Jonathan F/2
All-Pro
- Location
- Los Angeles, USA
- Name
- Jonathan
* Cross posted at Fred Miranda, but I think it applies here as well!
Lately I've been getting drawn to the low prices of DSLRs and old F-mount lenses. For example when I had tested the Z6, A7III and D750, the D750 surprisingly had sharper OOC raws over the Z6 and was not too far behind the A7III. Also I've been seeing minty D700 bodies with low shutter counts selling close to $300 USD, which is still very capable of professional results. My local camera store is selling used D810 bodies for around $800-900 USD. Lastly long forgotten, but sharp F-mount AF-D lenses (especially from 3rd party lens manufacturers) can be purchased for very affordable prices. I've seen people on forums and elsewhere shooting the latest and greatest, but I think there's something to be said about maximizing cheaper gear to it's fullest potential.
What I found best with older equipment is to run the fastest memory cards possible, shoot raw, AF fine tune adjust every lens or if need be send the camera to Nikon for a focus adjustment for best results. I'm shooting a pair of D750 bodies right now that were both simultaneously calibrated by Nikon (under the worldwide shutter recall) to the exact same parameters making AF fine tune easier since I can use the same values for each lens.
Also if one isn't shooting action, center focus is the best focus point for any DSLR and the old school shoot/recompose technique does wonders for sharp images. I also do shoot with the Sony A7III, but I feel like it's forced me to shoot better with my DSLR bodies by improving technique and trying to match the focus precision of CDAF/OSPDAF cameras. Also my attraction to AF-D lenses is that they seem to take AF fine tuning much better and don't seem to have focus issues similar to built-in motor lenses like Sigma's HSM.
I'm now a bit obsessed with finding older lenses that might hold-up well in real world conditions. The cheaper the better!
My two lens finds I feel can hold up with modern lenses and cameras - the Sigma 15-30mm DG and Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8:
Pictures of the Sigma 15-30mm f3.5-4.5 EX DG Lens and the Tokina 20-35mm f2.8 AT-X Pro Lens by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
The Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro, stopped down to f/4:
LACMA and The Grove - photos taken with the D750 + Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro lens and the Sony NEX-5T + Olympus 9mm f/8 BCL fisheye lens by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
The Tokina has killer flare that new lenses try to suppress:
Sample images with the Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro lens for Nikon F-Mount by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
The Sigma 15-30mm DG tends to get moire and false colors, a sign of excellent sharpness:
190519_SILVER_LAKE_PHOTOS_FRIOLO_009 by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
The Sigma is still plenty wide for most uses:
190519_SILVER_LAKE_PHOTOS_FRIOLO_005 by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
DSLRs are sexy dinosaurs especially with old lenses - 105mm 2.5 AI-S and 50mm 1.8 AI-S all-metal Japanese edition:
180213_gear_porn_004 by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
Lately I've been getting drawn to the low prices of DSLRs and old F-mount lenses. For example when I had tested the Z6, A7III and D750, the D750 surprisingly had sharper OOC raws over the Z6 and was not too far behind the A7III. Also I've been seeing minty D700 bodies with low shutter counts selling close to $300 USD, which is still very capable of professional results. My local camera store is selling used D810 bodies for around $800-900 USD. Lastly long forgotten, but sharp F-mount AF-D lenses (especially from 3rd party lens manufacturers) can be purchased for very affordable prices. I've seen people on forums and elsewhere shooting the latest and greatest, but I think there's something to be said about maximizing cheaper gear to it's fullest potential.
What I found best with older equipment is to run the fastest memory cards possible, shoot raw, AF fine tune adjust every lens or if need be send the camera to Nikon for a focus adjustment for best results. I'm shooting a pair of D750 bodies right now that were both simultaneously calibrated by Nikon (under the worldwide shutter recall) to the exact same parameters making AF fine tune easier since I can use the same values for each lens.
Also if one isn't shooting action, center focus is the best focus point for any DSLR and the old school shoot/recompose technique does wonders for sharp images. I also do shoot with the Sony A7III, but I feel like it's forced me to shoot better with my DSLR bodies by improving technique and trying to match the focus precision of CDAF/OSPDAF cameras. Also my attraction to AF-D lenses is that they seem to take AF fine tuning much better and don't seem to have focus issues similar to built-in motor lenses like Sigma's HSM.
I'm now a bit obsessed with finding older lenses that might hold-up well in real world conditions. The cheaper the better!
My two lens finds I feel can hold up with modern lenses and cameras - the Sigma 15-30mm DG and Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8:
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Pictures of the Sigma 15-30mm f3.5-4.5 EX DG Lens and the Tokina 20-35mm f2.8 AT-X Pro Lens by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
The Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro, stopped down to f/4:
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
LACMA and The Grove - photos taken with the D750 + Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro lens and the Sony NEX-5T + Olympus 9mm f/8 BCL fisheye lens by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
The Tokina has killer flare that new lenses try to suppress:
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Sample images with the Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro lens for Nikon F-Mount by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
The Sigma 15-30mm DG tends to get moire and false colors, a sign of excellent sharpness:
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
190519_SILVER_LAKE_PHOTOS_FRIOLO_009 by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
The Sigma is still plenty wide for most uses:
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
190519_SILVER_LAKE_PHOTOS_FRIOLO_005 by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
DSLRs are sexy dinosaurs especially with old lenses - 105mm 2.5 AI-S and 50mm 1.8 AI-S all-metal Japanese edition:
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
180213_gear_porn_004 by Jonathan Friolo, on Flickr
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