50 mm

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Permalink Reply by Michael on March 6, 2010 at 10:41pm

Mao, I have the same $99 dollar 50mm f/1.8 (but great lens for three times as much) as Don and I don't have those issues. I am absolutely amazed by the sharpness and results I get in low light with it. I have taken photos at 2.2 and even 1.8 that were so perfect I couldn't do anything with PP to make them any better.

As for the 4.5 example you put up even if the lens was giving you it's best quality all the test that I have seen say it is at that aperture size that the (in my opinion relatively small) quality advantage that the 1.4 has over the 1.8 seems to disappear.

Have you even tried the 50mm f/1.8? Just thinking you might want to save yourself a few hundred bucks until your photos start to pay for your lenses.

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Permalink Reply by Mao on March 7, 2010 at 11:31am

@Michael- As I told you, I'm finding myself in an unexpected comfortable situation so I did not think of checking the 1.8 but even without the money factor, I kind of wonder what are the advantages of the 1.4 over it after this learning experience. And I thought that getting a faster prime would specialized it for certain occasions.

@Les- No, no. Don't worry, I don't see what would be your purpose of trying to convince me ! Having conflicting opinions (I've ask elsewhere too) made me learn a great deal. Since I don't have a lot of experience with lenses, I just wanted to check if it was normal or not. I'm now understanding better what the reviews are talking about. (speed of the AF, Longitudinal and axial CAs, flare, ghosting, hunting focus)

♥Thx everybody for sharing your knowledge♥

As I said, I will go at the store and talk to them. I will reflect upon if I exchange it for another 50 mm or not. I need to do some more tests with the 35 and the 85 to see if I really need a 50 after all...

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Permalink Reply by Michael on March 7, 2010 at 2:19pm

Mao said:

@Michael- As I told you, I'm finding myself in an unexpected comfortable situation so I did not think of checking the 1.8 but even without the money factor, I kind of wonder what are the advantages of the 1.4 over it after this learning experience. And I thought that getting a faster prime would specialized it for certain occasions.
.

Last thought - Honestly if I found myself unexpectedly in a comfortable financial situation where money was not an issue and did not already have a 50mm lens and felt a need for one I would be looking at the better build quality 1.4 version as well. If it gave me the results that I was looking for I would consider it money well spent. If not I would likely have buyers remorse, and that is what I thought I read a little of in your comments. I felt like you were searching for a reason why you weren't blown away. A feeling of "It has to be something I did wrong, because it can't be the lens!".

The reason that I entered the conversation even though I don't have a Nikon or a 50mm f/1.4 is because your experience was so much different than mine when I got my hands on my nifty fifty. When I looked at the first photos I took with mine I was like "WOW!!!!!!!" I was absolutely blown away. And two years later even after having learned a great deal more and having a much greater standard for what I consider good quality I still am. I just felt that with the hype that one hears about the 50mm f/1.4 your first experience should have at the very least matched mine. Personally the lenses that I like best and consider my better lenses are the ones that are more forgiving when I don't quite have everything perfectly set. You have been taking photos for over a year now and have learned a lot in a little amount of time. You know what's good and what's not good and you should have been blown away IMHO.

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Permalink Reply by Claudcw on March 7, 2010 at 4:30pm

oh Mao you and I are having two completely problems, as Les said, shootng something dark with a light background almost any lens will do that...you can correct it in PS under lens distortion, there two adjustment slides for chromatic aberrations...my problem are this...

And at night if I shoot anything bright witha filter on i get a green ghosting from the light source and not a lens flare...love the sharpness of the lens, so still using it but with out a filter...

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Permalink Reply by Mao on March 8, 2010 at 2:17am

You read me so well Monsieur !

Michael said:

I felt like you were searching for a reason why you weren't blown away. A feeling of "It has to be something I did wrong, because it can't be the lens!".

@Les~ Very interesting. I see your point.

@Claudcw~ Even more interesting since we have the same gear...


I did a lot of thinking.

At first, I wanted to know if it was my lack of knowledge or the lens that was the problem. I concluded that it's very difficult to judge and anyway, it isn't that important at the end because the deception occurs in extreme conditions.

I thought also of the words of a photographer I like very much that talked about lenses and your relationship with them, how you function marries either well or not with the personal capabilities of each individual lens. It's like a dating game. Some may give you love at first sight, others it takes more time to grow on you and some just ain't your type ! Doesn't mean it's a bad lens, just not "The One" for you.

All the lenses I got up to date except this 50 mm, I've gotten butterflies. Each have their flaws and special talents. When I walked around with the 50, I snap a lot less and felt like there was nothing to shoot. The day after, I happen to be strolling the same path with another lens and filled up my memory card... I don't know, I just don't see with the 50. I can get the same intimacy with the 35 and by stepping back 2 feet, I can get the same yummy buttery bokeh with the 85. It's not the money, it's to buy something you will never use. kind of stupid.

So I will take back the lens, faulty or not. Only time will let me know if I need to fill the gap between 35 and 85. For now, I think my first kit is almost complete ! I just need a few accessories... ;]

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Permalink Reply by Mao on March 8, 2010 at 2:33am

Les said:

Hope this helps and may I ask that when you posted elsewhere did anyone have a similar opinion to mine?

Yes, they did. ;]

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Permalink Reply by Claudcw on March 8, 2010 at 1:49pm

Funny Mao, because I have a different take on the 50... I used to walk with my 10-20 almost exclusively, when I got the 50 it opened a whole new world, as you said it has super sweet bokeh at high apertures, but I also find it extremely sharp. steeping back two feet for the image is not a problem, what i like most about it it's the weight and it's size and i find my photos way more intimate than before, it has made me want to shoot more people ( photographically ) as I normally shy away from the modern biped mammal called human...but again.. as soon as I take the filter off it goes away, the aberrations you are getting are normal on high contrast images and as I said PS filters/distortion/lens distortion... can be corrected there very easy.... I am keeping mine but will try diferent filters on it see it goes away..currently using a Tiffen UV filter..

Mao said:

You read me so well Monsieur !

Michael said:

I felt like you were searching for a reason why you weren't blown away. A feeling of "It has to be something I did wrong, because it can't be the lens!".

@Les~ Very interesting. I see your point.

@Claudcw~ Even more interesting since we have the same gear...


I did a lot of thinking.

At first, I wanted to know if it was my lack of knowledge or the lens that was the problem. I concluded that it's very difficult to judge and anyway, it isn't that important at the end because the deception occurs in extreme conditions.

I thought also of the words of a photographer I like very much that talked about lenses and your relationship with them, how you function marries either well or not with the personal capabilities of each individual lens. It's like a dating game. Some may give you love at first sight, others it takes more time to grow on you and some just ain't your type ! Doesn't mean it's a bad lens, just not "The One" for you.

All the lenses I got up to date except this 50 mm, I've gotten butterflies. Each have their flaws and special talents. When I walked around with the 50, I snap a lot less and felt like there was nothing to shoot. The day after, I happen to be strolling the same path with another lens and filled up my memory card... I don't know, I just don't see with the 50. I can get the same intimacy with the 35 and by stepping back 2 feet, I can get the same yummy buttery bokeh with the 85. It's not the money, it's to buy something you will never use. kind of stupid.

So I will take back the lens, faulty or not. Only time will let me know if I need to fill the gap between 35 and 85. For now, I think my first kit is almost complete ! I just need a few accessories... ;]

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