.6X multiplier, rounded down):

12 - 15mm
17 - 44mm
50 - 125mm

Which maps pretty well to the Nikon lineup:

Nikkor 14mm F/2.8 ($1800 @ BH)
Nikkor 17-55mm F/2.8 ($1200 @ BH)
Nikkor 70-200mm F/2.8 ($1600 @ BH)

I agree about fixed length vs zoom. My 18-200mm replaces just about every lens in its' range, but my primes are still sharper and faster than any zoom I own. Getting a fast zoom would be nice, but the prices are fairly terrifying for someone who doesn't make any money on his hobby. I hate changing lenses though in the middle of shooting. The more I think about it honestly, the less I want an 85mm F/1.4. Sure, the bokeh is great, but on a DX size sensor, 85mm is a bit too long for my liking. I'll stick with my cheaper 50mm F/1.8 instead.

Thanks for your input!

Re: Lens Lust

Todd — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 11:33:24 -0000

Thomas,

This is the only blog article of yours I've felt informed enough to comment on. Only because I made a living at this stuff a long time ago before working with you at RTCI. When I was a working, card carrying AP photo-journalist there were only 3 lenses we always needed in the bag (not including macros). The three can get expensive but you won't need to "fill in the holes" with a lot of fixed length glass:

20 or 24mm 2.8 (or faster - big$$)
28 to 70mm 2.8
80 to 200mm 2.8

I can't recall if these are the exact aperture sizes offered by Nikon, I know they're off for digital lengths (my knowledge is old-school ISO film). But for two years I was able to travel and make money with just these pieces. On occasion a 300mm 2.8 was required for sports but as starving artists we shared the $5K lenses around the newsroom.

Trying to get everything in fixed length is expensive and cumbersome and not really necessary anymore since Nikon Zeiss and Canon have got rid of 99% of distortion in the high end zooms a while ago.

Re: Lens Lust

Thomas Stromberg — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 08:22:32 -0000

Cool, I didn't realize that was the Sigma that you bought. I'm primarily looking at it as a travel lens, as every time I go on a trip I keep thinking "man, if I could only get a wider shot here.". I think it'd be a stellar lens for HDR's as well. Thanks for the recommendation!

Re: Lens Lust

peter — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:39:57 -0000

btw, the ultra wide sigma you have in your list is awesome. not terribly fast, but simply shines at landscape and architecture when lighting is good. this is the only one I had for most of my EU trips this summer, haven't been disappointed with results at all.

Re: Lens Lust

peter — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 22:36:25 -0000

Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM

and

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM

for now... and probably many more when I learn to use these two :)