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blonde wrote in post #10401028
yeah that is a tough call. This is why i think that every person should do their own decision making and decide whats best for them. to be honest, if i was primarily a prime user, i would not even consider switching regardless of how good the bodies are. however, since i am mostly a zoom user, Nikon already offers me all the lenses that i need (i do wish that they were a tiny bit cheaper) and that combined with the amazing D700, i am having a tough time finding reason why NOT to make the jump again.

I can understand that. And totally agree, people should just get whatever works for them. That's been my mantra for ages.

I've managed (btw. the sigma 50 and the zeiss 100) to soothe my prime woes. So I'm good. And believe it or not, I'm happier with the 70-300's bokeh than I was the 70-200's. Though the 70-300 can be frustrating with it's slower AF acquisition. But for the most part, all is well.

blonde wrote in post #10401028
yeah that is a tough call. This is why i think that every person should do their own decision making and decide whats best for them. to be honest, if i was primarily a prime user, i would not even consider switching regardless of how good the bodies are. however, since i am mostly a zoom user, Nikon already offers me all the lenses that i need (i do wish that they were a tiny bit cheaper) and that combined with the amazing D700, i am having a tough time finding reason why NOT to make the jump again.

I evaluated what I had with Canon, and had to make a difficult decision with regards to primes, particularly the 24L and 135L. The 24L I wasn't using too much, but the 135L is a sweet street lens. I decided that since I shoot street for pleasure, not for pay, it shouldn't interfere with my switch. I miss the 135L, but make do with my Nikon lenses just fine.

The D700 is a sweet body. I actually like it better than the D3, at least on some things. It's really a great combo of price and function.

peterbj7 wrote in post #10401052
Wouldn't it be wonderful if manufacturers could standardise lens mounts etc so you could use any manufacturer's lenses on any manufacturer's body? Then we'd see real competition for quality - people could choose the best body and the best lens without bothering about issues of compatibility.

Ahh, Nirvana! But perfectly possible, if the will were only to be there.

that would be truly wonderful

Permagrin wrote in post #10401063
I can understand that. And totally agree, people should just get whatever works for them. That's been my mantra for ages.

I've managed (btw. the sigma 50 and the zeiss 100) to soothe my prime woes. So I'm good. And believe it or not, I'm happier with the 70-300's bokeh than I was the 70-200's. Though the 70-300 can be frustrating with it's slower AF acquisition. But for the most part, all is well.

Perm, you mentioned the "nervous" bokeh several times now and I am glad you did b/c I feel the same way. There's just something about the bokeh that bothers me a little. 85 1.4 D is a lens I would not call silky smooth. Not when I have experienced the 85L!

Seems like the newer Nikon lenses improve on this.

nicksan wrote in post #10401089
Perm, you mentioned the "nervous" bokeh several times now and I am glad you did b/c I feel the same way. There's just something about the bokeh that bothers me a little. 85 1.4 D is a lens I would not call silky smooth. Not when I have experienced the 85L!

Seems like the newer Nikon lenses improve on this.

I think that too.
I was surprised that no one ever mentioned it, but I think that it was because most of the nikon people have never shot canon glass. There is a difference. Especially in busy backgrounds. I noticed it the most on my 70-200 and the 85 1.4. There may be other lenses that do it but I either haven't noticed it or don't have them.

by the way, I had the old 70-200. I don't know if the new one does it.

Permagrin wrote in post #10401225
by the way, I had the old 70-200. I don't know if the new one does it.

I haven't noticed it on the new one. At least not on the level of the 85 1.4 D. I don't get it with the 85 1.4 D. It must be some kind of owner's pride. I've seen that thing described as the "Silk machine" or "Milky smooth", etc. I completely disagree with all of that. As you put it, the bokeh is "nervous". It just doesn't have the same kind of magic the 85L does.

That said, I love my 24-70. Nice and smooth. The 105VR and 200VR as well. Same reason I like my Sigma 50 1.4.

while I am at times frustrated with the 70-300's slower af, this is it's closeup bokeh (and the green background very busy....loads of sticks and leaves)

I agree. The second shot has that nice "pop" do the image. Nice separation of the subject from the BG. Looks like a nice lens. I know someone who has it and he's very happy with it as well.

the thing I notice with nikon lenses...I think the bokeh would be considered "creative" like the old 50 1.2 and the old 35 1.4. I really like the bokeh on those lenses. I wish the 50 was sharp at 1.2 but, no matter what they say, it's not.

I'm using flower shots because they are busy backgrounds...

50 1.2 but it's still not smooth, it reminds me of a painting. I almost wish I'd kept this one.

^ I think those are fine samples Lisa. You aren't happy with the 85?

I'm curious to find out what Ben thinks of his 24 1.4 bcoz' I just picked up the 24 1.4 MK II and I'm loving it so far.

jdizzle wrote in post #10401390
^ I think those are fine samples Lisa. You aren't happy with the 85?

I don't love it Julian. No. It's slow focusing, so that frustrates me. And I find that I get a narrower dof on my zeiss 100 F2 than I do with the nikon 85 1.4.

Now my husband has the 85 in his kit. He likes it fine but said he's not opposed to selling it and picking up the sigma 85 when it comes out (we both like the sigma 50)

jdizzle wrote in post #10401408
I'm curious to find out what Ben thinks of his 24 1.4 bcoz' I just picked up the 24 1.4 MK II and I'm loving it so far.

I saw a thread where someone was complaining about the "ca" on the new 24 1.4II. I couldn't believe it. I really thought it was a joke. It's SO minimal for a wide angle. My gosh. And the bokeh is stunning.

If I was shooting canon now, I would own the 24 1.4II, the 70-200 F4IS (I MISS that lens) the zeiss 100 F2. I don't like the canon wide angle zooms. So I'm not sure what I would do for that. I wouldn't own the sigma 50 because I'm convinced they don't work very well with canon cameras.

Here's one from the 85 1.4 D at f1.4.