Thanks Sue. The "bokeh lens which has AF" is just the Nikon 58 f1.4 and I'm only renting it at this point. My other "bokeh lenses" are all manual focus. This is a bit of a conundrum because I love the bokeh of the Nikon and find the AF useful, but it's a big ugly blob of plastic and I don't enjoy it at all from a tactile perspective. On top of which its really pricey. At the moment I'm finding myself able to rationalize it (I can afford it pretty easily if I return the Voigtlander and sell three other "neutral" lenses that it would make irrelevant (two of which are probably irrelevant anyway). But this is not a focal length I've ever really liked that much before and I occasionally find myself saying, "you're crazy even THINK about investing this heavily in a focal length you may not really USE that much just because you're sucked in by the creamy bokeh"? Of course, if I do buy it, MAYBE I'd use it a lot and fall in love with the focal length (kind of happened with the RX1 because of that incredible lens). But if not, it's an awful lot of un-needed disruption to have an expensive and little used lens on my shelf. Most of my expensive lenses are at focal lengths I love and shoot all the time (21 and 25mm Zeiss). The couple I have or have had at focal lengths that weren't in my wheelhouse have sat unused far too much and I've eventually ended up selling them anyway. I have a Zeiss 100mm in that situation right now. I can't bring myself to sell it yet because I really love it when I do find a use for it, but I don't get nearly enough use out of it and my bet is I'll sell it at some point. And all of my other lenses at this point range from reasonably priced to dirt freaking cheap!
Yeah, the focal length thing is real, but the difference between the Voigtlander and the Nikon G at the same basic spec is pretty subtle. It's really noticeable when you're as tuned into it as I am at the moment, but I'm not sure how much that's gonna matter once I'm out of this particular narrow photographic ravine. The Voigtlander is all metal and glass, but is notably more compact than the Nikon G, and slightly lighter as well. Probably the AF motor adds something to both the size and weight of the Nikon.Ray, stepping out of the comfort zone (using other focal length) stirs creativity! ;-) (OK. I admit that you already have lots of creativity in your photos, so not really a good argument).
Personally I don't mind it's made of plastic. I'd rather have a lightweight lens that is made of longlasting plastic than a heavy lens made of metal.
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I'm always on the search after a good bokeh lens. I've noticed my taste of what a good bokeh had has to be had changed and will change.
Sometimes I'm searching for a good isolation of my subject. Sometimes I like a smooth or more defined bokeh.
There are always phases where I'm eager to test a new lens for this
Or my new acquisition for Fuji - the XF 90/2 (the first XF lens after a while which I do like), open aperture and tack sharp
For Sony I could use the 135mm STF for a smooth bokeh.
At the moment I would prefer what I've seen of the Voigtländer 58mm/1.4 (Topcon copy ?) over a 58mm/1.4G which for me is a tick too soft in focus. But I'm sure it is in good hands with you. Congratulation for the new lens.
Hey Kristin - long time! What have you been up to?
Yeah, variety is good. I shot 50, 50, and 50 as a kid - that's about all there was that was remotely decent and affordable in those days. And I never wanted for anything else. But since I got back into it, I haven't been able to shoot with them at all. So I decided to spend a lot of time in that neighborhood and see if I could get to know it again and, it took a good long while, but it's finally feeling like home again. This particular lens helps...Hey Ray,
I'm looking, in the end to have 28 (or 25..), 35, 50 & something in that 80 range.. and then something that zooms for an all purpose or maybe just a little zoom camera. I can use my canon, konica. and of course the zeiss and voigtlander lenses so there's no hurry to shop but I grabbed a couple good deals so I'll give them a go. 1.2 came in handy tonight shooting deer at dusk and at only 100 iso.
You know when you shoot the same thing for a long time you can get bored so I can see how all this bokeh and shallow dof is inspiring to you. Of course you knew what it was but you never really indulged in it and what better way to tell a story than utilizing the ability to isolate your subject within the tale. The best thing about changing up is that you keep learning, refresh your desire to keep shooting and nothing that you have done is ever a waste. And you can still utilize the same tricks you used shooting wide, up close, it's all about how you frame it.
Having AF as backup isn't a bad thing either. I don't have any sony lenses, the closest I get is that my canon adapter can read focal length, but it still can't focus for me. Old schoolin' it maybe but I've gotten really quick about cranking the lens into focus. My peaking works through the vf as well, I just don't like bumping my glasses lol. And no it really isn't a dark side but people have such varied opinions about bokeh when really it's just another technique. I've heard the arguments over lenses too, why does anyone need larger than 2.8, etc.. and to me it's all about capturing the light, and versatility.
I haven't had the chance to really peruse the forum for months, too much happening too quick here and not a lot of it good, but when I saw your post the title made me grin and I had to sneak a few words in because 'bokeh whore' is bound to stir the pot. Here though on this forum the people are decent and the battles just don't erupt because everyone accepts each others camera/photography diversity which is great.
Can't wait to see more of your bokehlicious shots. I think you need the t-shirt now! The question is.. are you brave enough to wear it
-K
