D300 Street shots

[clay stewart]

Well, I used a zoom for these. They sent me this 18-200 lens with my D300, so I thought I would try it out. It's really a pretty sharp lens, to my surprise, but I'm more of a 50 or 28 prime guy, so it's probably going to be up for sale soon. The last one was with a 10mm fish that I borrowed from a friend for a minute.

 

[Steen]

Clay, I'm with you, if it were me I would sell the zoom and go for the primes. But do you have something else to use while waiting for Photokina ?
I keep my fingers crossed that we will see some new fast AFS Nikkor primes at Photokina, like 85mm AFS (VR?), or 50mm AFS, or 28mm AFS. Hopefully all of them. I deliberately do not specify any fastest aperture wishes because I really do not care that much as long as they perform excellent wide open. I think that with the ongoing high ISO development it becomes a bit less important with the ultra, ultra fast apertures. I would rather have high quality than high speed.
Maybe all this is just wishful thinking, but if that happened, could you then wait buying new primes until something like january 2009 ?
Steen

 

[jonoslack]

HI Clay
Nice shots - I especially like the first two.
I had that lens with the D2x/D200, and I thought it was really good as a 'carry about' lens - it really does cover most of the bases on a DX camera.

As for your desire for primes - well, I do understand, and there's certainly a size issue, but those two nikon zooms (14-24 and 24-70) are as good as most primes (especially the 24-70), and with very little distortion.

 

[neils]

I'm with Bondo. Three or four new AFS primes that are superb wide open really only have to be f2.0 as far as I'm concerned. And wouldn't it be easier to make a really good prime that a 1.4 prime? And they'd be smaller, maybe even the good old 52mm filter size. On a D3 insane lens speed at the expense of quality isn't worth it.

The new zooms are great but I can't work with lenses that large. I can fit a D3 and 3 primes in a little Domke 803 bag. Same bag I'd haul Leicas in. Body with 35 or 50 fits sideways (tight but it does), stack an 85 1.8 and 35 or 50 (or 28/24 your choice in the adjustable compartment. The compartment has been pushed all the way to one side.

Neil

 

[jonoslack]

I'm with Bondo. Three or four new AFS primes that are superb wide open really only have to be f2.0 as far as I'm concerned. And wouldn't it be easier to make a really good prime that a 1.4 prime? And they'd be smaller, maybe even the good old 52mm filter size. On a D3 insane lens speed at the expense of quality isn't worth it.

The new zooms are great but I can't work with lenses that large. I can fit a D3 and 3 primes in a little Domke 803 bag. Same bag I'd haul Leicas in. Body with 35 or 50 fits sideways (tight but it does), stack an 85 1.8 and 35 or 50 (or 28/24 your choice in the adjustable compartment. The compartment has been pushed all the way to one side.

Neil

Hi Neil
Well, if weight/size is the problem, I can see your point. I'm having a bit of a bag crisis at the moment. Currently I'm carrying the D3 with a lens, and keeping the other three in a small hadley (from Billingham). Works for me, but then I'm not often working the streets.

 

[clay stewart]

HI Clay
Nice shots - I especially like the first two.
I had that lens with the D2x/D200, and I thought it was really good as a 'carry about' lens - it really does cover most of the bases on a DX camera.

As for your desire for primes - well, I do understand, and there's certainly a size issue, but those two nikon zooms (14-24 and 24-70) are as good as most primes (especially the 24-70), and with very little distortion.

Thanks Jono. I have the 35/2 Nikkor and it seems to be a decent lens, so far, for a 50 mm equiv. The spinning focus wheel is a bit disturbing, but I have to say that the build and MF operation are much better than the Canon 35/2 I owned before.
I've been wanting to get the 20/2.8, for a close to 28 mm equiv., but I just haven't done it yet. There seems to be quite mixed reviews on that lens.
As far as the big zooms go, I'm sure they are excellent optics, but the size and weight are just too much for me, or I think I would have at least got the 17-35, which would really cover my normal shooting range.
I too hope Nikon comes out with some newer primes, but I hope they are not all huge, like the Canon "L" primes, or I will have to stick with the old ones.

 

[neils]

Well I know one problem with what I suggest with somewhat "slow" AFS primes is Canon has fast USM primes. I doubt we'll see 2.0 primes when Canon has 1.4 and 1.2 primes.

Whatever happens I'd like to hope that the new primes we do get are in a Zeiss kind of price range and not in a $1200- $1500 price range. Certainly not the price that the 28 1.4 lens got to recently.

Neil