A question to the Nikon aficionados out there!

Emancipator

I have a question...

First of all, I am about to get a AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D IF. I want to get good glass and not worry about killer devaluation; thus, should I wait or am I safe? I cannot stand the perpetual antiquation of these DSLRs so I will buy the next best camera another day. Is this the right idea?

ziggy53

Not quite sure what you are saying?

Do you have a dSLR and you are wanting to upgrade the lens before the body, or do you "not" have a camera body yet and you are wondering if it's OK to buy the lens first?

Also, what is your level of experience and what is your photographic application for the lens?

Emancipator

I have been looking between the D90 and the D300 but I do not want to buy either one of the cameras if it means substandard glass. So i was wondering since DSLRs are not known for their investment value if glass would be a better investment or not. Also, I may wait for the idea of an upgraded AF NIKKOR 85mm to AF-s but who says that will ever happen... Anyways, I just wanted to know if buying a lens instead of a body is a bad idea long term. I have plenty of experience and plan to use it mainly for portrait work and bokeh experimentation.

ziggy53

My priorities are:

Light, direction and quality.
Lens, appropriate focal length and aperture for the task, as well as appropriate AF speed and accuracy for the task, as well as ultimate image properties at the required aperture.
Camera, appropriate capabilities for the task.

The Nikkor 85mm, f1.4D is a great lens for head shots and head-and-shoulders on a crop (DX) Nikon camera, not so much for 3/4 length and full-length or group portraits.

Yes, that lens allows very good control over bokeh.

A lens is not a good investment unless it is used to make money. A purchase of a lens before it can be used is a little silly. I suggest that you save up until you can at least afford both camera body and lens, and then still budget for some lighting elements as well for the purpose of portraiture.

Mitchell

If you shoot portraits, the Nikkor 85mm, f1.4 is a classic lens. Sure there's been talk about an AF-s version, but who knows if that will ever materialize?

All I know is I've been able to shoot with my 85mm, f1.4 for the past 5 years and could easily sell it today for at least what I paid for it. A pretty good investment. I can't say the same about my D2Xs bodies.:cry

Qarik

Emancipator wrote:

I have a question...

First of all, I am about to get a AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D IF. I want to get good glass and not worry about killer devaluation; thus, should I wait or am I safe? I cannot stand the perpetual antiquation of these DSLRs so I will buy the next best camera another day. Is this the right idea?

That lens will never devalue. But that's not the point anyway..it is piece of end game glass. You'll never likely sell it anyway.

Emancipator

Thanks for all your help! Very sensible.

borrowlenses.com

An excellent lens that will hold its value extremely well.

angevin1

ziggy53 wrote:

A lens is not a good investment unless it is used to make money. A purchase of a lens before it can be used is a little silly.

Thats sound advice! The Folks that posted above me here, Borrowlenses.com are a good way to discover what body and lens may work for you, without having to own it. And while Qarik is right, I admit to buying a 85 f1.4 last year and not liking it on a crop body, sold it very soon afterward. So as the saying goes, your milage may vary~

Another thought, since you want to bokeh play, consider the line of Defocus Control nikkors, the 105 DC and the 135 DC are bokeh play-toys that happen to be to be notch in the image dept!

Matthew Saville

It's only a matter of time before Nikon updates all their primes to AFS. It could be a year before we see an 85 AFS, it could be longer, but it will come eventually. So, decide which is important to you. AFS, or price, or resale value. You'll probably have to forefit one or two of those choices. But in the long run, everybody's right- The lens is a gem, and if you can work with the AF-D motor, it will serve you well forever. For that matter, the 85 1.8 could serve you well forever too, depending on how rugged and beefy you need your glass to be.

Also, I can't help but noticing your varied interests here on DGrin. The 85 has almost no place in a landscape photography bag, in my opinion. Do you shoot both landscapes AND portraits etc...? The 85 primes are BOTH great lenses for portrait and candid photojournalism, I use them both all the time. But I would never take it into the great outdoors! If I were on a budget, (and I AM) and if I had to pick between ALL telephoto lens options, I would go with the Sigma 50-150 2.8 instead. (And I DID!) I like my Sigma 50-150 much more for it's versatility; if I can get away with f/2.8 instead of f/1.4, I'll do it any day. Sometimes that means I have to use bounced flash at wedding receptions, but the zoom is much more useful especially when I get outdoors and in that environment.

Good luck picking your kit! The 10-20, 35 1.8, and 50-150 kit I described in the other thread would be the BEST kit for your purposes, in my opinion. IF you plan on sticking with DX for a couple years.

=Matt=

Emancipator

Ah, thanks Matthew! Yes, I like to experiment around with everything. I appreciate the depth of your response too. Very helpful. I am just trying to get lenses for every situation I encounter. By the way do you know of any good butterfly lenses? I am going to the Cockrell Butterfly Center in TX on the way and thought I might get some quick shots there too! Appreciate.

Ekaj

That lens will be really long on a crop body. I would go with the voigtlander 58 on a crop body.

Mitchell

Ekaj wrote:

That lens will be really long on a crop body. I would go with the voigtlander 58 on a crop body.

Depends on your application.

For indoor studio work in a small studio, the 85mm will be a bit long on a DX body. I had mine for years and could never use it to my satisfaction indoors. I did have good success using it outdoors for portraiture.

On FX, the lens now has new life for me. I grab it frequently for indoor portraiture.

Matthew Saville

It REALLY depends on your style and your subject. I LOVE shooting with the 85 primes on my D300! I've made countless low-light candid images with it, and the ~130mm equivalence is PERFECT...









...I could keep going, but I think you get the idea! These were all taken with the 85 1.4, mostly wide open or at f/2 on a D300. I just picked up a rental 85 1.8 for tomorrow's wedding, too. I think that when I get full-frame, I'll be using a 135 f/2. Hopefully Nikon will make an AFS version of the lens, and just go for super creamy bokeh instead of the complicated DC thing. Just give me BUTTER in the background! ;-)

BTW, for macro shots of butterflies, you're going to want as long of a lens as possible. A 70-200 might be a good buy if you're really into outdoor photography, but again I'm just not a fan of how big and heavy the f/2.8 lenses are, I'd only buy a 70-200 f/4 if I were an outdoor photographer.

Personally, I use the Sigma 150mm f/2.8 Macro on crop. It's pretty light and small, and pairs perfectly with something like a 16-85 Nikon as an adventure photography kit. As I mentioned before, the Sigma 150 does great telephoto work in general, unlike most older macro lenses the Sigma is very sharp even towards infinity. :-)

=Matt=