Nikon

Eye Contact, closer.

2018, Favourite, Inspiration, Nikon, Nikon 58mm f/1.4G, Nikon D850, Portrait, Q&A, Teaching point, Within 200 feet of My House™

Technical:  f/1.4  |  1/800  |  ISO 800

I could have photographed this at ISO 200 if the shutter speed was set to 1/200 sec but I wanted to ensure maximal sharpness and introduce a little “grain” (in the form of noise) to make the look a little less clean.

Post-processing: Current experimentation “v. 2.02”.

—Peter.

↑ Nikon D850 + Nikon 58mm f/1.4 G.

Follow-up to Nikon 58mm f/1.4G Test Shot (crop).

Inspiration, Nikon, Nikon 58mm f/1.4G, Q&A, Teaching point

For those interested, here’s a closer look at yesterday’s image taken with the Nikon 58/1.4G.

At f/1.4, you can see how the 58/1.4G has a slight glow; this is in contrast to the vivid sharpness of something like a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART.  If sharpness is your only measure of a lens’ worth, then the Sigma is your lens of choice for the 50mm-ish focal range.

In all other respects (colour, bokeh, 3D effect, etc.), I would choose the Nikon.

—Peter.

Nikon 58mm f/1.4G Test Shot.

2018, Favourite, Inspiration, Nikon, Nikon 58mm f/1.4G, Nikon D850, Print, Q&A, Teaching point, Within 200 feet of My House™

The light hasn’t yet returned to Toronto so there won’t be anything worthwhile to post with my “new-old” Nikon 58mm f/1.4G lens for a while.  Therefore, as always, I’ve resorted to employing what little window light remains when I return from work to conduct a test shot or two.

The silky smooth output of the 58/1.4G is just as I remember it.  What’s different this time, however, is how much easier it is to achieve precise focus @ f/1.4 with the D850 vs. the D810 I previously owned.  In fact, it was this issue (unreliable focus) that made me sell this lens in the first place.

—Peter.

↑ Nikon D850 + Nikon 58mm f/1.4 G.

Current Nikon Gear.

Inspiration, Nikon, Q&A

What do you do on a cold winter’s day when the light is bad and you have nothing to photograph?  Well, if you’re a geek like me you take photographs of your cameras of course!

In the image below, you will notice that all Nikon logos (and identifying gold rings on the lenses) have been taped over.  That’s because I don’t want to be a walking billboard for Nikon.  The gear is still recognizable to most enthusiasts but not necessarily at first glance (LOL, with the possible exception of the cartoonishly large 200/2).

They say DSLRs are a dying breed but the inevitability of their demise has increased their appeal to me after all of these years of shunning them in favour of rangefinders.  It also helps that Nikon produced something special in the form of the D850 and D500.

I’ve often photographed my Leica gear as it came and went, but never cared enough about my Nikons to do the same… until now.

—Peter.