Country House

While waiting in line for some roadworks to let us through, I snapped this shot from the car window with the NEX and Leica 50mm Summicron f2.  I love shooting in rural Ontario as the old barns and houses are very photogenic. 

Sony NEX-3 with Leica 50mm Summicron Type 4

Night Street Shooting in Kingston

Kingston, ON is a city full of history, with a wealth of stunning heritage buildings.  At night the down town core is pretty quiet, but there was still plenty to shoot.

The NEX-3 and Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 is a stunning combination for night street shooting.  Most of my shots were wide open at 1,600 ISO, so it was pretty dark.  You can read about my series about how I came to purchase this combination on the links below.

Looking for a Night Street Shooter – Part 1 – The Need

Looking for a Night Street Shooter – Part 2 – The Camera

Looking for a Night Street Shooter – Part 3 – The Lens

Looking for a Night Street Shooter – Part 4 – The camera andlens hit the street!

Looking for a Night Street Shooter – Part 5 – Summicron testrun

Looking for a Night Street Shooter – Part 6 – ConcertShooting

A $2500 NEX-7?

Some joker has managed to get hold of a Sony NEX-7 about 6 weeks before the official release, and is now trying to make a lot of coin by offering it up on the local internet classifieds for nearly double the expected MSRP.  That’s ballsy, but for those who must have it for Christmas, maybe it is the price you have to pay.  I just wonder where they managed to get it.

Sony NEX-3 with Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 Nokton

Nice, but why?

In the “Nice, but why?” category are the following manual focus lenses:

Nikkor 20mm f2.8

Nikkor 28mm f2.8

Nikkor 35mm f2

Nikkor 50mm f1.8 / f2

Nikkor 85mm f1.4

All these lenses are great, but you can buy the AF versions with full electronic metering for not a lot more than the MF ones on the used market.  The optical formulas in 4 of the lenses are the same or better in the AF versions, so unless you stumble upon a bargain, hold out for the AF lenses.  

Interestingly though, the manual focus Nikkor 85mm f1.4 is sharper than the auto focus version, though some would argue that the trade off for AF is probably worthwhile for a lens capable of such shallow depth of field.  The expensive new AF-S version however, beats both by a mile.  

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 200mm f4 manual focus

The pick of the Nikon Manual Focus lenses

As mentioned in recent posts, the great thing about the Nikon D200, D300 and D7000 is that they meter with all Nikon mount Ai and Ai-S manual focus lenses.  The D700 also meters, and these lenses are just superb on full frame.

Here’s my pick of the must have Manual Focus lenses:

1.       Nikkor 20mm f4 –Classic tiny wide angle with great performance (about $250)

2.       Nikkor 24mm f2 – Until recently Nikon’s fastest ever 24mm (about $350)

3.       Nikkor 50mm f1.2 – Ultra wide aperture standard lens with super thin depth of field (about $450)

4.       Nikkor 55mm f2.8 Macro – Unbelievably sharp Macro lens.  Does 1:1 with an adapter (about $200)

5.       Nikkor 85mm f2 – Fabulous telephoto portrait lens – small, sharp, excellent (about $230)

6.       Nikon 100mm f2.8 Series E – Extremely compact and sharp tele lens and a bargain (about ($100)

7.       Nikkor 105mm f2.5 – Another great classic portrait lens ($160-$230)

8.       Nikkor 135mm f2 – Fast, sharp and reasonably priced (about $300)


9.       Tamron 90mm f2.5 Adaptall Macro – Lovely, sharp Macro. Does 1:1 with an adapter (about $170)

Nikon D2X with Nikon 135mm f2 Ai-S lens, shot at f2.8

There's some lenses not on this list that many will say are worthy, but in tomorrow's post you'll see why they have been left off....

Full Frame lens kit

Over the last 3-4 years I’ve spent a lot of time acquiring the right lenses for a full frame DSLR.  Here’s my pick of the must-have lenses.

WIDE PRIME – This is where a full frame camera really comes into its own

1.       Sigma 12-24mm f4-5.6.  The world’s widest angle rectilinear lens for DSLR's is a must-have for full frame.  Very dramatic scenes with excellent optical performance.  Can be had relatively cheaply – about $550 used.

