nikkor defocus control lenses

notelliot · Feb 2, 2007

i believe there are two, the 105/2 and the 135/2. i think later this month, i'm going to buy one or the other, and an 85/1.4. 135 would be be roughly 200mm with the crop factor, and that seems pretty intense for portraiture. the 105 would be ~150mm, which seems better suited.

also, i've heard that chromatic abberation is or can be a problem with the 105 when focusing on closer subjects, but on the other hand, somehow, the 105 is optically better.

eh? which is the better to buy?

fmw · Feb 2, 2007

I don't know. The 135 is the only DC Nikkor I ever owned or used so I have no way to compare them. I never understood the value of "improving" the look of out of focus areas in an image so I never really took to this lens. Optically it was excellent but not as good as the 105 f2.5 Nikkor telephoto which was more than excellent and a whole lot smaller, lighter and less expensive. I fooled around with it for a while and finally sold it. The AF180 f2.8 ED is probably the finest telephoto lens ever designed by anyone for any camera. For me it even blows away the Leica M mount 90mm f2.8. That would be the one to get if you want a fast, medium telephoto. It is simply amazing. I agree with you on the 85 f1.4 for a short telephoto. That's a dandy.

I often shot portraits with a 300mm lens on 35mm. I didn't do a lot of fashion work but, when I did, I used a tripod mounted 300mm f2.8 very often. I thought the perspective was really nice and so did my clients. I certainly don't see anything wrong with using a 200 on a digital which would provide about the same angle of view.

Sw1tchFX · Feb 2, 2007

do you have any examples of the effects of the defocus control fmw?

notelliot · Feb 2, 2007

notelliot · Feb 2, 2007

fmw said:
I don't know. The 135 is the only DC Nikkor I ever owned or used so I have no way to compare them. I never understood the value of "improving" the look of out of focus areas in an image so I never really took to this lens. Optically it was excellent but not as good as the 105 f2.5 Nikkor telephoto which was more than excellent and a whole lot smaller, lighter and less expensive. I fooled around with it for a while and finally sold it. The AF180 f2.8 ED is probably the finest telephoto lens ever designed by anyone for any camera. For me it even blows away the Leica M mount 90mm f2.8. That would be the one to get if you want a fast, medium telephoto. It is simply amazing. I agree with you on the 85 f1.4 for a short telephoto. That's a dandy.

I often shot portraits with a 300mm lens on 35mm. I didn't do a lot of fashion work but, when I did, I used a tripod mounted 300mm f2.8 very often. I thought the perspective was really nice and so did my clients. I certainly don't see anything wrong with using a 200 on a digital which would provide about the same angle of view.

i'm looking for the creative aspect of the defocus control. the 180/2.8 is an amazing lens, but i'm getting the 85, which would be some what of a medium, for me at least.

fmw · Feb 3, 2007

notelliot said:
i'm looking for the creative aspect of the defocus control. the 180/2.8 is an amazing lens, but i'm getting the 85, which would be some what of a medium, for me at least.

At least you appreciate the value of out-ot-focus areas of the image. It might be a good product for you while it wasn't for me.