>>The 35 f/1.4 is pretty handy if that's what he's talking about.
>
> It is unclear which the original poster is referring to, but there is no
> Nikkor 35mm f1.2; the 1.4 will not meter on a D70; and the MF
> 35mm f2 (will not meter on the D70) and AF 35mm f2 are superior
> to the 35mm f1.4 at wide stops, so...

Signature
Paul Furman
http://www.edgehill.net/1
Bay Natives
http://www.baynatives.com
>>>tomm42 wrote:
>>>>>I am about to buy a Nikon D70, 2nd hand, it comes with a with zoom lens,
>>>>>the 18mm to 70mm (Nikkor), the lens that usually comes with the camera in
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>>>>>Are the images with the fixed lens going to be visually better when printed
>>>>>on 6*4?
>>>>The two prime lenses are excellent lenses, the 18-70 is considered as
>>>>the best bang for the buck in the Nikon lens line up. The 70-300 is a
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>>>>The 18-70 would be a good walk around lens. The 35 and 85 are two of
>>>>Nikon's best lenses.
>>>This 85/1.8 is not the best, that's the 85/1.4 at $1000.
>> The 85mm f1.8 AF is one HECK of a lens, as near perfect even on
>> 35mm full frame as they get (VERY sharp to the corners at all stops
>> wider than f16 or so, and at all distances - it is hard to imagine better
>> than that!).
> Just that I've heard the 85/1.4 is famous for the smooth bokeh (out-of-focus) and that's probably the main reason you'd use a lens
> of this length. If highlights in the background are not overly contrasty this may not be a noticeable difference.
Ah, I guess I go for "zing" over "bokeh"...;-)
>>>The 35 f/1.4 is pretty handy if that's what he's talking about.
>> It is unclear which the original poster is referring to, but there is no
>> Nikkor 35mm f1.2; the 1.4 will not meter on a D70; and the MF
>> 35mm f2 (will not meter on the D70) and AF 35mm f2 are superior
>> to the 35mm f1.4 at wide stops, so...
> The 35/1.4 has funny looking bokeh wide open and not perfect sharpness wide open but stopped down a bit, I understand it is better
> than the f/2 just not such a bargain for the price so the f/2 is sensible
I never liked the f1.4 as much as either f2 35mm Nikkor (both
are sharp wide open, with the corners on FF being a bit better
on the MF, at the expense of some illumination roll-off) - the 1.4
appears to be lower contrast even stopped down quite a bit...
> but if there's a deal on the 1.8 I'd be interesed, I've been looking for something in this range myself. There is an AF 35 f/2.
There is no 35mm f1.8 AF. The 35mm f2 AF is a quite good
lens...
>>>>If the price is right and the primes are AF lenses
>>>>I'd try to get all 4. The 35 on a digital camera has the image angle of
>>>>a 52mm on a 35 and the 85 an image angle of a 125mm lens on a 35. The
>>>>range below the 35mm is very nice to have as is the range above 85.
>>>>Just think you'd be set for lenses, for a long time.
>>>The two longer lenses are pretty inexpensive so yeah if the price is right
>>>it'd be a fun starter kit.
>> The 18-70 is surprisingly good, and for the 1/2 frame coverage of the
>> D70, the 70-300 f4 is more than adequate (remember when people
>> actually used to like this lens more than the better older 75-300mm???;-).
>> (See my www.ferrario.com/ruether/slemn.html Nikkor comparison list...)
--
David Ruether
ruether@verizon.net
rpn1@cornell.edu
http://www.ferrario.com/ruether
> Just that I've heard the 85/1.4 is famous for the smooth bokeh
> (out-of-focus) and that's probably the main reason you'd use a lens of
> this length. If highlights in the background are not overly contrasty
> this may not be a noticeable difference.
You've heard right! The 85mm f/1.4D is only second to the old Nikon 58mm
f/1.2 NOCT. I love mine and I must say that the DoF can be very shallow.
An inch or two forward or back can make or break a shot. This is definitely
one lens you learn to "zoom with your feet" very quickly for action shots.
Here's a "mid-flight" shot.
http://www.geocities.com/ritaberk2006/pics/Pears.jpg
Rita