Attempting to Emancipate myself (nikon lens question)

jambredz

jambredz

Veteran
In an attempt to future proof myself and have total freedom from camera bodies my future lens list goes

Duclos ZF2 set (primes) $9,000


and Nikon (zooms) app. $3800)

17-35 2.8 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/186250-GREY/Nikon_1960_AF_S_Zoom_Nikkor_17_35mm.html
28-70 2.8 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-AF-S-...era_Lenses&hash=item33724ff248#ht_2000wt_1396
80-200 2.8 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._Nikkor_80_200mm_f_2_8D.html#pr-header-124669

I'm getting the zooms first to cover every situation i may have. then go for the primes. For me this is a small fortune and will take a little time :)

my question though is really for the zooms. I've heard this called the "dream team". So question to the actual owners of this combo... is it really all that its cracked up to be. I've read some reviews of the 17-35 and it says it vignettes on the wide end and its soft in the corners ect. Is it that bad? or can i pull the trigger on the zooms.
 
I don't know why, but, for all the love Nikon glass gets from its users, the samples at the-digital-picture are just plain horrible

extreme example: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=616&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0

in my own tests, they don't shine either, but it's true that I haven't tried many of them, and specifically none of those you mentioned
http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsa.html
http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsv.html
http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/bokehtests.html

in any case, if you're trying to be future-proof, Nikon only gets you halfway there: yes, it works on Canon, m43 and nex, but it doesn't work on Sony or Pentax: http://www.similaar.com/foto/lensmount/lensmount.html
my "future proof" option has been Leitz glass for Leica-R
being vintage, it's kind of a lottery (http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsc.html), but image quality is top notch (check this: http://gettingelemental.blogspot.com/2011/12/portland-lens-test-2011.html ), and they can be adapted to nearly anything

for the kind of budget you're talking about, it should be a more than feasible route


edit: a set of primes (35 to 180) could be something like this:
http://www.leicashop.com/vintage/elmaritr-2835mm-rom-p-559.html
http://www.leicashop.com/vintage/summilux-1450mm-safari-1model-p-577.html
http://www.leicashop.com/vintage/elmaritr-11239-2890mm-model-p-589.html
http://www.leicashop.com/vintage/elmaritr-11111-28135mm-p-606.html
http://www.leicashop.com/vintage/elmaritr-28180mm-1model-p-610.html
(there's a cheaper summilux 50, but they don't have any in stock right now on that store)

for the zooms, it's not so easy: vintage zooms and ultra wide angles are not stellar, and modern leica is way too expensive
 
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you're welcome

also, I'll add: there's no need to change lenses to future-proof yourself if you don't have another reason for changing lenses

I mean: until you're going for a new body, your tamron 17-50 will serve you well (it's the lens that RED rehouses and sells for $6K: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...-on-the-current-state-of-Canon-HDSLR-shooting), so there's no need to go for that expensive 17-35 which may or may not be as good as one could expect after spending that kind of money on lenses
 
well neither my 7d or tamron is going anywhere :) .If and when i upgrade, i'll use my 7d mostly for stills...and this is the only lens i have now that communicates with my camera.
 
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Personal opinion, I would be upgrading my camera if I had that kind of scratch. I mean I've seen images from a GH2 that are pretty damn impressive... Honestly I think it relies now on lighting, location and just a couple of good lenses.

The Canon 50mm f/1.4 is less than $400 and probably one of the sharpest lenses made, in my personal opinion as of today , that is more than enough.

I'm looking for the new 60d, 7d or possibly 5d camera now. Hopefully they come out soon....
 
A camera upgrade is not as important to me now as lenses. Cameras will be inevitably upgraded, no question. Im looking to drop this $ on lenses and be done with that for the forseable future. The zf2 from duclos will allow me to migrate from cam to cam without having to concern myself about lenses. Those lenses can stay with me till im long gone.
 
I aggree that a camera upgrade is overdue, I'm in his same bandwagon, with much lower budget, and eagerly waiting for the new models to come out
but glass is -nearly- forever, and if he needs to get new glass now and wants to make sure it's future proof...

edit: don't fool yourself, you'll want new glass soon - lensaholism is very real :)
(with some luck it will be something like a samyang fisheye or something like that; pocket money compared to what you're talking about here)
 
To be honest i was all set to get a rokinon/samyang set...but the horrible review on the 24mm threw a monkey wrench in that for a little bit. But i saw another review (which i posted in the 24mm thread) that was pretty good. Make no mistake...i dont have the $ for this now...it will take some time. However i really do want a decent set of fast zooms that arent' canon dependent to cover me from 17-200mm. Trust me im with u guys and i 2 am gonna upgrade my 7d to either the new 7d or the cinema dslr from canon. As i said thats kinda inevitable. Jus kinda waiting it out a bit. I'm not even really looking for the 5d (right now) because i really like super35 sized chips.I like dsrl's and am not really looking to go to fs100 or full video cam territory. I like the size and as long as the prices dont get crazy i'll be shooting with them.Lol...yeh Norman i know about that disease.
 
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