Bought new lens....

Joe T

Joe T

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I popped into Jessops in The Centre, MK today. They are having their usual clearance sale cos the store is closing down. :help:

They had a couple of nice Nikkor lenses going cheap, including an AF-S 17-35 2.8 for £625 which I was quite tempted by. However, this is the old pro widea ngle zoom and I think I would prefer to save for the 17-55 2.8.

I was even more tempted by the Micro-Nikkor 200mm f4. Unfortunately I didnt realise it was the old MF version... I've done some research since I got it home and opinions seem a bit mixed on this lens. There still seems to be some new stock around which is being sold at approx £900. The £440 I paid doesnt seem so bad. :) However, 2nd hand examples are going for £200-£300 at the most. :(

What I have managed to find out is that it only focuses to 1:2 which is a bit odd for a Micro_Nikkor I would have thought! :shrug:

Apparently it needs a 2x teleconverter to get it to 1:1. The focal length becomes 400mm and the max aperture becomes f8! The TC-300 or TC-301 which are the suggested TCs seem to still be over £100. In the meantime I have put my Sigma 1.4x on it and it seems to be working ok.

I've taken a few test shots and it looks ok. Hopefully I will do a proper test on some bugs tomorrow! The metering is working well in Aperture-priority mode on my D200 which is good.

Will let you know how I get on!
 
Some good news and some not so good news then Joe ... :cautious: ... do you think this will be better than your Sigma 105mm then ... :shrug:


Be interesting to see how you get on with it though ... :thinking: ... and what the results look like ... :D



:p
 
Well at least you won't have to get quite so close the your bugs with that monster Micro N ... :cautious:


Howsabout a pic or two of the offending item ... :shrug:


:D



08.gif

 
First sample pics:

1. Full frame (well almost - had to be rotated 1 degree and cropped to compensate):

DSC_3845-01a.jpg


2. @50%

DSC_3845-01a50.jpg


3. @100%

DSC_3845-01a100.jpg


Taken at f8 (less one stop for 1.4tc), 200mm (x1.4), iso 100 and 1/2sec. Processed from RAw, and 118% USM applied.

Looks ok to me I think. Manual focusing is not something Ive had much practice in. However, the 200mm has the longest travel of any focusing ring I've ever seen! It's so much easier to make minor adjustments. :)
 
Why didn't you consider the sigma 150? HSM Autofocus, f/2.8, 1:1 ratio, £100 cheaper, and probably better build quality. :(
 
Looks to be OK to me Joe ... :thinking: ... although I think a Grolsch would have served you better in more ways than one imgo ... :D ... that Stella label looks decidedly unsharp in the first place ... :shrug: ... or have you had too many already ... :eek:


At least it will teach you a thing or two about manual focus ... you may even get to like it ... ;)



:p
 
Well, I spent the afternoon at my parent's house shooting various insects n stuff. I had my 105 with me too, so my Dad joined in with his D80!

I didnt get all that many keepers but I think the following factors were causing me difficulty:

1. The wind was blowing quite strong
2. The critters were moving fairly quickly and I was trying to follow them with manual focus, which Im not used to at all!
3. I was focusing about as close as I could, which of course magnifies focus errors and minimises DOF.

Im on my work laptop right now, so I can only view the jpegs. When I get home tomorrow night I will process the RAWs and upload them for your 'viewing pleasure'! One of my shots is a bumble bee on a sunflower with some lovely lighting and colours. The bee almost fills the frame too, which is good.

Till tomorrow....:)
 
Joe T said:
I didnt get all that many keepers but I think the following factors were causign me difficulty:

1. You shoot Nikon
2. You shoot Nikon
3. You shoot Nikon
Click to expand...


Sorry Joe, Couldnt resist..:geek:

I also had a look around for some macro stuff to shoot today and yes the light breeze was causing difficulty in anything staying still for 5 seconds..:(

Look forward to seeing some shots from this lens.(y)
 
alexisonfire said:
Why didn't you consider the sigma 150? --CLIP-- and probably better build quality. :(
Click to expand...

I very much doubt that..... those earlier Nikkors you could knock-over trees with! (And take a photo with it after!)
 
One serious looking bit of kit Joe, I'm impressed. (Hmmm. Why didn't I think to shoot some beer labels today instead of braving the breeze?)

You'll soon adapt to manual focus.

Looking forward to seeing some of your insect shots.
 
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