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<blockquote data-quote="aaron125" data-source="post: 649020" data-attributes="member: 44396"><p>I think it's great that you're so keen to use prime lenses more often. Perhaps you should consider where and when you'll be using them though, because as you mentioned, you don't know where the VIP will stand, so for reportage and news photography, zoom lenses are so helpful. If you are super enthusiastic to use a prime in your news photography, the most convenient way would be to have a 2nd/spare camera body with the prime attached, so that way, you've still got the zoom on the other body, so you can quickly switch between them. </p><p></p><p>You said that you find the majority of your photos are taken at either end of your zoom lenses, but not in the focal lengths in-between. The best way to get around this is to force yourself to consciously select whatever focal length best frames your subject. It's definitely something which has to be practiced so that it becomes a part of your photography style, with the image being primary and the lens just a tool you use to create your images. Otherwise, the lens is dictating how your subject is framed. </p><p></p><p>I've a passion for using prime lenses, some favourites of mine are Zeiss ZF 100/2 macro, Nikon 200/4D macro, Nikon 28/2.8 AIS (the 40 year old manual focus 0.2m min focus distance lens), Nikon 200/2VR, Nikon 55/3.5 macro AIS (another 30-40 year old mf lens which is just a pleasure to use). </p><p></p><p>I love researching and trying to find some of the older mf lenses that are incredibly cheap on eBay but are amazingly sharp and work perfectly on D800E body, remembering to set the focal length and maximum aperture in the camera settings so the body knows what lens you're using. I constantly get strange looks from my friends when they see such ancient and (to them) strange looking lenses fitted to a modern camera. But if one selects the lens well, gets one which is still in excellent condition, no oil on the aperture blades, no fungus anywhere, has the right amount of grease lubricating the focussing helicoid - this is what gives the old, metal bodied AI/AIS lenses their beautiful, silky, smooth, luxurious focussing feel and action - and all the lens elements are aligned and everything is working as it should. These old lenses, many are older than I am(!!), can still produce excellent results on current, high resolution bodies. The way they draw their images is very different from the current AFS/ED/n/G lenses. And sure, when one compares a brand-new equivalent to the old AIS lens, absolutely the new primes are always sharper and show higher contrast but there's just something special about some of older Nikon mf lenses. They have to be sought out and carefully selected but it's possible to find some real bargains and some beautiful images can be made with these old lenses. Many people are also so surprised to find how accurately they can focus with these all metal, mf lenses. This is due to the grease which lubricates the focussing mechanism and which is absent from AFS lenses. It makes such an incredible improvement but AFS lenses will never be like this as the grease puts too much of a strain on the battery and with so much tighter tolerances in modern AFS lenses, it isn't really possible. </p><p></p><p>Remember to practice using the most appropriate focal length for each image, not just the ends of a zoom lens and, I'm not sure if this is something you already do, but I've always had the best results using by avoiding the shutter/aperture priority exposure modes and setting exposure manually, and using centre spot. This way, one can really get a feel for where the exposure should be and also to see how much difference there is from the darkest part of the frame to the brightest. I've never shot film, only digital but I just don't have the control, and results I expect when using the AE modes. Of course, in news photography, sometimes the AE modes must be used as you'll miss the shot if you have to take the time to manually set the exposure. This is understood as 'part of the job' and it's much more important to get a not so great exposed image versus no image whatsoever because the shot was missed. </p><p></p><p>Best of luck and I hope I haven't confused you (too much). Cheers </p><p></p><p></p><p>Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="aaron125, post: 649020, member: 44396"] I think it's great that you're so keen to use prime lenses more often. Perhaps you should consider where and when you'll be using them though, because as you mentioned, you don't know where the VIP will stand, so for reportage and news photography, zoom lenses are so helpful. If you are super enthusiastic to use a prime in your news photography, the most convenient way would be to have a 2nd/spare camera body with the prime attached, so that way, you've still got the zoom on the other body, so you can quickly switch between them. You said that you find the majority of your photos are taken at either end of your zoom lenses, but not in the focal lengths in-between. The best way to get around this is to force yourself to consciously select whatever focal length best frames your subject. It's definitely something which has to be practiced so that it becomes a part of your photography style, with the image being primary and the lens just a tool you use to create your images. Otherwise, the lens is dictating how your subject is framed. I've a passion for using prime lenses, some favourites of mine are Zeiss ZF 100/2 macro, Nikon 200/4D macro, Nikon 28/2.8 AIS (the 40 year old manual focus 0.2m min focus distance lens), Nikon 200/2VR, Nikon 55/3.5 macro AIS (another 30-40 year old mf lens which is just a pleasure to use). I love researching and trying to find some of the older mf lenses that are incredibly cheap on eBay but are amazingly sharp and work perfectly on D800E body, remembering to set the focal length and maximum aperture in the camera settings so the body knows what lens you're using. I constantly get strange looks from my friends when they see such ancient and (to them) strange looking lenses fitted to a modern camera. But if one selects the lens well, gets one which is still in excellent condition, no oil on the aperture blades, no fungus anywhere, has the right amount of grease lubricating the focussing helicoid - this is what gives the old, metal bodied AI/AIS lenses their beautiful, silky, smooth, luxurious focussing feel and action - and all the lens elements are aligned and everything is working as it should. These old lenses, many are older than I am(!!), can still produce excellent results on current, high resolution bodies. The way they draw their images is very different from the current AFS/ED/n/G lenses. And sure, when one compares a brand-new equivalent to the old AIS lens, absolutely the new primes are always sharper and show higher contrast but there's just something special about some of older Nikon mf lenses. They have to be sought out and carefully selected but it's possible to find some real bargains and some beautiful images can be made with these old lenses. Many people are also so surprised to find how accurately they can focus with these all metal, mf lenses. This is due to the grease which lubricates the focussing mechanism and which is absent from AFS lenses. It makes such an incredible improvement but AFS lenses will never be like this as the grease puts too much of a strain on the battery and with so much tighter tolerances in modern AFS lenses, it isn't really possible. Remember to practice using the most appropriate focal length for each image, not just the ends of a zoom lens and, I'm not sure if this is something you already do, but I've always had the best results using by avoiding the shutter/aperture priority exposure modes and setting exposure manually, and using centre spot. This way, one can really get a feel for where the exposure should be and also to see how much difference there is from the darkest part of the frame to the brightest. I've never shot film, only digital but I just don't have the control, and results I expect when using the AE modes. Of course, in news photography, sometimes the AE modes must be used as you'll miss the shot if you have to take the time to manually set the exposure. This is understood as 'part of the job' and it's much more important to get a not so great exposed image versus no image whatsoever because the shot was missed. Best of luck and I hope I haven't confused you (too much). Cheers Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk [/QUOTE]
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