Out with Canon, in with Nikon (I hope)

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Out with Canon, in with Nikon (I hope)

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amusingmia

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Joined: Mar '12
Posts: 6
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Hello Nikon users. I ask for your help here as I have always been a Canon shooter

way back to the days of the A-1 film camera which I still love and own.
I am familiar with Canon's offerings of camera's and lenses but unfortunately not

Nikon's.
My last Canon was the 5D Mark II and it was fine. At the very last I shot with a 28-

70mm F2.8L and the Canon 70-200 F4L IS. They were not my very favorite lenses but

they were adequate for my needs.
Currently, I am shooting with a Pentax 67ii and scanning the results into digital

form, but I am getting really tired of carrying a tripod around as my spine and

neck both need surgery.
I was hoping Canon would release a 5d MarkIII with a higher pixel count but they

have not done that. Instead, they released a camera without a noticeable pixel

count increase, raised the price by a thousand dollars and expect loyal customers

to just jump on it without question. Well, not gonna happen with me.
I print my images at the very least at 13 by 19 inches and the larger file size

appeals to me (seems logical to me I would get better results, especially in the

area of sharpness). Posting small images on the internet is not really my goal when

taking images.
I have been looking around and came across the Nikon D800 with a desireable

pixel count but am a little confused by what I've been reading. Will it or will it not

produce superior quality images? Nikon has posted a pdf that I downloaded and

read and it seems to say that in order to get the best results, you must use live view

and a tripod. I'm a little distressed as the price of digital medium format systems is

prohibitive. I can just barely convice myself to spend $3000 on a body if it will

deliver the results I desire. Yes, I know, glass plays an important role in quality and I

also ask for assistance in this area.
I rely on this site heavily as far as decision making goes:
http://www.photozone.de/nikon_ff ..

Here are the Nikon lenses I am considering and why. Any input I can get would be

deeply appreciated.

50mm f/1.4G AF-S - Standard lenses in general are usually pretty good and always

handy to have.
Nikkor 20mm f/2.8D (for the very rare wide image)
Micro-Nikkor AF-S 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR . This would be my walk around lens and

probably primary lens(keep in mind I'm not really a macro shooter but the ability

could come in handy). If I could find an 85mm lens in this price range without

fringing, I would probably make that my primary lens.

Thanks very much, Mia

Posted 1 year ago #
tcole1983

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Well you aren't the first person to make another post about how they shot Canon and now they want the D800. I personally don't see your point in wanting it. Your print sizes don't equate to needing a 36 MP camera. You can make 19" prints with a D3000.

That said I can't see why you couldn't shoot the D800 just like any other camera. Of course you will still need good photography techniques...fast shutter speeds handheld or a tripod for slow shutter speeds. I think the biggest concern with the high MP count is that it will make any bad techniques more pronounced and not as sharp. There is a D800 thread if you want to read more http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=4860

Lenses...Nikon makes equals to the 2 Canon lenses you have. Although there is no 70-200 F4, the Nikon 70-200 F2.8 is a superior lens. The 50 F1.4G is a good lens. There is a new 85 F1.8G that seems like it is pretty good. The 105 F2.8 VR is a great lens. I don't know anything about the 20 F2.8D, but the 14-24 F2.8 is an awesome lens. If you want to spend the money there are great Nikon lenses that are available.

Posted 1 year ago #
Yetibuddha

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Joined: Oct '11
Posts: 466
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amusingmia,

Just to let you know, I have the 20mm f2.8. it works well on my D700. Most of my shots of landscapes in the PAD thread use it, so you may want to check out those to take a look at some real life sample images, and images captured principally on cross-country skiis with no tripod. But as TCole says, much of image quality depends on your technique and compositional skills.

