clark_king1 Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 I have recently inherited a nikon n50 and an 85mm 1.4D IF lens. I dont really know anything about either of these. How good are the camera and lens? I have used either canon, mamyia or horseman now for years! What are your thoughts, what is the 85mm of this construction best suited for? How sharp is this 85 1.4D IF lens? Thank you very much. Clark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_soroka Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 A new troll?? I wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder, ... What if??? Why?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark_king1 Posted May 31, 2004 Author Share Posted May 31, 2004 What you mean......troll? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim_Tardio Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 This lens is one of Nikon's poorer efforts. I'd be willing to take it off your hands for $50.00. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim_Tardio Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 Seriously, Clark...the N50 is a so-so entry level camera, but the 85/1.4 is top-notch professional lens that is wonderful for low-light shooting and portraits. You've inherited a gem of a lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark_king1 Posted May 31, 2004 Author Share Posted May 31, 2004 Oh so you wern't serious about the $50? The camera and lens where my fathers and it has been hard to use the camera since then...you know what I mean. I know he paid quit a bit for the 85 but past that I'm clueless. I would imagine that the N50 is comparable to the canon rebel, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidfink_photography Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 Clark, The 85/1.4 is one of Nikon's absolute best lenses. It is worth several times more than the n50. Hang on to this lens and use it also with any future Nikon body, film or digital, that you may acquire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucas_griego Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 Clark,The 85 1.4 is a great lens. It's fast and tack sharp. I usually carry one on my S2 body. I love it for street shots. It's just long enough that you can get close enough for a good shot but not so close that you disturb the scene. In this situation the speed is ideal. The construction of this thing is bomb proof. It does wonders for portraits. Great 'Bokeh' on this lense. It will push out backgrounds wonderfully soft and keep the subject just right.The N50 body is.. eh... whatever. Ditch it if you want... but the lense is something special. Enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark_king1 Posted May 31, 2004 Author Share Posted May 31, 2004 What is "Great 'Bokeh'", excuse my ignorance...this must be a nikon thing, I've not seen that term on the large format or medium format forums! Again please excuse my ignorance I suppose I should just admit that yes I guess I'm a newbie to Nikon! I appreciate your help today, Clark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roy1 Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 <a href="http://www.photo.net/mjohnston/column49/">'Bokeh'</a> is not a nikon term. it is the background of a picture which is out of focus. and yes, your lens has great Bokeh, and sherpness. <br> turn down the $50 offer :)... and take my $75. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_muntz Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 Amazing piece of glass. It's about a thousand new, by the way. I agree with other responses, and find that the focal length suits me well for both 35mm and digital bodies. The N50, however... would be a good back-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph_smith3 Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 Hi Clark, that lens new costs over $1000. It is a beauty. A used manual focus version sells for about $500-600. it is an absolutely superb lens. Joe smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ky2 Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 How come my relatives only own cheapo point-and-shoots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loreneidahl Posted May 31, 2004 Share Posted May 31, 2004 The 85 is my most used lens. I love it. about 90% of my shooting is extremly low light high speed action. This a wonderful lens for that. My action picures tend to be more environmental portraits and it works very, very well. Note: If your choose to photograph women with this lens in normal lighting conditions, you will probably want to put a diffusion filter on it as it is TOO sharp. Way too much detail is revealed. The 85mm lens you will be able to pass down to your children and it will still be a classic lens. Your Dad invested money wisely by buying perfection in glass and using whatever was left over to buy a box that holds film. The N50 is a good camera with basic features. But dont sell it! There is something special about the passing down of photographic equipment. I inheirited all of my Dads slide and movie gear. At first it was tough to use. Now I use it with pride and rememberance. I am now actively trying to collect all the pieces of equipment that my dad used over the years. (Even the old Kodak Brownie) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark_king1 Posted May 31, 2004 Author Share Posted May 31, 2004 Thanks Loren I can appreciate what your saying. My Dad loved the art of photography as do I and being able to use this after him is a great honor. Thanks to everyone, I guess now the choice (if I'm going back to 35mm) is which film or digital camera to buy. I currently own an RB 67 pro, horseman 450 (LF), and a canon 35mm. But when it comes to nikon equipment as I've already demonstrated I know very little, a little picking around on the web should fix that! Everyone here has very supportive and informative, thank you! Don't forget to thank those in the military, and not just on the holidays, but anytime, young or old, it is beyond words what it really means to put your life on the line for complete strangers, regardless of political views it is still very special. Clark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbq Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 In Canon terms, think "EOS Rebel G" and "85/1.2L" and you'll have a decent idea of what you just inherited (just half a stop slower). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_. Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 <<Clark King , may 31, 2004; 02:26 p.m. What is "Great 'Bokeh'", excuse my ignorance...this must be a nikon thing>> Actually it's a Leica thing. Bokeh is that quality Leica owners fall back on to justify having spent five times what Nikon and Canon users do. Whenever challenged and unable to prove their preposterous boasting that Leica glass is "better", they put down the Nikon/Canon/Whatever glass as having "bad Bokeh". The 85/1.4 is a prime example. Leica users, faced with defending the soft until f/5.6, soft close-up, high-vignetting 80/1.4 Summilux-R claim the 85/1.4 Nikkor has terrible Bokeh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbq Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 To add to what Jay wrote (at the risk of being a bit technical), bokeh is the "quality" of out-of-focus areas, most often backgrounds (out-of-focus foregrounds are confusing to most people). It is very closely related to the shape of out-of-focus highlights and to the distribution of light within that shape. The shape of the highlight is related to the shape of the diaphragm and the amount of vignetting. The distribution of the light in the highlight is related to the spherical aberration of the lens (if I remember correctly an undercorrected lens has "bad" background bokeh and an overcorrectly lens has "good" background bokeh). For lenses with a plain linear extension (e.g. most 50mm primes) achieving "good" background bokeh comes along with sharpness issues and focus shift when focused at infinity, which is not very desirable, which is why those lenses often have a "neutral" bokeh. With inner/rear-focusing lenses and floating designs, it is possible to achieve a good background bokeh without sacrificing sharpness and focusing accuracy at infinity. Enough technical blah-blah. What you need to know is that when shooting at "portrait" distances (6 to 7ft) and close to wide open the background will blur out in a very pleasant manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_greene Posted June 4, 2004 Share Posted June 4, 2004 Clark, Tardio's first post was correct, the 85/1.4 is a real dog. However I happen to collect crappy Nikkors and am missing that particular lens. I'll offer you $100 USD for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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