Going to the dark side - list enclosed-- help requested

mdvaden wrote in post #18753301
I was curious why you first asked about the Tamron. It's a really good lens, but I was still wondering. I bought the Tamron 35mm and it is well worth the value. I already had a good 50mm so the Tamron 45mm was too close.

Doesn't Nikon have a 105mm that is supposed to be superb for portraits?

After two new body model changes recently, I'm starting to buy "native" after seeing incompatibility finally show its face for the first time.

Nikon does make a very nice 105mm but it is $700 more than the Sigma 105 F/1.4 at the moment. I've shot with Sigma in the past and have (knocks on wood) only had one lens I needed to send back for focus issues. I just couldn't get it dialed in...

I was asking about the 45mm as I've never shot Tamron and wanted some feedback to what owners thought of the lens.

Hatch

Many thanks Eric. I hope the lens/camera combo turns out to be a winner.


Side note... I tried to register at Nikonians and I get a registration error.... even allowing cookies?

Is the site not taking new members at the moment?


Thanks for the comments.


Hatch

Hatch1921 wrote in post #18754577
Nikon does make a very nice 105mm but it is $700 more than the Sigma 105 F/1.4 at the moment. I've shot with Sigma in the past and have (knocks on wood) only had one lens I needed to send back for focus issues. I just couldn't get it dialed in...

I was asking about the 45mm as I've never shot Tamron and wanted some feedback to what owners thought of the lens.

Hatch

I think Dustin Abbott's reviews are among the better ones, and often true-to-fact for what I see after buying a lens he has already reviewed.

Many thanks all for the help/suggestions. Now the fun begins. I still need to figure out what I'm going to do for a lens between 58mm and 200mm There is a gap... but ... no rush, lots to learn and play with at the moment.

Thanks again
Hatch

Update...

The 200-500 was sent back. The images were horrible... I purchased the Nikon 300mm PF and the images were just not right. Soft again...not as bad as the 200-500 but still off. The other lenses were marginal as well. I dialed everything in with Lens Align and tested... and tested... and tested. The camera turned out to the be the culprit. Something was just off with the sensor. I sent it back to B*H and purchased another body. I went straight to the zoo and the camera is a winner. Very pleased right out of the box. I almost lost my mind there for a minute. LOL

I picked up the Nikon 85mm F/1.8 off eBay and it's a nice lens... very sharp even wide open. For the money... worth it. I have an older 180mm on the way from Ebay as well... it's supposed to be "mint", we shall see.


All in all... very pleased I made the move to Nikon. It was a bumpy start but... no regrets.

Hatch

Hatch, you got on so well with Zeiss glass when you shot Canon. Did you skip over the possibility of an a99ii with Zeiss primes because of the questions surrounding a-mount’s future?

The 50 and 135ZA approach the quality of their EF counterparts, with AF as a very nice bonus. As far as lightly-used a-mount gear has fallen in price, it is now priced fairly IMO vs the crazy new pricing.

mickeyb105 wrote in post #18778574
Hatch, you got on so well with Zeiss glass when you shot Canon. Did you skip over the possibility of an a99ii with Zeiss primes because of the questions surrounding a-mount’s future?

The 50 and 135ZA approach the quality of their EF counterparts, with AF as a very nice bonus. As far as lightly-used a-mount gear has fallen in price, it is now priced fairly IMO vs the crazy new pricing.

Zeiss glass = amazing! I was fully set on going Sony when I decided to dive into photography again. The A7r3 is what I had in mind, until, I tried one at a local camera shop. The ergonomics just didn't do it for me. It felt like a day of shooting with it would cause blisters as nutty as they might sound. I know it's very popular camera...and for good reason. Being able to adapt lenses is what attracted me to Sony in the first place. I also wanted IBIS...

The a-mount didn't concern me, I was hoping to not move from Canon but they didn't have anything camera wise which was attractive to me. The released the EOS R about the same time I was shopping and Nikon came out with the Z7...and IMO...they are still behind Sony. So...I picked up the d850 and I'm really happy with the decision. I wasn't at first, with the problems on the 1st body... the second body is fantastic. It feels great in my hands with the grip... AF is dead on...and the files look like the 5Ds I was shooting.