Posted 1 year ago #
jorgen

junior member
Joined: Mar '12
Posts: 7
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so you leave a 5Dmk2 with standard and telezoom to go to a high-MP nikon with 3 primes. i can understand the weight-issue very good. but i doubt, a DSLR is your solution. i would check the new fuji-system X100 with interchangable lenses, that should give you enough resolution for printing, as tcole pointed out.

photozone.de is a good resource, i would trust their recommendations, but do not forget, they do lab-tests. important is how your hand and eye like a lens.

the AF-D 20/2.8 is a sturdy and compact lens. i used it for 2 years, but replaced it for a 16-35 VR. 20mm is very special, check out, if this is your personal kind of wideangle-flavor- it was not mine, i would get a 24mm or a 18 mm.

most important thing may be: a D800 will really show the weaknesses of lenses. i would not expect too much from the 20mm/2.8 on a D800.

Posted 1 year ago #
kyoshinikon

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Which lenses jorgen? More Nikkors can resolve at high pixel pitches wide open than Canon "L" lenses... It is true that the current "pro" lenses resolve better than some of the older stuff which is the downside. I use a 14-24mm and while amazing, it is quite the heavy beast. From what I know the current 85mm f1.4 is both sharp at that resolution and it has practically no vignetting at f/1.8

Posted 1 year ago #
amusingmia

junior member
Joined: Mar '12
Posts: 6
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I thank you all for the feedback you have provided. I especially appreciate being reminded about higher pixel count being tied to technique.
If I could afford it, I would go with the Pentax 645d even though the lenses available are very limited. Part of the question I was asking was about opinions on whether a particular lens would be able to take advantage of the increased pixel count as not all lenses have the resolving power. I liked much the look of Nikon's 135mm f2 lens but have no idea what Nikon users think of that lens.
I do not have unlimited funds so I need the best that I can get at a reasonable price.
As for prime lenses, yes, I am prone to like primes better. I can walk closer or farther away to get the distance right.
Again, thanks for any and all input, Mia

Posted 1 year ago #
msmoto

big gun cougar
Joined: Mar '10
Posts: 2,736
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The 135mm f/2.0 is a banger! I use one on a D90... Very sweet lens. And of course it will get its workout on my new camera. The new 85mm f/1.8 G also is fantastic and is very reasonably priced. Check out PAD March portrait at 1/25th sec wide open, ISO 1600, under the most awful lights.... overhead dimmed chandeliers.

But the 135mm I just put one on Flicker for you

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/6804211178/in/photostream

And this is only a 1.3MB file. Blow it up and look at the eyelashes.....

....we Nikon folks are just sooo.... nice....

Posted 1 year ago #
amusingmia

junior member
Joined: Mar '12
Posts: 6
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Thank you msmoto!

Posted 1 year ago #
TaoTeJared

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Joined: Apr '10
Posts: 2,422
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@ amusingmia - what subjects do you shoot? Just kind of hard to suggest any lenses from what you posted.

"Will it or will it not produce superior quality images? Nikon has posted a pdf that I downloaded and read and it seems to say that in order to get the best results, you must use live view and a tripod."

There are a lot of people spreading this around who have no clue what they are talking about - if you can handhold a digi cam (who's pixels are tighter) then you can easily handhold a D800. I have now seen 100's of shots that are much better than anything before it in detail. The D3s and D4 beat it on high iso of course.

As for lenses, CAs on Nikon glass is very, very minimal. The 20mm is a good lens but is an older design and is not as sharp on the edges as others. The 50mm f/1.4G AF-S and 105VR are both great lenses as are all the primes (except the 28mm 2.8 - that one is a dog).

