Nikon Just Df things, seen by M shooter

[mike3996]

I am generally always having a good time with long Nikkors. They're easy to focus with any type of help.

Right now there are these holes in my prime selection: 180/200 and 300. Perhaps 180/2.8 + 200/4 Macro could be something. And the 28/2 I might even sell -- I am having similar frustration with it that I did with the 20/1.8. These lenses and how they are focused never seem to achieve Leica-level qualities.

Of course whose fault is it exactly to expect such feats from Nikon?

Perhaps it is how it has to be then. Leica for all things up to 50 mm and Nikon for the rest. I already arrived to this conclusion once before.

Perhaps the focus screen isn't installed properly. I've never heard of a decentered focus screen.

It is because the "made to fit" order from focusingscreen.com didn't actually fit Df perfectly. It's a tiny bit smaller. I'm not the only one, that's how they tend to be.

 

[mike3996]

I just realized over the weekend that I can get free (employer-sponsored) tickets to the zoo so that will be a beautiful place to have a stroll with Nikon.

Most certainly, in a zoo the M4/3 gear and the Olympus 75-300 has a definite advantage over my Nikkor kit but there'll be some special events after dark, which is the reason I'll prepare Nikon for this.

In two weeks. Coolio.

I checked the F/S ads for interesting fast teles but I think I want to get by with what I currently have.

 

[mike3996]

I talked about tweaking the picture profiles but never got around it. And today I even went to the profile selection for the first time.

Surprisingly, the builtin Neutral profile seems to provide a tad more attractive reviews than the Standard. And to boot it'll probably be better help with assessing highlight clipping than the standard curve. Not bad.

Attractive image reviews are of course just that... reviews. The magic happens in raw development. But it's such a huge boost to creativity if the images you capture inspire you take more on the spot. That's where Leica has such an upper hand. Bold, punchy color and all that.



PS the zoo time is near and there's still a 80-200 f/2.8 AF available. It's of the latest variant, two-ring. Supposedly very fast to focus, doesn't really fall behind the AF-S zooms that much. For 350 €. But I'll stay strong. I'll stay strong.

 

[mike3996]

I can't believe how well this simple change to Neutral profile has increased my "shooter's satisfaction" ie. user experience. Of course I've only had a very short time with the new setting but still. I have maybe an hour between yesterday's and today's strolls when I switched it up.

Maybe the leaner color helps avoid disappointment with camera's AWB selections. Maybe it pairs better, plays to the strengths of the back screen's specifications? Lower contrast files show more things on a low contrast screen? That could be it.

The file thumbnails also look better when I open them up on the lighttable. Darktable shows embedded JPEGs first before I open a file on darkroom mode and these neutral files are definitely more closer to darktable raw defaults. Overall, I like.

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[mike3996]

I'll be packing a lot of gear for Saturday's overnight trip.

The 35~200 f/3.5-4.5 was my primary choice for daylight/sunset, then switch to 50/1.4 (which 50/1.4 though?) and 85/1.8 for the rest of the evening. Also take the 28/2 maybe.

Then today I remembered I had the 75-150 f/3.5 which is a sharp beast indeed. The 35-200 has unwieldy aberrations shot wide open but perhaps that's part of the charm.

For zoo, probably the smartest choice would be the Sigma 70-300 but it's an AF. I'll leave it home this time. Don't want poor focus to ruin my shots.

 

[mike3996]

The 35~200 can produce swell results wide open f/3.5-4.5, if you're being careful. For other times, closing it down to f/8-f/10 makes it a beautiful performer with tasteful old-timey look to the photograph. The lens has its charms stopped down or wide open.

As the evening darkened, the camera's obvious major shortcoming again came up. The focus mechanisms, auto or manual, just aren't no good and give up long before the sensor's high-ISO capabilities do. It can be very frustrating indeed.

Rangefinder remains number one in very low light situations. I'll be posting samples here when I get to "develop" the files.