The NIKON Thread (Talk About Nikon Stuff here)

[perplex]

Originally Posted by stevesurf

......Unfortunately, today's tiny digital imagers just don't do the wide justice, but I would expect Nikon to re-introduce this, once FF gets here in a year. ........

Wishful thinking? Nikon get their sensors from Sony unlike Canon which can afford the R&D etc to make their own. I don't think Nikon will ever go full-frame in their digital segment. Surely they've invested and committed to DX too much ?

But I think eventually they should do to compete with Canon. I've read quite a lot around the web of hardcore long-time Nikon users which are waiting a few more years for Nikon to go full-frame and if not, will switch to Canon.

Maybe the D3X in a year or so

[nogrot]

Originally Posted by WhatMACHI

wow, u just made it sound as though that were some super lense or something hahaha

Somebody's been reading Ken Rockwell...


I own and love this lens, but I generally stick to using it at f/2. Now don't get me wrong, it's very sharp and extremely usable at f/2, and I do use it wide open occasionally... But it isn't a miracle. It performs right along with the 85mm f/1.4 in my book, but retailed for almost double the price. It must've been very hard to construct.

Oh well, anybody interested in buying mine for $3k?

[skyline889]

What do you Nikon experts think of the 12-24 Tokina? I've been looking through my old shots and most of them were shot at wide angle, so I don't think I would make proper use of the 18-200 range of the 18-200vr. Any troubles with the lens? Any good places to buy it new or used? Thanks for the help!

[Iron_Dreamer]

My research on the wide-angle topic led me to two contenders; the Tokina you mentioned and the Sigma 10-20. From what I've read, the Sigma tends to have a sharper center, but less sharp edges than the Tokina, and more vignetting to boot. People seem to prefer the build quality and consistency of the Tokina, but the Sigma looks pretty good still, and has their equivalent of AFS. The Achilles' Heel of the Tokina seems to be CA. I'm not sure which I would pick at this point, but I think I would lean to the extra width of the Sigma. Of course I've not used either of these in real life, so a major grain of salt is needed

[stevesurf]

Originally Posted by WhatMACHI

wow, u just made it sound as though that were some super lense or something hahaha

For PJ's it became the new super lens, effectively and greatly improving over my 35 f/1.4!

Originally Posted by perplex

Wishful thinking? Nikon get their sensors from Sony unlike Canon which can afford the R&D etc to make their own. I don't think Nikon will ever go full-frame in their digital segment. Surely they've invested and committed to DX too much ?...Maybe the D3X in a year or so

Yes, Nikon is a smaller company, but the very profitable D70 and D50 models will help get them into FF faster. DX was a necessity to bring quality DSLR prices down for a given feature set (example D70s). Yes, the D3 is coming, at least according to byThom, who I read religiously.

Originally Posted by nogrot

Somebody's been reading Ken Rockwell...

I just grabbed the image from Rockwell, my usual research is on nikonians, Keppler's books, byThom and photo.net. I actually demoed the lens some years back, as our corporate photographer had gotten a sample, which I found to have astounding quality wide open. At 28, my 17-35 turns out some very respectable images, even exceeding the 28 IMHO, as well as a number of posters. You just will never see this kind of quality in fast glass like the 28, unless the endless search for the Noc ends.

Originally Posted by nogrot

I own and love this lens, but I generally stick to using it at f/2. Now don't get me wrong, it's very sharp and extremely usable at f/2, and I do use it wide open occasionally... But it isn't a miracle. It performs right along with the 85mm f/1.4 in my book, but retailed for almost double the price. It must've been very hard to construct.

Oh well, anybody interested in buying mine for $3k?

Faster wide angles are very expensive to manufacture as the large aspherical elements not only have to have wide FOV, but need be fast and have consistently low distortion. The 28 1.4 does it, at a cost - it is a beautiful lens!

Originally Posted by skyline889

What do you Nikon experts think of the 12-24 Tokina? I've been looking through my old shots and most of them were shot at wide angle, so I don't think I would make proper use of the 18-200 range of the 18-200vr. Any troubles with the lens? Any good places to buy it new or used? Thanks for the help!

As I stated earlier, the Tokina produces barrel distortion that's correctable in Photoshop. It is a well made lens for the money. I believe Ken Rockwell does a nice comparison.