Posted 1 year ago #
amusingmia

junior member
Joined: Mar '12
Posts: 6
offline

Hello TaoTeJared!
Sigh. I had this all typed out and it was lengthy but IE9 crashed so here I go again.
Oh my. What do I shoot? Well, maybe what don't I shoot is a better answer but the reason for my interest in the D800 would primarily be land/seascapes with a long dof and much detail. MF works well for that but lugging the P67ii around is quite the chore on casual shooting days.
Color fringing is my biggest bugaboo. Nothing will make me dump a lens faster than purple fringing. I simply do not accept that.
Anyway, figuring out the lenses is difficult as I have no experience with Nikon. Stuck with Canon a long time since I knew their lenses well.
Thanks for any help you can provide!
Mia

Posted 1 year ago #
MikeWhis

preferred member
Joined: Mar '12
Posts: 131
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amusingmia said:
Hello Nikon users. I ask for your help here as I have always been a Canon shooter

way back to the days of the A-1 film camera which I still love and own.
I am familiar with Canon's offerings of camera's and lenses but unfortunately not

Nikon's.
My last Canon was the 5D Mark II and it was fine. At the very last I shot with a 28-

70mm F2.8L and the Canon 70-200 F4L IS. They were not my very favorite lenses but

they were adequate for my needs.
Currently, I am shooting with a Pentax 67ii and scanning the results into digital

form, but I am getting really tired of carrying a tripod around as my spine and

neck both need surgery.
I was hoping Canon would release a 5d MarkIII with a higher pixel count but they

have not done that. Instead, they released a camera without a noticeable pixel

count increase, raised the price by a thousand dollars and expect loyal customers

to just jump on it without question. Well, not gonna happen with me.
I print my images at the very least at 13 by 19 inches and the larger file size

appeals to me (seems logical to me I would get better results, especially in the

area of sharpness). Posting small images on the internet is not really my goal when

taking images.
I have been looking around and came across the Nikon D800 with a desireable

pixel count but am a little confused by what I've been reading. Will it or will it not

produce superior quality images? Nikon has posted a pdf that I downloaded and

read and it seems to say that in order to get the best results, you must use live view

and a tripod. I'm a little distressed as the price of digital medium format systems is

prohibitive. I can just barely convice myself to spend $3000 on a body if it will

deliver the results I desire. Yes, I know, glass plays an important role in quality and I

also ask for assistance in this area.
I rely on this site heavily as far as decision making goes:
http://www.photozone.de/nikon_ff ..

Here are the Nikon lenses I am considering and why. Any input I can get would be

deeply appreciated.

50mm f/1.4G AF-S - Standard lenses in general are usually pretty good and always

handy to have.
Nikkor 20mm f/2.8D (for the very rare wide image)
Micro-Nikkor AF-S 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR . This would be my walk around lens and

probably primary lens(keep in mind I'm not really a macro shooter but the ability

could come in handy). If I could find an 85mm lens in this price range without

fringing, I would probably make that my primary lens.

Thanks very much, Mia

No, it won't make it worse. Just shoot like normal cameras and display them at normal sizes and you're off to go. Only when you need to fully utilise the 36 megapixels, (which none of other dSLRs have) shoot with a good technique and lens. Diffraction is a property of lens while motion blur is a property of field of view, that's why sensor is not in the equation and will not affect your photographs. One thing you have to be aware of is the slower FPS and larger file size though.

Posted 1 year ago #
amusingmia

junior member
Joined: Mar '12
Posts: 6
offline

Hello MikeWhis and thank you very much for your input. I really do appreciate the time you took to help me!
Mia

Posted 1 year ago #
msmoto

big gun cougar
Joined: Mar '10
Posts: 2,736
offline

Here I am up at 6:30 in the morning, and have read a little on what a Pentax 67ii is, and now for my "editorial" comment.

I shoot a lot of race cars, and the Porsche folks are dear to my heart. In racing one of the key factors in winning is what we refer to as "cubic dollars." Just like an engine with large displacement puts out big horsepower in most cases, a lot of money allows the use of all the $20,000 options to be fitted, each of which may be worth 0.1 seconds on a four mile course. This is 14 feet at 100 mph, the winning margin.

Riding in a race car, one cannot tell the difference in these cars. Only when going 100 mph over four miles can we really tell the difference. And a smaller displacement car on a tight course will often win over the more powerful, but heavier larger displacement cars. And again, it often is about money, hundreds of thousands of dollars to race a Porsche Cup car for a season. If you happen to screw up at the kink at Road America.... maybe even your life but most certainly it is like dropping your D3s off the top of a five story building.

