The second shot is cute….but the first one, the BW…is awesome IMO. I love BW, and especially a well composed shot. Love the composition, the processing. I wish it was all in just the lens.
Seriously, I wouldn't sell it until you work it. Go out in good light, find lots of clutter and other BS to establish DoF, then let the lens do the magic.
You can make a lens that's a massive pile of junk look amazing with the right light and composition.
These were taken with a pre-ai 50/1.4 with an aperture that goes completely shut by f/8 and was converted to AI in a milling machine.
Edit - I think I just tricked my brain into saying I blew $1400 on this lens haha
Jorge Torralba wrote:
Absolutely soft. The freckles and eye lashes are obviously soft. No offense intended. Please don't take this the wrong way. but if you think that is sharp then you should consider glasses.
It isn't the sharpest, but it is sharp enough to print 16x24" for any of my clients without them complaining it is soft. And the bokeh is better than anything you posted. I have 20/20 vision and I know what sharp is when I use my 300mm F2.8 VRII.
On the other hand look at this. shot at f4 from another lens. This is only posted to show what I would consider sharp. Granted . It is at f4. butit is NOT an otus.
So you go ahead and post 2 samples showing me what sharp is, but one is shot at F4 and the other is shot at F2. . Nice try bud! Anyways, I'm happy with the sharpness of this lens, but your going to have to do better than post shots like that to persuade me to sell my 58mm and grab a 70-200mm F4.
Jason_Brook wrote:
Yeah, this is definitely a lens that can be a very expensive mistake for people not willing to work with it. In many circumstances, the 50/1.8G goes toe to toe. Push the limits and there's a clear winner.
For example; see below. If it weren't for the EXIF, I doubt many would be able to tell.
I did the same kind of test too Jason. Straight lines are not going to show off the bokeh like an outdoor environmental portrait. Shoot with twigs and leaves and imo, the 58mm takes a big leap over the 50mm F1.8g.
Jason_Brook wrote:
Seriously, I wouldn't sell it until you work it. Go out in good light, find lots of clutter and other BS to establish DoF, then let the lens do the magic.
You can make a lens that's a massive pile of junk look amazing with the right light and composition.
These were taken with a pre-ai 50/1.4 with an aperture that goes completely shut by f/8 and was converted to AI in a milling machine.
Edit - I think I just tricked my brain into saying I blew $1400 on this lens haha
Jason_Brook wrote:
Seriously, I wouldn't sell it until you work it. Go out in good light, find lots of clutter and other BS to establish DoF, then let the lens do the magic.
You can make a lens that's a massive pile of junk look amazing with the right light and composition.
These were taken with a pre-ai 50/1.4 with an aperture that goes completely shut by f/8 and was converted to AI in a milling machine.
Edit - I think I just tricked my brain into saying I blew $1400 on this lens haha
I think you're right. I've withdrawn the item, and I'm going to work with it some more. I see what the lens is capable of, at least in the right hands. I just need to learn it a bit more.
photorebel wrote:
I think you're right. I've withdrawn the item, and I'm going to work with it some more. I see what the lens is capable of, at least in the right hands. I just need to learn it a bit more.
Hardcore wrote:
It isn't the sharpest, but it is sharp enough to print 16x24" for any of my clients without them complaining it is soft. And the bokeh is better than anything you posted. I have 20/20 vision and I know what sharp is when I use my 300mm F2.8 VRII.
So you go ahead and post 2 samples showing me what sharp is, but one is shot at F4 and the other is shot at F2. . Nice try bud! Anyways, I'm happy with the sharpness of this lens, but your going to have to do better than post shots like that to persuade me to sell my 58mm and grab a 70-200mm F4.
You dragged me back in when I said I was out. So. I did these just for you a few minutes ago while my boy is on his computer to show a 1.4 shot. Available light, wide open at 1.4 hand held. You cannot compare the sharpness from the two lenses. The 50mm 1.4 I posted clearly out shines the 58mm 1.4 in terms of contrast and sharpness. Bokeh is subjective so I won't go there. I wont argue with the bokeh of the nikon. it is clearly beautiful. Tomorrow I will capture something with better lighting and colors.
Jorge Torralba wrote:
You dragged me back in when I said I was out. So. I did these just for you a few minutes ago while my boy is on his computer to show a 1.4 shot. Available light, wide open at 1.4 hand held. You cannot compare the sharpness from the two lenses. The 50mm 1.4 I posted clearly out shines the 58mm 1.4 in terms of contrast and sharpness. Bokeh is subjective so I won't go there. I wont argue with the bokeh of the nikon. it is clearly beautiful. Tomorrow I will capture something with better lighting and colors.
What are you trying to prove? You have a sharp lens at F1.4 or you can make sharper images than the ones posted here. I don't think anyone has ever argued that point. Hell I can also make images as sharp as the ones you posted at F1.4, but you know what. I still choose to use the 58mm and shoot it wide open. Wow I must be dense hey?!??! If your trying to teach me something, then you'll have to come at it from a different angle because I fail to see how posting sharp shots with a variety of lenses is doing anything to argue whatever point it is your trying to make.....
If you haven't already figured it out, we are not going to sell our 58mm's because you say it isn't sharp. You also don't see 58mm users going on other threads slamming the other lenses for horrible bokeh.... because you know what? Some people prefer ultimate sharpness, like yourself.
I think we can agree to disagree at this point. For me, the 58mm tops all primes I have ever used for evironmental portraits even when it isn't as sharp as say the Otus, Sigma etc and has loads of CA!
photorebel wrote:
A shot from last week with 58 @ 1.4
Stunning portrait, Jeff! Love how her hair transitions into OOF smoothly. I can't believe you're giving up on this lens even after getting such captures.
DontShoot wrote:
Stunning portrait, Jeff! Love how her hair transitions into OOF smoothly. I can't believe you're giving up on this lens even after getting such captures.
Thanks so much. At the advice of Jason, and others…I'm going to keep the lens, and work with it some more. That I have not gotten images as good as what has been posted here, is not the fault of the lens. I just need to learn how to use it better.
This lens makes me want to dump miracle grow all over the young trees in my backyard.
Photorebel, if you want this lens to shine, step back. Shoot it like you're shooting something wide; as in, don't go head/shoulders, get the whole body in an environment. The same trick applies to most longer lenses or lenses with killer bokeh. The #1 thing that opened up my photography was learning to frame "big", not to crop later, but to bring in the scene.
. Nice try bud! Anyways, I'm happy with the sharpness of this lens, but your going to have to do better than post shots like that to persuade me to sell my 58mm and grab a 70-200mm F4. 
