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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Using Nikon Lenses

Paul Harding said:
Jeff can you give the full ident on the 24 35 and 85 nikons ie, AF S etc.
Paul
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The latest Nikon 24, 35 and 85 primes are G series lenses (no aperture rings) and are desigated 'AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G' etc.

Their predecessors were D series lenses (with aperture rings on the barrel) which were designated 'AF Nikkor 85 f/1.4D. etc.

I agree with Jeff concerning the quality of Nikon's pro primes and can vouch for the 85, although only from a stills perspective.
 
Thanks for that.

Do you know if Jeff is talking about the AF S or AF.
Paul
 
Larry McKee said:
I use Nikon AIS lenses on my R1 almost exclusively. It is rare for anyone to ask for anything different. The images they produce are beautiful. In fact, there is at least one producer that hires me just because he likes the pictures from my Nikons so much.

As Richard said, the focus rotation is less than with a cine lens. But, if you choose a follow focus with a small gear, that helps. With my follow focus, even if the lens only has a 180 deg rotation, it still takes 360 rotation on the FF knob. So, it is not so bad. As far as the "backwards" focus rotation goes, it seems more intuitive to me. You rotate the FF forward to focus further away and backward to focus closer. Makes perfect sense.
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What FF are you using?
 
It is the Cinetech Titanium. They make 2 different drive gears. I have the 7/8" gear. The 11/16" gear should give you even more travel.
 
Paul Harding said:
Thanks for that.

Do you know if Jeff is talking about the AF S or AF.
Paul
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I obviously can't speak for Jeff but if you think he was talking about all three (24/35/85) as f/1.4 lenses, then that would have to be AF-S. Of the earlier D series AF lenses, only the 85mm was f/1.4. The 24mm AF was f/2.8 and the 35mm AF was f/2.0.

There are also earlier, manual, AI-S lenses, such as the 24mm f/2.0, 35mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.4. I guess these are the ones most commonly used cine style at the moment, since they are MF only and have aperture rings. The current G-series Nikkors should be very good for Epic though, when RED's electronic Nikon mount becomes available, once adjusting aperture electronically via a thumb wheel is mastered.
 
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My thinking at the moment due to EPIC is try and use the G lenses. If Jeff was talking about the old version, I was wondering if the new G lenses give the same quality.
Paul
 
Looks like I got a few people puzzled...

I own a pretty big selection of Nikon glass. The 'G' lenses I own are the 14 f2.8, 24 f1.4, 35MM f1.4 and the 105 f2.8 macro. All are excellent lenses and the lack of a manual aperture ring has not been an issue. I also haven't shot much with Nikon glass on the RED One, I've stuck with PL glass since that's what most clients want to shoot with and I have a fair selection of PL optics too.

The 85mm f1.4 and 50mm f1.4 I was talking about are AF D series lenses. The 85mm f1.4D is an exceptional lens. The new AF-S G version of this lens is the same optics, or so I have been told, but it seems the construction quality has been downgraded a bit. The 60mm AF f2.8D macro is also a great lens.

For non-AF primes, I have the 50mm f1.2, 50mm f1.4, 35mm f1.4 in AIS form. In older AI form I have the 85mm f1.4 and 20mm f2.8. EDIT> I fixed my typo, was supposed to be 20 f2.8, not f2.0 and when fixing that I should also note that it's also an AIS lens and not AI series.

I plan to be using Nikon glass a lot on EPIC. Much more so than with the RED One, especially since they will have the electronic mount.
 
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For a comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date list of all Nikon F-mount lenses ever made, including serial number break-points between similar models look here: http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/specs.html
Roland Vink, who maintains that site and Bjorn Roslett who built, but no longer updates the naturfotograf site mentioned earlier both hang out at Nikongear.com. There are many other opinionated and knowledgable posters there if you ever want to ask specific questions. The answer will be from a still photographer's point of view. The quality of photos and photographers at that site speaks for itself. For a well-expressed opinion you can go to Ken Rockwell, but that's all you can be sure getting.

A couple of lenses mentioned in this thread, 85 f1.2 and 20 f2.0 were never made by Nikon. I don't know if those were typos.

I don't currently plan to use Nikon glass on a RED since Scarlet Fixed is my speed in the video world. However, some Nikon mount glass I've used for stills that I would recommend based on sharpness, low CA's and limited breathing are Nikon 28 f2.0, Zeiss 35 f2, Nikon 85 f1.4D, Zeiss 100 Makro f2, Cosina Voigtlander 180 f4 APO. If you can find one, the Cosina Voigtlander 125 f2.5 is also a true APO lens. All of these also have beautiful bokeh.

I see the Tokina 11-16 (unmodified) and Duclos version mentioned. The Tokina is known for serious CA problems. Does this not bother people who are using it? And is the Duclos version corrected or hand-picked to minimize that problem?
 