So... to answer your question, I didn't think about the a99II being a possibility... again... I was ready to go Sony with all the amazing tech they have packed in the A series ...I just couldn't get past the feel of the camera. I didn't even explore the a99ii Maybe Nikon will fix the lag in the AF of the "Z" series, and a few other things, and I can stay Nikon when they come out with another round of mirrorless cameras? It's an exciting time with the new cameras coming out

I'm not sure if I answered the question... it's early lol

Have a fun day... off to work I go.
Hatch

Hatch1921 wrote in post #18778668
Zeiss glass = amazing! I was fully set on going Sony when I decided to dive into photography again. The A7r3 is what I had in mind, until, I tried one at a local camera shop. The ergonomics just didn't do it for me. It felt like a day of shooting with it would cause blisters as nutty as they might sound. I know it's very popular camera...and for good reason. Being able to adapt lenses is what attracted me to Sony in the first place. I also wanted IBIS...

The a-mount didn't concern me, I was hoping to not move from Canon but they didn't have anything camera wise which was attractive to me. The released the EOS R about the same time I was shopping and Nikon came out with the Z7...and IMO...they are still behind Sony. So...I picked up the d850 and I'm really happy with the decision. I wasn't at first, with the problems on the 1st body... the second body is fantastic. It feels great in my hands with the grip... AF is dead on...and the files look like the 5Ds I was shooting.

So... to answer your question, I didn't think about the a99II being a possibility... again... I was ready to go Sony with all the amazing tech they have packed in the A series ...I just couldn't get past the feel of the camera. I didn't even explore the a99ii Maybe Nikon will fix the lag in the AF of the "Z" series, and a few other things, and I can stay Nikon when they come out with another round of mirrorless cameras? It's an exciting time with the new cameras coming out

I'm not sure if I answered the question... it's early lol

Have a fun day... off to work I go.
Hatch

I don’t think anyone can fault you for choosing the D850, as it (in?)arguably the best DSLR ever made. I played with one at a Best Buy in Orlando and WOW—the build, the rear layout and the viewfinder were just as good as it gets. There are times when I see grey model D850 bodies on eBay for $2300 new and only fear of getting divorced keeps me from clicking buy!! (jk/kinda)

Regarding the gen III FE-mount bodies, they have come a long ways, but I do think there will be a market for a DSLR-sized body for years to come for reasons you touched on. It is a beautiful thing to have as many quality FF choices right now.

Hatch1921 wrote in post #18778668
Zeiss glass = amazing! I was fully set on going Sony when I decided to dive into photography again. The A7r3 is what I had in mind, until, I tried one at a local camera shop. The ergonomics just didn't do it for me. It felt like a day of shooting with it would cause blisters as nutty as they might sound. I know it's very popular camera...and for good reason. Being able to adapt lenses is what attracted me to Sony in the first place. I also wanted IBIS...

The a-mount didn't concern me, I was hoping to not move from Canon but they didn't have anything camera wise which was attractive to me. The released the EOS R about the same time I was shopping and Nikon came out with the Z7...and IMO...they are still behind Sony. So...I picked up the d850 and I'm really happy with the decision. I wasn't at first, with the problems on the 1st body... the second body is fantastic. It feels great in my hands with the grip... AF is dead on...and the files look like the 5Ds I was shooting.

So... to answer your question, I didn't think about the a99II being a possibility... again... I was ready to go Sony with all the amazing tech they have packed in the A series ...I just couldn't get past the feel of the camera. I didn't even explore the a99ii Maybe Nikon will fix the lag in the AF of the "Z" series, and a few other things, and I can stay Nikon when they come out with another round of mirrorless cameras? It's an exciting time with the new cameras coming out

I'm not sure if I answered the question... it's early lol

Have a fun day... off to work I go.
Hatch

Congrats and I like you left Canon a few years ago. I agree with you about Zeiss glass. I prefer Leica lenses. That glass and the way that Leica M works for me and the way I see and work was a huge reason for leaving the DSLR world. I never warmed up to Fuji or Sony and a true rangefinder really works for me. I now have a couple of M 10s and an M 262 and M-E for my color pro work. I pretty much see and work in B&W concerning my personal work so my MM is for that. In my opinion, and from my experience, where Canon lenses really excel is with the 200 2L (the only Canon glass I miss) the 300 2.8 and the 400 2.8. I have found that I rarely need anything that long so I sold all my Canon gear 3 years ago and went all Leica M. In my opinion, if you do a lot of wide angle photography, Leica and Zeiss glass in normal and wide lenses are a far more interesting choice. Some prefer the way Zeiss renders and some prefer Leica. I prefer Leica.

It seems like you have found equipment that best fits the way that you see and work. That is the key no matter what that may be. So congrats on that discovery. I think all the major players make equipment that can capture what any of us see. The key is being able to see. Good luck and lets see some stuff.