early in the day, the postman delivered my belated birthday toy from photojojo. with big plans to release my unintentional psychological grip on perfect photos (what is a perfect photo anyway?), i put it on the d200 and got the twins ready to join the big kids at the park. i will have to do a review on that lens in another blog post for 2 reasons.
the first being, i really have no clue what i am doing and i would actually like to have some photos that i actually like before i compile my thoughts.
and the second, the ups-delivery-guy-by-proxy showed up (just as i returned home) with the50mm f/1.4g
it was hard to pick what to play with as i usually don’t have any new toys, but the 50 that trumped the diana in the end.
santa came early in australia!
i went and grabbed bottles for the babies and just let them have their milk in the pram while i opened up the box. luckily i happened to place those babies just by a window and strapped into their seats happy with their milk, they were perfect little models for my first shots with the new 50. while i usually do not shoot at maximum aperture, i had to see what this lens could do. it was so smooth and quiet, these shots make me very happy.
but then my models went to bed. and while i was very happy that they went to bed, don’t get me wrong. naps are a very good thing, but it left me with a dearth of people to photograph.
so…
i am going to have to figure out if it is my old eyeballs, or if the lens slightly front focuses at maximum aperture. doesn’t really matter as it is just a teeny tiny bit and with a razor fine area of focus, it is most probably user error (ie: my old eyeballs.)
i heard that the lens had a bad reputation for slow focus. after a week of shooting with my tamron 90mm macro
i like the feel of the lens. it sure looks like there is a lot more going on there on the front of my camera now compared to the old (OLD!) 50mm f/1.8.
i am thrilled with the purchase and am excited to put it to good use for the next 15 years.
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Holy depth of field, Batman! Miz Booshay got her 1.4 earlier this year and I remember her commenting that it took a bit of getting used to. She loves it though from what I've read on her flickr. I love my 50mm lens, it's my favourite. Although I have the f/1.8 and it's on a DX camera.
i will have to take a look…maybe she will share her thoughts here.
Excellent! Seems like your putting it to good use already. You and I are the same – getting so much use out of equipment. Anytime I'm on a professional shoot with another photographer or an assistant who knows (probably more than I do) and I bring out the D200, I feel them silently judging me. I get the shots though, so who cares?
As for the 50mm 1.4. That's what I'm after! So I already have the 50mm 1.8 and it is my baby. It was cheap and yet it remains my joint favourite lens. I just wasn't sure it was worth the money to pay for the 1.4? It's a lot for a struggling freelancer who is also saving for a Mac Book and flights to Houston and Los Angeles. But perhaps you can convince me I'm missing out on lens heaven with it?
Can't wait to see all your holiday snaps! It'll be fun to relive Christmas through the joys of photoblogging children!
Happy holidays from me to you, Rachel (& all your clan). x
i really had a hard time spending the money on this lens when i already had the 1.8…even if it was so old. the thing that convinced me was the 1.8 started to fail. it is really soft around the edges and that will not do. i need to get out and actually shoot with this new one some more to give a full report. the shots here are the only ones i have taken with it so far…not enough for a full report, but enough to ease my mind that it was a good buy. for me.
I have been wanting this lens for a long time and I have to admit I was a waiting for after the holidays to get it and to see what you thought. Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts about this lens.
And I agree, naps are a GOOD thing! My son is transitioning out of his one nap a day… And all I can think of is when will i get to knit now?;)
I was completely in love with my (canon) 50 mm 1.8. Yes, it was cheap, which was good for a struggling amateur, and plastic, but it was a great start. Then, through an unfortunate series of events caused by me, my camera took a flying leap from the top of the fridge and landed on my 1.8 lens. It exploded all over the kitchen floor and never breathed again. So, when replacing the lens, I decided to upgrade to the 1.4. I had a little more money at that point, and canon’s 1.4 is only a couple hundred dollars more than the 1.8 (because they still have the 1.2L out there to charge a lot of money for), and I’ve never been happier. It is SO sharp, it sings. I still get giddy when I open up new images on my computer. It still suprises me how good it is. But yeah, nailing anything at 1.4 is super hard. Your depth of field is so razor thin that once you lock the focus, almost any movement on your or the subject’s part will put it out of focus. Even breathing can move you enough to be out of focus, especially if you’re shooting something up close to the lens.
Happy experimenting!! =]
Looks very nice; I don't mind if the lens frontfocus a little. In fact I would love it to do so!
Nice gift; a 50mm F1.4 in any flavor is a wonderful lens to have!
Nice shots of the kiddos. I love Kieran's brown eyes as much as I love Clover's blue eyes. Nice lens. I don't have a digital SLR and my old Minolta X370 was ebayed a long time ago, even though the shutter didn't work. I have no words of wisdom about the lens. I use a Canon Powershot S3 IS.
I know you already made the purchase but if you find the Nikon 50mm is soft wide open and near it you might want to return it and get the Sigma (http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-50mm-Nikon-Digital-Ca... I had the Nikon and after continuous frustration with the lack of sharpness and reading a few reviews that noted the Sigma was better for portraits I returned the Nikon and went with the Sigma. I did so reluctantly because I hated to get non-Nikon glass, but I've had it since the summer and have not regretted it for a second. Just a thought!
Happy Holidays to you and yours! You e-card is precious. See you in our forum!
hmmmm, will have a look. interesting. i have never gone with sigma before. did not ever hear anything good, but i trust your opinion, so i may have a look. i am a tamron girl for non nikon glass.
Tried to find the reviews. Here's one: http://www.bythom.com/Sigma-50-HSM-lensreview.htm
"If central performance and bokeh (e.g. portraits) is most important to you, I'd slightly favor the Sigma. If overall performance is most important to you, I'd slightly favor the Nikkor. Autofocus performance is slightly faster on the Sigma at the expense of manual focus precision."
I agree re: the Sigma brand. I've heard that they have improved their quality control. Nonetheless it's just something I want to put out there for you. I don't really want to be the one swaying you either way.
For me personally shooting wide open is the deciding factor. I want the sharpest images I can get and Nikon wasn't giving it to me. Maybe I had a bad copy?
I have one of those!
I got it at a Christmas bazaar
see, now i rarely shoot completely wide open, so it may not be a huge deal for me. i kept getting bad copies of the nikon 85mm, so that is why i returned it for the tamron 90mm that i love. i think this 50 will stay, but i am always curioius to hear other people's impressions!
Well there it is!
It probably doesn't matter for you.
Oh my god, you're saying pram
.. .
Beautiful shots of the ever beautiful babies. it's been so long since i saw them and i saw them for a day, i still miss them!
Wow Rachel! You sure are one lucky woman. You have a beautiful family with a great talent. Clover is looking so cute! For some reason, she kind of reminds me of Gemma in the shot!
You made me laugh out loud (and not just write the acronym). Thanks!