[davidmanze]

I payed by Paypal.....so all is well in protected payment-land! ....

Here's a few dots for your health.............

Dave's clichés

[davidmanze]

Actually the hit rate of grey market lenses has been better than official for me.......only the first Tamron G1 had to be returned...

Of course the natural reaction amongst official buyers is to trash them, a sort of jealousy about those who got a better deal than they.

Hahaha...hohoho!

En plus......I've just looked at the poster's reputation.........

....what a surprise......it's at zero!

Jokes and windups aside.......I'm not seeing the New Threads list..there's nothing there! ..I keep having to sign in....



Dave's clichés

[JJ_SO]

Your reputation was also zero until just few seconds ago in fact, why collect reputations, if we change the forum software each couple of months...

Edit: gosh, these smileys set a new standard of ugly emoticons :|

[davidmanze]

So, on the reputation front I'm leading you one nill.....but hey, it's not even half time!

BTW. I've just found another Nikkor.......AF 180mm F2.8 IF ED @150 euros....a bit worn on the paint front though.

Actually, Benjamin Kanarek, the famous fashion photographer ( vogue, elle magazine etc.) shoots most of his work with the AF 85mm F1.8G and apparently has a huge love for the AF 180mm lens.....claiming it renders superbly!
The seller claims apart from paint wear.....the lens has no faults.......payment by Paypal.

It's only bloody snowing here and settling!


Dave's clichés

[JJ_SO]

With a 200/2 we'd be be talking, but only f/2.8? Too light.

[davidmanze]

I've been drawing a blank just recently on the portrait lens front.......what with a de-centered AF-S 50mm F1.4 and a bunch of non linear AF problems......(Sigma 105mm macro/ AF80-200mm F2.8)

So it was a pleasant surprise to receive the humble Nikkor AF-S 50mm F1.8 G lens that is well centered and only needs +6, though I find 50mm on the FF sensor to be too wide FOV for single subjects, but it is what it is and it has pretty good sharpness even wide open.
Bokeh fringing, makes itself felt, a common flaw........still you get a lot for your money (154 euros inc. post.).

The AF85mm F1.8D is now showing it's age, lack of sharpness/contrast wide open...(needs F2.5)......but I just can't find the G version for much less than the price of a grey market new one..........it's a lens which holds it value well.

The second hand market here (le bon coin) in France is inundated with lenses at prices close to new (standard lens range) and often above the price of a grey market version.......the AF-S 85mm F1.8G is a good example!

[davidmanze]

OK, I've discovered some strange behaviour between the Sigma macro 150mm F2.8 non OS and my Nikon D750!

I had just made a home-made "Lens align" calibration gizmo and was testing the AF-S 50 F1.8......fine!

I tested the 150mm macro again to see what was going on with it.......we know that Sigma lenses do not communicate the full lens data to Nikon bodies....but while retesting I found that while recalibrating, every time the lens AFMF was changed the new setting the camera would make another profile in the lens repertoire.....after I had done a few settings, four profiles were listed in the repertoire for the same lens! I wiped three and continued shooting with just the one (and yes I do press the OK button to register the setting) Without doing anything other than turning on the camera......more profiles appeared......When the camera is turned on it sees the lens as another 150/2.8 lens and makes another profile.
Anyone of those settings might have been chosen by the camera and as a result the focus point was variable according to the which one of the four .......so that was what was happening, one minute it was choosing -10 the next zero!
That explains the lens's strange focusing behaviour, which started off well but with these impromptu profiles appearing unbeknown to me and the random choice of which profile it used, soon sent things downhill!
At the moment there are eight profiles and I must remember to check before shooting that it hasn't conjured up any more.

What a palava! eh JoJu?

[JJ_SO]

...I tested the 150mm macro again to see what was going on with it.......we know that Sigma lenses do not communicate the full lens data to Nikon bodies.
...

   What a palava!   eh JoJu?

Please exclude me from this "we", dave. I know that my Sigmas transfer all important data, including distance. I also know, that my Nikons keep on confusing a Micro Nikkor 105/2.8 G with a Sigma 24-105/4 Art and take AFMA settings from whichever was first. I don't know which manufacturer I should complain at - but I do know it will be useless. But even then, I never had a lens showing up each time I adjust it as a different one. 

Sorry to read that problems. Awkward, I'd say.

[davidmanze]

I wrote:
......"we know that Sigma lenses do not communicate the full lens data to Nikon bodies."
JoJu wrote:
"Please exclude me from this "we", dave..............
................but by virtue that you know your Sigma doesn't transmit the data that enables your AF 105mm lens to be differentiated from your 24-105mm F4........kinda shows that you "do" know really!

But that was a weird one....but I'm happy to have found out why.....so I can go back to using my 150 macro again for portraiture!

[davidmanze]

Hi JoJu,
I've just spotted your PM...thanks!.....not sure when it was sent?........what with this format change.

Thanks for the offer of the 85mm F1.4.......a nice lens indeed!......but I can see that this studio thingy is mainly about helping a friend and I'll probably never see a penny from it....

I'll scratch along with my lowly 85mm F1.8D and wait for a cheap G version to crop up.......

Deliriously happy for the Sigma 150mm macro!