Just wanted to say thank you for sharing your photography with us. MDL has a lot of artists of different kind.
amateur pic I took this pic on a foggy morning in Charlevoix, Mi. at a dock where Lake Charlevoix empties into Lake Mich.
My new lens: Nikkor 4/70-200 ED VR Excellent tele zoom. Not so heavy, F/4, good for traveling. Also decent bokeh for a zoom @F/4. As sharp as the much heavier F/2.8 and much cheaper. Also good for portrait. So far I am impressed. Here a head portrait of my mahogany Buddha made by an artist from Bali.
Spotting planes at O"Hare (ORD) in Chicago. Some 747's, 777's and 787-8 Dreamliner All pictures were taken with a Nikon D810 + Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom lens. Enjoy the view
@dareckibmw Wow, you are getting more and more camera stuff, top notch gear.... How is the 80-400 generally? I struggled a long time with my decision 80-400 or 70-200 f/4..I finally went for the 70-200 (as backpacker I have to take care of weight/size). Could you list your lenses and post which you like most? So far I am completed, but like to know your opinion/impressions... An addictive/expensive hobby...
Thanks Since I purchased this 80-400mm I stopped using Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM which I bought it specifically for shooting an airplanes, and I like this lens but.... 80-400mm is sharp at f/8, superb AF-C, lens is not too heavy, I can handheld the whole thing without a tripod, which was a little problematic with Sigma (longer and heavier) lens. Another good thing is when I switch my D810 to DX mode, I can extend it to 600mm. One more thing..... I think that VR is better on 80-400 than 70-200. What I got so far... Nikon 50mm f/1.4 - don't really use it. Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 - love this lens! it's a perfect lens for shooting a cars at local meet ups, car shows, etc. in close range. Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 - this one stays on body ~90% of all times! sharp and fast! fast and sharp perfect lens for shooting cars on the track and airplane in mid range. Sigma 150-500mm - is for sale now, I posted it on Craigslist Oh......and I got D7100 (again) for Christmas this is my backup camera Yes, this is very expensive hobby, I spent ~12k last year for my gear...... I don't know yet how am gonna say this to my Wife that 300mm f/2.8 would be nice to have it Maybe next years prime lenses - here I come !!!
Thanks for the info. Let me add what I have got (full frame), maybe you find it useful. I focused on good performance/prize ratio and weight/aperture. I cannot carry heavy stuff with me for instance when trekking through the jungle or just walking on top of a mountain where there's a temple when it is hot and almost 100% humidity. I have got 3 zooms to cover the main range and 3 'primes'. Nikkor 16-35mm f/4 Ultra wide/wide angle: I actually find it more creative to play with ultra wide angle than using telezoom, especially when traveling. I preferred it over the 14-24 f/2.8 because of weight / inability to cover the front lens/ultra wide only. Not the sharpest one, but excellent colors/micro contrast. Tamron SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD: I preferred it over the Nikon. It has got VR and is less expensive. It is shaper at the wide end than the Nikkor, but softer at the long end. The rest is actually very similar. Nikkor 70-200mm f/4: I preferred it over the f/2.8. Less expensive/less weight, as sharp as or even sharper than the f/2.8. Excellent performance/prize ratio. Excellent generation III VR. The VR is amazing!!!My latest buy. Primes: Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28mm 1:1.8G Love it. Excellent colors/micro contrast. Good price/performance ratio. Focusses very close, nice way for special compositions. Not worth to get the f/1.4 IMHO. Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4G Same as you. Just standard, nothing special. Good when stopped down to at least f/2.8. The advantage is the very low weight. If you want a really good 50mm go for the Sigma 50mm ART series. Nikon AF-S Nikkor 80mm 1:1.8G Excellent prime. Very sharp, very worth the price. No need to go for the much more expensive f/1.4 I’d say it is the sharpest lens I’ve got. It has only a slight issue. It cannot focus that close…… Well if you simply want the best with AF and weight/prize does not matter check Sigma’s ART primes. Top notch. IMHO Sigma never convinced me, but with the ART primes they did an excellent job. Also Tamron did not convince me, but the 24-70 f/2.8 VR is equally good to Nikon’s…. Finally to mention as you know. Sharpness does not really matter. Masterpiece comes from the creator, gear used does not matter, masterpiece is masterpiece. TBH I shoot one every 4-5 years…..the rest is ‘usual’. Lol…. Happy shooting...