Comments on: More on Nikon@Photokina

By: CK Dexter Haven

CK Dexter Haven — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:04:46 +0000

I'm hoping Nikon understands that their current 50mm lens(es) render horrible bokeh, and that that characteristic, at least, will be remedied in the newer versions. It's actually the reason i canceled my D700 pre-order, as i had intended to make a switch from my Canon 5D system.

A 35/1.4 would also be welcomed. As a Canon shooter, i've always been surprised and disappointed that Nikon hasn't offered an AF 35/1.4 lens. I'm also shocked there's no fast 28mm, other than the long discontinued, ridiculously priced 28/1.4. Maybe that should be addressed, as well.

As for an above comment, comparing a potential new Nikon 50/1.4 to the Sigma...well, the Sigma is a very large lens. I think it has a 77mm filter size. Hopefully, any new Nikon 50 will be somewhere in the 52 to 58mm range. Of course, a 1.2 version would be received very well, regardless of the sensors' increasing capabilities re: high ISO.

By: Steven Sow

Steven Sow — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:22:25 +0000

That's something I've always wondered as well, why Nikon let the 35 1.4 sit forever as a manual focus lens, a classic lens, but one that horribly needs to be updated.

I have always been jealous of Canon shooter's choice of lens offerings, particularly the 24 and 35 1.4, there's no reason why Nikon shouldn't have at least one ultra fast wide angle. A updated AF-S, reasonably affordable 28 1.4 would be nice, at least something to maybe bring down the used price of the old 28.

I'm happy with my D300, but I would love to have some AF-S fast prime glass to use on it, with no VR, puting AF-S, Nano coating and ED elements would make the price tag high enough without adding VR into the equation.

By: Hayzen

Hayzen — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:14:35 +0000

I was planning on buying a D80 but found out it can’t meter light with the old non-cpu lenses unlike the D200/D300. Do you think the D90 will be able to meter light with non-cpu lenses or they will only keep this feature for the D?00 series?

By: peter

peter — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:47:32 +0000

all professional means is that i get paid for my work. there are MANY different types of professionals though and not all of them have the same needs. a professional sports shooter has vastly different needs from a wedding photographer for example.

people that shoot with a 24mp d3x will typically be studio photographers or at the very least, pros that shoot in a very specific and controlled environment and therefore have a competely different need to me or a sports shooter. no studio pro shoots at iso6400 or even iso800. and these guys shoot at critical aperture, (ie: the sharpest, best performing optical area of the lens).

you will never see a studio guy shooting at 1.4. never.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:54:24 +0000

You said “…pro’s with a d3x wont be using these primes anyway…”

and “….as a wedding photographer with a d300 and a d3, i’m the one that needs the fast primes for low light and dof…”

Doesn’t that make you a professional?

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:52:05 +0000

All of Nikon’s 50′s produce some degree of bad bokeh. The 50mm f/1.4, in all current versions, is perhaps the worst in that regard. The f/1.2 and f/2 versions produce the softest (i.e. having the least noticeable “rings” on the OOF highlights) rendering. I do agree that a f/1.2 would be prohibitively expensive. I could see Nikon releasing a 50mm f/1.4, and *maybe* an f/1.2 somewhere down the line, but it wouldn’t be anytime soon.

By: Blog Admin

Blog Admin — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:49:23 +0000

I corrected, but remember that this was not written by nikonrumors.com, but by one of our sources.

By: Z

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:50:19 +0000

/fail

By: RobJ

RobJ — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:16:01 +0000

Fast lenses are not going away. All I’m saying is, Nikon is not likely to make another f1.2 lens. There just isn’t enough of a market for a lens like that, and Nikon f1.4 lenses produce spectacular DOF. In fact, Nikon’s last f1.2 lens was not even considered very good.

By: PHB

PHB — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:13:40 +0000

The Nikon Rumors article is way off. The actual primes are

35 f/1.2
85 f/1.0

and...

50 f/0.7

The last one comes with a special engraving round the edge which loosely translated reads, 'Dear Canon, to work most excellent where the sun does not shine'.

The main evidence that this is indeed the case comes from the fact that Nikon has spent a quite enormous sum hiring Stanley Kubrik (Barry Lyndon &ct) to introduce the lens personally at Photokina. As his agent put it, 'Stanley, famously reluctant to take such engagements, had become only more so since his death. But this was simply too attractive to pass up'.

Nikon is also believed to be planning to show a revised version of their famous 1968 2000mm reflex Nikor, a 10,000 mm version with an aperture of f/22. Weighing just under a ton, the lens is two meters long and almost a meter in diameter. Custom built to order, it will be the first professional lens ever to be offered in the customer's own choice of color. If will also be the first Reflex-Nikor to be equipped with VR technology for hand held use.

