My Lens Choices So Far

[Doug Jones]

I thought I'd start this one off with my current list of lenses. My film SLRs are Pentax so some new Nikon mount lenses were required. So far I have only tried some of them on a D100 as my S2 doesn't arrive until Friday :-(

These comments based on only about 10 shots per lens with the D100.

Sigma 24-70 f2.8 - a bit heavier than expected, sharp to the corners, slight warm colour caste.
Tamron 90 f2.8 macro - very sharp, very nice, neutral colour, very good 135mm equivalent portrait lens.
Nikon 28 f2.8 - very sharp, slight cool blue-green colour caste, good almost "standard" lens (42mm equiv)
Nikon 50 f1.8 - still on back order!! To be my short "portrait" tele at 75mm equiv.
Tamron 70-210 - cheap second hand and untried as yet. Hopefully get me those "nature" shots at 315 equiv tele until the bank can afford a long prime.

Just kicking things off - any back-chat very welcome. Hope the new site gets up.

All the best

[SSonnentag]

Here's what I chose to start out with:

Nikon 80-200 f2.8 ED AF-D
Tamron 24-135 3.5/5.6 SP AD
Sigma 100-300 F4 EX-IF HSM
Kenko Pro 300 3x Converter

Nikon SB-28DX Speedlight flash
Slik Pro 700DX AMT tripod

[mdemyan]

Hi Photogs:

Here is my current list.

Tamron 14 mm f 2.8 AF - Great super wide
Nikkor 18-35mm f 3.5-4.5 AF - one terrific lens, tack sharp
Tamron 28-105mm f 2.8 AF - great for indoor zoom shots
Nikkor 28-80mm f 3.5-5.6 AF - general purpose knock-about
Nikkor 50mm f 1.4 AF - nice bright portrait lens on S-2
Tamron 90mm f 2.8 - super macro and sharp lens, extended portrait lens
Nikkor 80-400mm f 4.5-5.6 AF VR - so far promises to be a great telephoto lens.

[rmirani]

My lenses, used with the S1 and now S2 (all Nikon lenses):

24mm 2.8 -- exceptional, if not very wide on digital. My favorite landscape prime lens, though when I really want to shoot wide, I use my film camera.

18-35mm Nikkor -- Very good, though when it flares it's nasty. Distortion at the wide end is considerable.

28-105mm Nikkor -- Excellent travel lens, with a good macro function. Wide open it looks bad, but stopped down at intermediate zoom (between 50 and 70) the performance is excellent.

45mm 2.8P -- a manual focus lens meant more for the Nikon film rangefinders, and overpriced, but what a lens! Excellent for environmental portraits -- terrific bokeh (better than the 50mm Nikkors), and very, very sharp.

50mm 1.4/1.8 -- I keep thinking I'll come back to these lenses, but they've been disappointments for me. I use the 45 and 60mm Nikkors 10 times more.

60mm Micro Nikkor -- One of the sharpest lenses I've ever used that doesn't have a Zeiss name on it. I didn't actually use it that much after the initial 2 months of ownership, but since I've started shooting portraits, I use it all the time, particularly for studio portraits.

85mm 1.4 -- One of the best Nikon lenses, with amazing out of focus areas and low light performance, but on my S1 the color rendition and contrast are a bit "cold". Nevertheless, I've gotten some excellent portraits, nature shots, and abstracts. Have yet to try it on the S2.

70-300 G Nikkor -- An underrated lens. Feels like a cheap third party lens with plastic everywhere, but between 80 and 200, at f6.7 and higher, it's very good with the right subjects. Wide open and at maximum zoom, it's OK at best. Good travel lens.

80-400VR -- Good lens up to around 300mm. I actually used this as my "portable" telephoto (the 80-200 was just way too heavy for handholding) on an S1, even without VR, and it was quite good, even without a tripod. Bokeh is a bit harsh, and contrast is more muted than other Nikkors, but a good lens overall. Can't wait to use the VR with the S2.

105mm f2DC -- Outstanding lens, mainly for people. Admittedly, this was bought for me as a Xmas present by my parents from a grey market dealer in Hong Kong (it's otherwise very overpriced), but I'm amazed at how good a portrait lens this is. Also, the f2 here is very useable, whereas the largest apertures on the 85mm don't seem as good.

180mm 2.8 Nikkor -- One of the very best lenses I've ever used, on any camera. Even though it's kind of an impractical length (270mm 35mm equivalent), any time I shoot with this, I always get amazing results. It's a little crazy to step back so far for a portrait with this lens, but the out of focus rendition and sharpness is just amazing. It's also very handholdable with the S1, though with the S2 that may change, given the S2's suceptibility to camera shake. Very light and a good alternative to using a beastly zoom like the 80-200 AFS.

[Tom V]

It looks like most folks that have replied have a good selection!

Currently, I have:

14mm ƒ2.8 Sigma, bought it for a job 2 days after the S2 arrived. Wiiiiiiiiiide!
20mm ƒ2.8 Nikkor, sharp workhorse for all my all personal shooting
24mm ƒ2.8 Nikkor, hardly use it since I got the 20mm, slightly scratched rear element
50mm ƒ1.9 Nikkor, hardly ever used it on film, now I use it a lot with S2.
105mm ƒ2.8 Micro Nikkor, new and fantastically sharp
35-70mm ƒ2.8 Nikkor - gotta love that constant aperature in the studio!
70-210 ƒ2.8 Apo Sigma - about 10 years old, kinda slow focusing, but sharp.
400mm ƒ5.6 Apo Tokina - about 8 years old, kinda slow focusing, dirty innards

Until today, I have only used them on my 8008s and F100. The S2 arrived today, and with its 1.5x lens factor, it is like I have 9 new lenses to get used to! Oh boy!:D

I expect to use my 105mm for most of my studio product photography.