Originally Posted by Iron_Dreamer

My research on the wide-angle topic led me to two contenders; the Tokina you mentioned and the Sigma 10-20. From what I've read, the Sigma tends to have a sharper center, but less sharp edges than the Tokina, and more vignetting to boot. People seem to prefer the build quality and consistency of the Tokina, but the Sigma looks pretty good still, and has their equivalent of AFS. The Achilles' Heel of the Tokina seems to be CA. I'm not sure which I would pick at this point, but I think I would lean to the extra width of the Sigma. Of course I've not used either of these in real life, so a major grain of salt is needed

People love both Tokina and Sigma. The Sigma won a very prestigious award back a couple of years ago. Keep in mind you can use the Nikkor on FF, but not the Tokina or Sigma. Why do I keep bringing this up? Because lenses are an investment, and I would minimize the amount of "proprietary" optics you purchase.

[WhatMACHI]

Yay new lenses
18-135


50mm


Cheap 2gb card, only $20! I geuss there's always a reliability issue, but Toshiba seems decent enough


Now i need to go shopping for my camera T_T

[stevesurf]

Originally Posted by WhatMACHI

Yay new lenses

Nice setup; you'll have a great time with them. There's nothing like opening up a new gold box...

[nogrot]

Originally Posted by stevesurf

I just grabbed the image from Rockwell, my usual research is on nikonians, Keppler's books, byThom and photo.net. I actually demoed the lens some years back, as our corporate photographer had gotten a sample, which I found to have astounding quality wide open. At 28, my 17-35 turns out some very respectable images, even exceeding the 28 IMHO, as well as a number of posters. You just will never see this kind of quality in fast glass like the 28, unless the endless search for the Noc ends.

Funny how the cheaper easier alternative is always better to some people, just like headphones. I love my "Triad of Power" (28/50/85 f/1.4) and I doubt I could shoot happily without it. The idea of dropping my 28mm is really upsetting now though, since it would be very hard to replace.

People love both Tokina and Sigma. The Sigma won a very prestigious award back a couple of years ago. Keep in mind you can use the Nikkor on FF, but not the Tokina or Sigma. Why do I keep bringing this up? Because lenses are an investment, and I would minimize the amount of "proprietary" optics you purchase.

The Nikkor and Tokina are both DX-style lenses, so the ability to use them on FF bodies is unproven as of yet. If Nikon includes a crop-mode for compatability with DX lenses, then yes they will work. The Sigma is a FF lens and can be used with film bodies.

I'm not sure everyone needs to worry about that though, as I imagine when/if Nikon does come out with a FF body, it will cost over $5k and that isn't an option for everybody.

From what I've read, the Nikkor is the way to go. Ultra-wide angles always have some form of distortion, it's just the nature of the look to me. My rectilinear Nikkor 14mm f/2.8 is pretty awesome, though I don't use it that often. Most of the time I find the 10.5 Fisheye to be more fun.

[dj_mocok]

Whatmachi:
You girlfriend came back already? That's fast.
I'm not sure how large is the buffer in D50 (go google it, I'm lazy ), but if it has buffer big enough for, say, minimum 6 highest quality Jpegs, I wouldn't worry about using slower (standard) SD card since it won't make much difference in most, everyday usage.

I forgot to ask you to get a lens hood for your 50mm 1.8 It flares quite easily. But anyway, you can always get it in Australia.

So have you placed order for D50? I bet you will have a heck of a good time once the whole setup already arrives (especially if you never own DSLR before).

PS: If you want a camera bag, Lowepro Nova 2AW will suit those perfectly and you can have 1 more spot for 1 lens (or flash) in the future.


Nogrot:
Why do you wanna sell the 28mm (unless you need the money)? That's a real shame. I'd be happy if I only got those 28/50/85 f/1.4 and I don't think I'd need anymore lenses, maybe except for a macro.

I'm not gonna buy anymore lens anytime soon, but I'm pretty sure my next purchase will be either wide angle prime AF or a wide-to-normal AF zoom. After that, no more lens for me.

[nogrot]

Originally Posted by dj_mocok

Whatmachi:
Nogrot:
Why do you wanna sell the 28mm (unless you need the money)? That's a real shame. I'd be happy if I only got those 28/50/85 f/1.4 and I don't think I'd need anymore lenses, maybe except for a macro.

Pentax's 645D teaser just gets me interested in the next step I guess. While I totally love my Nikon stuff (and results), I'd consider trying something else for a while. I was excited about the Leica M8 for a while, but it's sorta fell out of my price range for the time being, as I wouldn't replace my Nikon setup, just accentuate it.

I'm at the point now where the only lenses I'm interested in buying are over $4k a piece, and I really wouldn't ever use them. I'd love a 200 f/2 VR, but there is next to no time I'd ever use it. My 70-200VR gets used maybe four or five times a year at the most.

Ah well, just considering my options I guess. I love the idea of making money from the sell of my lens, too.