bin ming

<p>Lovely pictures, Ian. I really like the colors.<br>

I have both the 28 AIS lenses (f2 and f/2.8). They are light, compact and don't cost a lot. However neither is truly remarkable in sharpness, a far cry from my other 35/2 AIS. However I'm much more impressed with their performance at close distance.</p>

By the way, your shots before and after the problem look great, even at the crop size. Is WB "cloudy" and color setting "saturated"? Were you still using your 28-85mm zoom?

JD,

 

I love my D50 too. Though I still think it's with the camera, it now occurs to me that my SD card died soon after the bad shot. who knows, maybe another card replacement will fix it.

 

I had a pleasant experience with Nikon repairs. I was first quoted $150 for a B2-level (major) work (I also claimed the LCD is slightly misaligned). It was free after I sent in my receipt.

 

As with autos, it's better to have a repeatable problem for troubleshooting. Fortunately for me, it never happened again.

I had the exact same problem but it only happened once. The result was a dark image. Since the one year warranty was to expire on my D50 I sent it back to Nikon. It appears Nikon did some inspection or cleaning but no shutter repair/replacement. I guess I'm ready to get over it.

 

When it happened it was a rather cold morning and i had the D50 firing the SB-600 at 1/800 sec.

f/2<div></div>

At f/2.8<div></div>

100% original crop<div></div>

I once had a 85/2 with a ring of oil film inside the lens that underexposes images near wide open. Too bad I had to return it, since I still miss it among all the Nikon 85mm lenses I have used (except the pre-AI 1.8 version).

 

There is no doubt that lens is sharp, however not too bright and contrasty like modern optics (think 70-200/2.8) that makes protraits enchanting. The 85/2 is as ultra light as a 50mm, standard 52mm filter size, nice build and handling, 2/3 stop faster than a 105/2.5, - what is NOT to like? Unfortunately it appears to be difficult to find one in good condition today for a reasonable price.<div></div>

Excellent choice Ted, I'm so happy for you. On your N80 that little lens is by far "the biggest bang", and image quality from it belongs to the Nikon's best.

 

I like natural lighting by far too. In fact, for many years I went by without a dedicated flash. Also, it takes more skills to use flash effectively.

I have a little more dramatic view regarding the differences between the two. Among fast glass in the portrait range, the 85mm 1.4 AIS is an outstanding lens in a "conventional" sense. Like 85/2 AIS, 85/1.8 AFD, and 105/2 DC (I prefer the DC) or even including other f/2.8 lenses, they are all visibly soft wide open and given the chance, you would rather shoot at f/2.8 (or at least one stop down). With my standards at f/1.4 the 85mm AIS doesn't have much to offer. From f/2.8 and down it is great, a close match with the 105 DC. Performance doesn't deteriorate much even past f/8, making it eminently suitable for landscape and macro subjects (excellent with extensions) The color response of the lens is definitely on the muted side. Images look "lower contrast" but that itself can be desirable in certain situations.

 

The 85/1.4 AFD, on the other hand, is already critically sharp at f/1.4. Of course it getter better at f/2 but at wide open it is perfectly usable for pro quality results, never mind the DOF. This kind of performance at 1.4 is almost freakish. I would put it at the same level as other lenses at 2.8. There are not many f/1.4 lenses out there, and even fewer are this good wide open hence the "wonder" factor. Beyond f/5.6 its performance starts to come down and is not as spectacular compared to "other lenses" so you can't have everything.

 

While both Nikon lenses have superb build and handling and are amazing tools in the right hands, they are very different animals to me.

Luis can you mount the lens and click the shutter again? Once my D50 locked up like that and blinked "err". I pressed the shutter again, it didn't generate an image, but the problem was gone.

I also think it's a problem with internal dusts. The lens will flare more easily too. Usually at this stage, the dusts are quite obvious under bright light.

The newly available Slingshot 300 is designed with a mounted 70-200/2.8 in mind. Slingshot 200 is too small for that lens. In fact the big zoom sits a bit tight across in the 300, with the large hood on reverse, but lengthwise the bag has comfortable depth left.

 

The 300 comes with large waist belt support, which is quite nice. In practice the bag quickly gets heavy with 3-4 lenses and I found most of the weight is still distributed on the single shoulder strap. For carrying comfort with some load a traditional backpack is probably a better bet.

With the single lens setup almost any compact Lowepro or Tamrac bag should be good enough. Even better, a wide op/tech strap and you are all set. When I "walked around" with the 18-200 I just held the camera with one hand.

Frank while nobody can dispute the common excesses of equipment purchase, somewhere a line needs to be drawn. The Nikon 50/1.8 has been the ticket for generations of beginners and pros alike to explore photographic freedom, all with a minimal gear commitment. It was affordable when I was a student long ago and still is. Similar arguments can be made for SB-600 which opens the new world of flash photography and Nikon CLS.

 

I feel we may direct our ire toward the ubiquitous casual shooters who care more about the ownership of their expensive equipment than techniques.

Well done, Darren! I myself have a SB600 then a SB800 to utilize wireless lighting on the D50. By studying the manual I think it's possible to wirelessly trigger a SB800 in SU4 mode but haven't got around to putting it to a test. I think if we can do this with more or less consistent exposure, and eliminate the pre-fire from the D50 built-in, we are really in business with an one-flash wireless setup.

If you buy both, it will be only about $300 USD, still less than the price of any single decent lense other than the 50/1.8.

f/4.5 is too slow for shooting basketball. For fast, autofocus Nikon lenses in the 60-200 range, and say with prices under $600, the choices are 85mm f/1.8 and 180mm f/2.8. You will not be disappointed. A used 80-200mm f/2.8 is also worth consideration.

After 12,000 exposures, my D50 never had a hint of such a problem. Then again, I only use "A" and "M" modes.

There are many factors contributing to "un-sharp" images, among them unsharp optics, which we can't do much about, and focusing error, which is due to a particular defective lens (or sometimes the camera). Moira's complaint: "with fully manual focus I can get a sharp image ... relying purely on AF, I really can't." so that's something not supposed to happen. If found true, Moira's lens needs to be replaced.

 

With a Nikon pro lens (f2.8 or faster) in the 85-135mm range framing a head or shoulder shot, the eyes are extremely sharp along with full facial details. However eyes cannot be expected to be nearly as sharp in a full body shot or an environmental shot, due to the proportion and enlargement. The 18-200 is slow and certainly not a portrait lens, but its performance at f8-f11 is really good and should handily beat a 35-80 variable zoom.

If you simply suspect an AF problem, no need to compare with another lens and you find it out quickly in a controled way: tripod, timer, VR OFF, use max aperture and manual shutter speed, and then compare a number of shots taken by AF and mamual focusing. Check both wide and long ends of the zoom.

Daniel - I agree it is ridiculous on DX format. The lens has been sent back for an exchange (too bad the center is extremely sharp at all stops). I will see.

Systematically integrating VR and AF-S into classics such as 85/1.4, 105/2 DC should be a significant and most interesting development, but Nikon probably will think about the reaction from pros who already own previous versions.

John I agree the 1/500 flash sync is already excellent but it is wonderful to go higher: even 1/1000 is vastly better than 1/500 in terms of capturing action or handholding longish lenses.

 

Do you have an example to show the "flying contrails"?

Thanks, Frank. We all learned from you here about the important flash sync feature on the D50/D70.