I expect to use my 14mm and 20mm as my "normal" S2 lenses

It has turned out that I use the 50mm a lot.

[Tom V]

Originally posted by rmirani


180mm 2.8 Nikkor -- One of the very best lenses I've ever used, on any camera. Even though it's kind of an impractical length (270mm 35mm equivalent), any time I shoot with this, I always get amazing results. It's a little crazy to step back so far for a portrait with this lens, but the out of focus rendition and sharpness is just amazing. It's also very handholdable with the S1, though with the S2 that may change, given the S2's suceptibility to camera shake. Very light and a good alternative to using a beastly zoom like the 80-200 AFS.

I agree that the Nikkor 180 is a fantastic lens. Thumbing through pages of slides I shot back in the early 80s, all the shots I took with a borrowed 180 stand apart from all others. My best shots were with that lens. That lens is so sharp, and the depth of field so perfect for portraits... I wish I had one now. Although on a S2 it may be long for portraits, I am sure I would find a use for it.

[AuroraProject]

My lens collection so far...

Nikon 18-35 f/3.5-4.5 ED-IF
Nikon 50 f/1.8
Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 ED-IF
Nikon 300 f/4 AF-S ED
Nikon TC-14EII 1.4X AF-S teleconverter
Sigma 28-70 f/2.8 EX
Kenko Auto-Extension tubes

Future purchases?
I would like to purchase the Nikon 400 f/2.8 AF-S (who wouldn't!) But it is beyond my budget.
I will most likely purchase the Nikon 16mm fisheye and the Nikon 200mm macro lens next.

[Bruce Tucker]

Hello,

Well I made the choice and got my S2 about 2 weeks ago after only being on the list for 3 week. It was worth the wait and Im very pleased with the cameras performance thus far.

My previous experience in film was with Nikon N90s's which I still own and intend to continue to use along side my new S2.
My lenses are:
A trusty old 50 1.4 AI
a Sigma 28-105mm 2.8-4
a Sigma 135mm-400 4-5.6
and a recently purchased (thanks to Nikon's summer rebates) 80-200mm 2.8 AFS.

I'm considering a 1.4X teleconverter (Nikon or other) for that extra focal length when shooting sports action, any suggetions or comments ? The Nikon TC-14E looks nice but is pricey.

[critter]

I have a Nikkor 50mm1.8
Sigma 15-30 really like this lens...
Nikkor 28-105,macro very nice and sharp lens to have on the camera all the time
I am looking for the discontinued 70-210D lens if I can find that will go for the 70-300ED D lens.

Really like the S2 and I am convinced you will like it more when you have decent glass in front of it.

Tony

[Duck]

My lenses...

Nikon 24mm f/2.8D AF w/hood
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF w/hood
Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF w/hood
Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF w/hood
Nikon 28-80mm f/3.5-4.6D (wifes)

Nikon N80 and F100...

[memobug]

I'm pretty sure the Nikon converters (20 & 14E) are the only compatible teleconvertor with that lens. They are designed as an optical/mechanical/electrical system. Try something else and you may lose AFS functionality, bang glass together or worse.

Regards,

Matt

Originally posted by Bruce Tucker
...I'm considering a 1.4X teleconverter (Nikon or other) for that extra focal length when shooting sports action, any suggetions or comments ? The Nikon TC-14E looks nice but is pricey.

[amazingthailand]

My lens list:

AF Lenses:
20-35mm Nikkor
24-120mm Nikkor
28-200 LD Tamron

Non AF Lenses
24mm Nikkor
43-86 Nikkor
50mm f1.8 Nikkor

I really like wide angles. That is the only thing I do not like about the S2, the 1.5x multiplier. Great on the telephoto end, but a real killer on the wide end.

Declan

[cfeather]

I don't own an S-2 (still using my trusty Nikon F4s, which I love), but I am slowly putting together a lens system to work on both the F4s and what I hope will be an S2 or S3:

Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 AFd
Nikkor 28mm f/2 AI, won't meter on S2, but the sharpness is incredible. Can't part with this one.
Nikkor 35-70 f/2.8 AF my normal lens
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF
Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 AFd
Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 micro AIS, another manual focus too sharp to part with
Nikkor 60mm f/2.8 micro AFd
Nikkor 180 f/2.8 AF, one of my favorites
Nikkor 300mm f/4 AFd-s
Nikkor 70-300 f/4-5.6, AFd, surprisingly sharp for the money
Nikkor 28-70 f/3.5 AFd, light-weight, sharp for the money
Tamron 24-135 f/3.5, O.K., but it's for sale. Just too slow for my tastes.

I have access to a Nikon D1H at work and have used most all these lenses on that camera. Also have a 17-35 Nikkor at work. I can't say I like that lens very much and decided to go with a single W/A, the 20mm = 30mm on the S2, rather than put a lot of money into a heavy beast. The 17-35 really flares a lot, and I like shooting into the sun with my W/A.

I think I have enough lenses, probably too many. But there's a few of them I can't stand to part with. And there are a few, like the Tamron and the Nikkor 28-70, I'd like to trade off or sell.