Which all purpose lens for D810 ?

[GetCarter]

I very, very rarely shoot with the lens wide open... But it's there that you'll find the shortcomings of any zoom. As you (OP) had a 35 mm mostly fixed to your last camera, I suggest a 50mm f1.4 Nikkor. It'll do the same - almost... and it's as crisp as a potato chip.

[andy-xr]

I think you'll see a big jump from the 35mm 1.8 to pretty much anything, it's not that it's a bad lens, it's just that it's not a benchmark for anything

I also think you're way overthinking it to the point where you're going too technical in terms of what the camera and lenses can do for your photography. Get the right zoom lens and crack on before the things you want to take photos of disappear to do something else, otherwise you'll be faffing with this detection, that detection, auto turn on, something's gone wrong, let me press some buttons. Compose, expose, move on

[ExPat2B]

So how completely insane would I be to consider buying this :

Hasselblad H3D-39, 39 megapixel, 16 bit digital camera with only 7689 frames

Current price: £2,500.00
End time: 28-Feb-15 13:10:46 GMT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201292526788

[nellyleelephant]

Totally insane if you want snappy AF for kids and nature.

[K12beano]

Doesn't even touch the Insanity Scale as a potential purchase.....

(Quite like the look of that!)


....but when you're chasing after the kids with it?

[ExPat2B]

Hmmmmm ISO 400 Max, slow, central phase only autofocus....yes utter certifiable loony. I suppose I could always follow the children around with a set of flashes, lights stands,umbrellas and a tripod. Would certainly be an icebreaker at the playground.

It's got a certain something though.

[GetCarter]

ExPat2B said:

It's got a certain something though.

So did Eva Braun.

[Simpo Two]

You could hang around in bars saying 'I've got a Hasselhof 5000 you know'

[ExPat2B]

Simpo Two said:

You could hang around in bars saying 'I've got a Hasselhof 5000 you know'

My apartment smells of rich mahogany.

[mybrainhurts]

Simpo Two said:

You could hang around in bars saying 'I've got a Hasselhof 5000 you know'

5000...? One's enough, thank you very much...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJQVlVHsFF8

NSFW...

In fact, not safe anywhere....

[ExPat2B]

DSC_5573 by pistonheads_tests, on Flickr

The deed is done !

I played with the Sigma for an hour in the shop. It is very, very sharp. And very impressive over the entire frame. However the 24-70 matches it in the middle 70% of the frame, and is as sharp as a prime in that area, it easily resolved down to single pixel level on the d810's sensor.

The chromatic aberration on the 24-70 at 24mm and f2.8 is visible in a ring around the centre 70% as blue fringing. However, you have to really push to see it, and software does a good job of correcting it, although it does mean a slight drop in sharpness. At 70mm and 2.8, my favoured setting, the chromatic aberration disappears and it is sharp across the frame.

The 24-70 wins on autofocus really comprehensively however. In low light, in AF-C mode, with focus mode enabled it easily tracked a moving subject with low contrast with 100% accuracy, with only a very slight drop in frame rate. The Sigma really struggled under the same conditions, and dropped down to only 1 fps when pushed. This was the killer decider for me as those are the conditions I will be using the camera under and this is area my D3200 really fails on.

I am hoping the best match as a dedicated landscape lens rather than a prime will be the new Tamron 15-30, which overlaps the weak areas of the 24-70....I will make another thread in due course.

D810 is fantastic overall so far, the high ISO noise is much lower than I feared it would be, its not Canon 6D good but ISO 6400 is usable, and ISO 100 is just absurdly good, massive latitude in the RAW files with overexposed/underexposed skin tones which the D3200 really struggled with.

Face recognition autofocus in the view finder really works, I set to 35mm, held the camera at waist height and ran backwards with my son following, and it focused on his eyes perfectly in almost the entire sequence.

As a bonus, it works perfectly with the TC16 A teleconverter, so my old manual Nikon lenses now have limited autofocus, and also focus trapping works, so I just hold down the shutter, point the lens at the target and it starts shooting once approximate focus is dialled in.

[K12beano]

Thanks for the update

ExPat2B said:

TC16 A

Ah yes - Nikon secret weapon that one!

[Andy M]

I've owned the D800e since it was released, and own the Nikon 24-70. I highly HIGHLY recommend you check out Sigma's Art prime lenses; the 35 and 50mm versions.

I'm no fan of Sigma (their customer service is crap, and 90% of the lenses they offer are substandard IMO), but these lenses are a work of art...excuse the pun.

The Nikon 14-24 is stupendously good too, and the Nikkor 105mm Micro is a really good portrait lens.

Sigma 50mm Art:




Nikon 105mm Micro:

[ExPat2B]

How do you find the autofocus performance of the Sigma 50mm compared to the 24-70, especially shooting bursts in low light on moving targets ? The one I tested was not able to match the 24-70 f2.8 .. I have heard that Sigma lenses are variable so it may just have been the copy I tested.

[Andy M]

ExPat2B said:

How do you find the autofocus performance of the Sigma 50mm compared to the 24-70, especially shooting bursts in low light on moving targets ? The one I tested was not able to match the 24-70 f2.8 .. I have heard that Sigma lenses are variable so it may just have been the copy I tested.

Moving targets could be an issue as it's not a sports lens - the 24-70, 70-200 and longer primes may be more suited - but the same could be said with any lens of this type.

[ExPat2B]

Thanks for that, they are really nice images you have posted, I think I will pick up a set of Sigma primes at some point. Maybe when the kids slow down a little and will pose for portraits.