The new cameras to be announced are equally exciting. In addition to the 20MP D3x with the FX format sensor there will also be a 18MP D3y introducing an entirely new LX sensor format with a 4/3" sensor that provides a 2x crop factor.

The D3y is already being referred to as the 'D3 why did they bother' since making use of the staggering pixel density requires an f/5.6 lens or bigger to avoid diffraction effects. A significant limitation for a lens likely to be used with exotic telephotos.

By: Blog Admin

Blog Admin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:50:51 +0000

I could not have said it better. Agree 100%. The only addition I have is sometimes people want to buy the best so they don’t have to update for a long time. If a D40 owner buys a Nikon AF-S prime lens, he/she can upgrade all the way to D3 and still use this lens. A good lens can outlive many bodies – that’s why it is worth spending more money on glass.

By: peter

peter — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:49:18 +0000

pro's with a d3x wont be using these primes anyway. they normally shoot in a studio which means they dont need to minimise distractions with a shallow dof, dont USE shallow dof for their commercial shoots and use strobes so dont need fast glass or fast af. they will use the zooms. either the 70-200 or 24-70. the 24-70 is perfect. the 70-200 needs the update due to the vignetting issue on FX.

as a wedding photographer with a d300 and a d3, i'm the one that needs the fast primes for low light and dof.

nikon must do something about this. using screw driven lens' in a quiet church with pedestrian speed AF is a disgrace in this day and age.

By: cbp

cbp — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:21:07 +0000

sounds realistic. hope they work on the 20 mm as well sometime soon.

By: richard p

richard p — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:09:44 +0000

Totally agree. These possible primes are unlikely to be like your $150 plastic 50mm. They will be designed with pro use in mind, besides I imagine Nikon are thinking very few of their D40/X/60 users will be bothering with prime lenses. Of course there will be people out there who like primes in that category, but Nikon know the majority will be using zoom lenses.

By: Lka

Lka — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:26:43 +0000

Since the majority of people buying the D3X would probably be working in very controlled environments, i.e. studio and can decide their distance to their subject in advance, they would want the highest possible quality to match their 24MP chip and they will probably know 2 weeks in advance which focal length they will be using in that exact shoot according to the look and feel they are after, along with lighting and all the rest. So IF theres a D3X and IF Nikon gives out prime lenses at the same time, those lenses will have the image quality and the price to match. They will be the "no-compromise" solution in terms of image quality for professionals, not something you put on your D40 to take pictures of your kids because it gives you AF-S. These lenses would be so far away from a Sigma 30mm in terms of quality nobody would even consider judging them against each other.

The other thing is that primes are also where the know-how of the company is measured. Nobody cares if consumer zoom from company X is better than the one from company Y, but the company that has the sharpest 50mm gains status. The Nikon primes are long overdue for modernizing, I hope the reason it has taken so much time is because they have honed and honed the design to create something that is at the very edge of what can be created with todays technology.

Waiting with moderate exitement.

LKA

By: Matthew Saville Photography

Matthew Saville Photography — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:12:23 +0000

Sadly, as much as I WOULD love to see a 70-200 mk2, an 80-400 mk2, and some f/1.4 primes, to compliment a pro-system-completing D3X, I don't think it'll happen. Maybe one or two pro lenses, like a 70-200 mk2 and an 85 1.4 AFS, but Nikon would be wisest to release a D90 for consumers to gobble up this holiday season.

Like I said, I'm dying for the pro stuff. In fact the glorious D700 has no allure to me WITHOUT more pro FX glass. But I just don't think we're going to see ALL this predicted pro gear...

=Matt=

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:25:54 +0000

There are also those of us who still like to use fast lenses to isolate depth of field.

By: MoJo

MoJo — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:02:23 +0000

Maybe I am slow (pun intended!), but I don’t understand the idea that we no longer need fast lenses because of digital cameras’ high ISO performance. We may not need them for the traditional genres, but we can always push the envelope and find darker places with faster movements.

By: RobJ

RobJ — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:09:48 +0000

I’ll be surprised if Nikon ever releases an f1.2 lens again. With high ISO performance constantly improving, there’s really just no need in the digital era for a lens that fast.

By: Eric

Eric — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:46:02 +0000

I don’t think Nikon is aiming any of these lenses at the mass/dx market. If the D3x is released then Nikon will have three FX bodies in its lineup and those users are going to want “classic” prime focal lengths. The D40/60 buyers have the Sigma 30mm and the zillion of slow-ish zooms to choose from.