My point is, if we are going to play the game, and want to win, we first spend the big bucks, go out on the track, and race. Or, see what the equipment will do. I have a lot of faith in Nikon. I do not know of any pro level Nikon which has not been a pretty good performer. Actually, much beyond any capabilities I have.

On this NRF there are as many opinions as participants and each of us has our bag of experience to go by. So, mine is with ONLY DX Nikons. But a history in film with SInar, Hasselblad, and Nikon F. I do have some of the newer Nikkors, and the 16-35mm VR f/4.0 is the one I will use to shoot landscapes with on a D4.

Darn, this is too long... my suggestion might be to get this one, as I am a believer in the VR technology to help reduce the problems of any vibrations, shake, etc. I also shoot with a Benro CF tripod rated for about 40 pounds, as in the old days we said the smaller the camera, the large the tripod. And the 20 pounds of sandbags hanging from the center column does a couple things as well... keeps it stable in the wind and dampens vibration in the tripod itself.

I cannot imagine you would be disappointed in a D800, if this is the largest camera you can take to the shoot. If I had a crew every time I shoot, which I do not, I might use Hasselblads (60MP sensor) for everything except the long lens stuff.

Again, the compromise is in how much money and how much weight can we carry..... Hope you are having a good day. And, please post some photos to PAD when you get the new D800 and let us know what and how re: the image.

Posted 1 year ago #
TaoTeJared

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Joined: Apr '10
Posts: 2,422
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amusingmia said:
Color fringing is my biggest bugaboo. Nothing will make me dump a lens faster than purple fringing. I simply do not accept that.
Anyway, figuring out the lenses is difficult as I have no experience with Nikon. Stuck with Canon a long time since I knew their lenses well.
Thanks for any help you can provide!
Mia

I hate CAs as well.
CAs (color fringing) take the color hue of the glass used. Fluorite glass (what Canon uses) creates the purple hue, Sigma uses a fluorite type compound that creates bright magenta-purple or green (from coating). Nikon uses a different glass that CAs usually take a subdued blue hue which I think is less noticeable especially when your WB is towards Daylight settings. All of which can be nullified in Adobe Lightroom easily. As a note - Sigma lenses on Nikon bodies seem to show large CAs with their zooms.

One thing Nikon has done with in camera processing is to basically remove CAs from any G lens (and most D lenses) when shooting Jpegs. Shooting Raw seems to disable this feature but it is still well controlled.

Nikon f/2.8 "D" primes (18, 20, 24, 35) do show a bit more CAs. The new G lenses much less so. Of course when you go really wide - CAs are just part of the game but I think are much more controlled then any other brand.

If you are shooting more landscapes the 16-35mm VR, 14-24mm, Tokina's ultra wide's all are just as sharp or sharper than all the primes in that range except for Zeiss glass.

Posted 1 year ago #
PB PM

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Joined: Jan '10
Posts: 2,217
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Just thought I'd mention the fact that Zeiss glass is terrible when it comes to CAs and you might not want to go that route. BTW, Tokina lenses are terrible for CA too, more so with the (lateral?) type CA which is hard to remove in post. When I shot with DX glass I had the 12-24mm F4, terrible CA even stopped down, no amount of CA removal in post could get it all.

If you use Capture NX2 to work on your RAW files CA removal is maintained, just as it would be through in camera JPEGs.

Posted 1 year ago #
amusingmia

junior member
Joined: Mar '12
Posts: 6
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I would like to thank all of you who have the taken the time to respond to my plea for help. I am very much encouraged by the friendliness and knowledge that has been afforded to me and it means alot.
Just so you all know, I have been using the NIK software for about a year and am totally in love with those tools. I will buy and use the Capture Nx software as well.
I am not normally a really wide angle shooter but on rare occasion having a wide angle lens can be very helpful.
Thank you all again, Mia

Posted 1 year ago #

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