Uber-fast lenses?

[cfreemanphotography]

Any recommendations for Nikon lenses (past or present) between 28 and 85 mm

with a maximum aperture no slower than 1.8? Must also be free of coma.

[erik_loza]

What's your intended application?

[yeux tortu]

28mm- Do you have 3 grand to spend? Uber costs..............

[ellis_vener_photography]

50mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4 AI-S, 85mm f/1.8, 85mm f/1.4

[harvey_edelstein1]

28mm f2 and 35mm f2 should be close enough to f1.8 not to make a difference. Otherwise you are limited to 3o f1.4 Sigma, 35mm f1.4 ais, 50mm f1.2 ais, 50mm f1.4 &1.8 and of course 85mm f1.4 & 1.8 afd and Zeiss ZF f1.4. Sigma makes an 28mm f1.8 too. I am sure I am leaving something in this range out so check Bjorn and Roland at www.nikonlinks.com. They list just about any Nikon and third party lenses made for Nikon.

[Two23]

I have the Nikon 85mm f1.8 and often use it for night shots. It is very prone to flare when a direct light shines into it though. The Nikon 20mm f2.8 does very well. I've found the 50mm f1.8 handles flare better than the 50mm f1.4. I photo trains at night, and they have THREE strong headlights.

 

 

Kent in SD

[akira]

Free of coma?

 

Ai-s Noct Nikkor 58mm/f1.2, hands down.

[vivek iyer]

Yup, only one as Akira said!

[cfreemanphotography]

I won't give away the exact application, but I need a lens that will allow me to precisely place dim stars within the frame (and be able to see the edge of the frame).

[Robert_Lai]

If you read the tale from the Nikon lens designers themselves, the 35 1.4 excels at photographing star clusters. <a href="http://www.nikon.co.jp/main/eng/portfolio/about/history/nikkor/n27_e.htm" >Thousand and One nights tale regarding the 35 1.4</a>

[cfreemanphotography]

So far I've had no luck locating any of these lenses on ebay (or anywhere else for that matter), with the exception of the Noct-Nikkor at four grand. Why would such a lens be discontinued/not reinstated. There's obviously a demand for them if people are willing to pay four thousand bucks for a $1500 lens.

[alex_lofquist]

For capturimg weak "point sources" of light such as stars, the absolute aperture, not the relative aperture, is the important specification here. On that basis I would go for one of the 85mm focal lengths. (I have taken good photos of comets with my 85mm f/1.8.)

[Robert_Lai]

Christopher,<p>The Noct Nikkor uses a hand-ground aspherical lens element. Think of the skill and patience required to produce such a lens element. Think of all the rejects that occur. All of these things push up the cost. When the lens was available, few people bought them. Why pay $1500 for an f/1.2 lens when Nikon makes the 50 f/1.2 for a lot less? Now that the lens is discontinued, it has entered into the realm of the collector's dreams, with corresponding prices.<p>Also, for a long time, Nikon made only the DX format DSLRs. A lot of people thought that the 50mm lenses were dead ducks - not normal in focal length anymore, and who needs f/1.2 when you can push up the ISO of the camera to 6400? I bought my minty 50mm f/1.2 used during the low point of the market (May 2005) for about $200, just because I was curious about it, and I shoot film. People were just dumping these into the trash back then, along with all of the other film era stuff. Then Bjorn Rorslett wrote up a review that the 50mm f/1.2 actually performs superbly on the DX digitals. Now, with the FX format digital coming out, the demand for all of these old film era lenses has picked up in anticipation. I still don't know why you'd want f/1.2 when the D3 has the ability to go to an incredibly high ISO. I still shoot Velvia 50 and Kodachrome 64, so that's my excuse for having such lenses.

[cfreemanphotography]

My need for fast lenses does not have so much to do with exposure, but rather with viewing. The idea that has been bouncing around in my head includes the use of two cameras (one digital one film), two tripods, 2 neutral grads, clear optical filters, overhead transparencies, indelible markers, projectors, and the ability to precisely place a star, with no error. I also would like to shoot more film in general. Now that Velvia 50 is being rereleased, I'll definitely be considering film more strongly than I currently am.

[yeux tortu]

Fast wide angle with no coma= 28 1.4 Afd, but like I asked, do you have about 3 grand for this lens? Google it, it isconsidered well designed for astro shots.