2.       Nikon 14-24mm f2.8.    I don’t own it, but known as the world’s best wide angle for DSLRs.  Big, heavy, expensive, flares a lot; but the best.  About $1,500 used

WIDE ZOOM - Like wide primes, they're fabulous on full frame

1.       Sigma 20mm f1.8.  Not the sharpest out there, but the wide aperture and close focus make for dramatic images. About $400.


2.       Nikon 24mm f1.4 AF-S – I haven’t used this lens, but I could see it being great for full frame. About $1,700 used.  I use the Nikon 24mm f2 Ai-s manual focus which I like.


3.       Nikon 35mm f1.4 AF-S – I haven’t used this lens, but would also be great for full frame.   About $1,700 used.   I use the Nikon 35mm f1.4 Ai-s manual focus, which is only OK. About $450 used

STANDARD ZOOM

1.       Fast – The only lens is the Nikon 24-70mm f2.8.  Expensive, but the best. About $1500 used


2.       Allround – Tamron 24-135mm f3.5-5.6.  Excellent all round zoom, but no VR or AF-S.  A bargain in today’s market. About $200 used

STANDARD PRIME

Nikkor 50mm f1.2 Manual Focus – The fastest 50mm Nikon has ever made.  Fabulous with full frame, but lots of light fall off at f1.2.  About $450 used.

TELEPHOTO 

Any of the 70/80-200mmf2.8 lenses work great.  I think the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D twin ring in particular is great value, with outstanding performance.  About $800 used.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 35mm f2 AF-D

My Used D-SLR Kit Recommendation

Most people tend to purchase a combination of new and used equipment, and my general rule of thumb is buy the body new and the lenses used.  Bodies are much more prone to problems, while lenses will last forever as long as they aren’t dropped.  However, for this reason, resale on lenses is far better than on bodies.  If you bought a new body and lens, expect that in 3 years time the body will be worth 35-45% of the original value; while a lens could be worth 60-70% of its original value.

Here’s my used kit recommendation, again for Nikon with approximate used values in US/Canada shown:

1^st Purchase – Semi-pro body with great features and a versatile lens - Nikon D200 (about $400) with Nikkor 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 (about $175), or a Nikkor 18-105mm f3.5-5.6 VR ($240)

STEP UP: The D90 ($650) or D300 ($800) are also excellent choices and have available video.  For a better lens, take a look at the excellent Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 (about $350).  The cheaper D80 at $300 is also a very good camera.

FOOTNOTE: Both the D200 and D300 meter with manual focus lenses, making them very versatile, and allowing the user to try also sorts of great manual lenses for a not a lot of outlay.

2^nd Purchase – Fast Aperture Prime – Nikkor 50mm f1.8 AF-D (about $100) or Nikkor 35mm f1.8 AF-S (about $220)  There’s lots of options in this area, and you could also consider the Nikkor 50mm f1.8 AF-S (about $200), the Nikkor 35mm f2 AF-D (about $270) and Manual Focus lenses if you bought a D200.   

STEP UP: This means going to a very fast f1.4 and the options here are Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AF-D (about $270), the Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AF-S and a Sigma 50mm f1.4 AF-S (both about  $430).  The latter two step up lenses are the best, but you pay a premium.

3^rd Purchase – Nice Lighting – Nikon SB-600 ($200) Excellent flash that works well

STEP UP: The SB-600 is great, but I like the more powerful SB-800 ($300) better.  Don’t buy any other flash but Nikon for a Nikon camera; or Canon for a Canon camera as the electronics aren’t always 100% compatible.

4^th Purchase – Follow your interest – wide, tele, macro?

Wide – Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 (about $420)  This is a great lens that offers excellent value.

Tele –Nikon 70-300mm f4-5.6 G (about $120) OR Nikon 70-300mm f4-5.6 VR AF-S (about $450)  If you can stretch, get the lens with VR as telephoto lenses are very susceptible to camera shake and  vibrations, which leads to blurry pictures.   The non-VR is good for a telephoto taste though.

Macro – Tamron 90mm f2.8 (about $250, $350 for Di version) OR Nikon 60mm f2.8 AF-D (about $350)  Both are excellent lenses.  If you bought a wider prime, get the Nikkor 60mm; however if you bought a 50mm lens, get the 90mm Tamron. 

Nikon D2X with Nikon 18-135mm