Derrel
Mr. Rain Cloud
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2009
- Messages
- 48,225
- Reaction score
- 18,941
- Location
- USA
- Website
- www.pbase.com
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
70-200 f/2.8 is probably #1. For portraiture, the 70-200/2.8 gets the nod much of the time, even though I have all the prime lenses from 24 to 400mm. For "people", an 85mm lens is pretty handy for close-range work that appears naturalistic. For shooting from longer distances, 135mm gets the nod.
For landscapes, I often find myself selecting a 24, or 35, or 45mm-P. Those might sound close in focal length, but they are each decidedly different lengths. I find this question of "favorite lens" to be almost like my 9 year-old son's question, "Dad, what is your favorite color?" I always tell him the same thing: "I do not HAVE a favorite color,son. I like them all pretty much the same."
On this 85mm 1.4 vs 1.8 issue...I have the older 85 1.4 AF-D, a very good sample. When you look at it, it has a very sharp central region, and the corners are much,much softer, down to about f/5.6, where the corners and the center seem equally sharp and free of fall-off. it has SUPERB background bokeh....it is often called "the Cream Machine" by people who like a smoothly-defocused background with no onion bokeh, no hashy-ness,no double-lining, and no nervousness,etc,etc. The "new" 1.4G looks similar to me, from what I have seen. The brand-new 85 1.8 AF-S G I bought this summer; it is not a "portrait" lens like the 85 1.4 AF-D is...it is very sharp across the field, and has a much more neutral, almost sterile rendering...it is a VERY high-grade optic in the new plastic barrel style of the 2010-'s Nikkor high-end prosumer models.
For landscapes, I often find myself selecting a 24, or 35, or 45mm-P. Those might sound close in focal length, but they are each decidedly different lengths. I find this question of "favorite lens" to be almost like my 9 year-old son's question, "Dad, what is your favorite color?" I always tell him the same thing: "I do not HAVE a favorite color,son. I like them all pretty much the same."
On this 85mm 1.4 vs 1.8 issue...I have the older 85 1.4 AF-D, a very good sample. When you look at it, it has a very sharp central region, and the corners are much,much softer, down to about f/5.6, where the corners and the center seem equally sharp and free of fall-off. it has SUPERB background bokeh....it is often called "the Cream Machine" by people who like a smoothly-defocused background with no onion bokeh, no hashy-ness,no double-lining, and no nervousness,etc,etc. The "new" 1.4G looks similar to me, from what I have seen. The brand-new 85 1.8 AF-S G I bought this summer; it is not a "portrait" lens like the 85 1.4 AF-D is...it is very sharp across the field, and has a much more neutral, almost sterile rendering...it is a VERY high-grade optic in the new plastic barrel style of the 2010-'s Nikkor high-end prosumer models.
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![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/37/37489-27b092c23ed6ad63eee4cd03f96a311a.jpg?1619738111)