Keith_D said:
I have a beautiful set of Non-Ai Nikon Nikkor Primes, in your opinion what are the advantages and disadvantages to shooting with them on Red One/Epic? Would they need to be converted to AI to be mounted on Red One/Epic?
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There's this http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=40918&highlight=f-mount and you're at $450 or so. Not bad. So with the adapter, no need to convert. Probably others as well in the lens section.

Someone mentioned that the lens is more firmly attached with an adapter as well.
 
James Brundige said:
Which 24 mm are you referring to, AIS, or a new lens? I have the 85 AIS, which I quite like.
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Sorry I wasn't specific. Also got myself confused and kept calling the new 24mm G lens an f2.8. I actually have the f1.4G /ED model. It's $2100 just for a 24mm lens, but it's an amazingly good lens. The 85mm is the AF f1.4D model. The newer G version without manual aperture replaces it and I have been told it's the same optics by several sources.
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
Sorry I wasn't specific. Also got myself confused and kept calling the new 24mm G lens an f2.8. I actually have the f1.4G /ED model. It's $2100 just for a 24mm lens, but it's an amazingly good lens. The 85mm is the AF f1.4D model. The newer G version without manual aperture replaces it and I have been told it's the same optics by several sources.
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The review of the new 85mm G version at diglloyd.com suggests that the new lens is of a different design. He says:

Although the two lenses are fairly close in the central 50% of the frame, outside that area, the new 85/1.4G shows markedly better definition and higher contrast than the older 85/1.4D when one looks beyond the central areas.

The color rendition of the new lens contributes to a clarity and lifelike rendition not found in the aging 85/1.4D. Setting aside any numeric sharpness assessment, this means that images made with the 85/1.4G will trounce those from the 85/1.4D by their more lifelike appearance.

Since the 85/1.4D has long been considered one of Nikon’s best lenses by many (though not by me), for the 85/1.4G to show unequivocal superiority is saying quite a lot.
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D Fuller said:
The review of the new 85mm G version at diglloyd.com suggests that the new lens is of a different design. He says:
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Could very well be a different design, but just reiterating what I've been told by people are supposed to know this stuff.

The G version has an all new housing and isn't as good as the D model in terms of construction quality, IMO. But beyond holding a G lens and just inspecting it visually, I have no experience with it. If it is a new optical design, then Nikon did an amazing job of keeping the same texture and feel to the images it makes, compared to the D model...
 
Michael Morlan said:
Lenses aside, my big question is;

Will the Nikon mount be shipping with Epic Stage 2?

:-)

M
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Latest that I've read here from the powers that be is that it won't be available with th machined, but should be shipping with Epic-X.

... Which makes me happy!
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
Sorry I wasn't specific. Also got myself confused and kept calling the new 24mm G lens an f2.8. I actually have the f1.4G /ED model. It's $2100 just for a 24mm lens, but it's an amazingly good lens. The 85mm is the AF f1.4D model. The newer G version without manual aperture replaces it and I have been told it's the same optics by several sources.
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Thanks, Jeff

a little slow on posts, on the road in New Zealand

headed for Fiji. Jim, can I visit your island?
 
Lee Saxon said:
Can't see how, it's a night and day difference
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Weird. I'm rather tempted to say there's something wrong with that AF1.4D lens they're testing. Mine looks nothing like that when I point it at a chart. Anyhoo... I was just restating what I've been told from multiple sources. I have not shot with the latest 85mm G version. Now I'm curious, so will try to round one up without buying one.


James Brundige said:
Thanks, Jeff

a little slow on posts, on the road in New Zealand

headed for Fiji. Jim, can I visit your island?
Click to expand...

Hehe... Fiji sounds real nice about now. :) Hope you're having a good adventure in NZ.
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
Could very well be a different design, but just reiterating what I've been told by people are supposed to know this stuff.

The G version has an all new housing and isn't as good as the D model in terms of construction quality, IMO. But beyond holding a G lens and just inspecting it visually, I have no experience with it. If it is a new optical design, then Nikon did an amazing job of keeping the same texture and feel to the images it makes, compared to the D model...
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I've never held the new one either. I'm just citing so-called "reliable sources" as well.

I hate what they've done with the new housings. The old 28-70 2.8D is so much more robust than the new 24-70 2.8G, for example. The optics are great, but the failure rate on the 24-70 is reported to be quite high, and it just feels wrong to buy a $2,000 lens that has no aperture control on it.
 
200 f/2G ed VRII

200 f/2G ed VRII

FYI: this looks nice... skip to the samples near the bottom... the 100 percent crops looks sweet...

http://nikonrumors.com/2010/12/15/nikon-af-s-200mm-f2g-ed-vrii-lens-review.aspx#more-16297

btw I shoot with the new 70-200 F2.8 VRII this past weekend and the autofocus and edge sharpness was amazing. I can tell the lens was designed to sing on a D3s; A shooter let me swap out my older 70-200 and the difference was incredible, more then I every thought. I was shooting sports in low light (ISO 12800 @ 1/1000th) my older lens had a hard time tracking focus and vignette pretty bad... cant wait to see how these work on an epic ... dose anyone know if the VR will work on a epic?
 
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