Which is the best prime nikon lens for S2

[George Vardas]

I don't have a prime lens yet and I need some advice as to which prime lens is the best all round and the sharpest for the S2 pro.
Money is no object!

 

[Ron H]

Probably the 50mm f1.8. Very sharp,fast and quite useful for general photography and portraits. A lot will have to do with your style of photography as to what would be the best choice of focal length, but you sure couldn't go wrong with this lens.

I don't have a prime lens yet and I need some advice as to which
prime lens is the best all round and the sharpest for the S2 pro.
Money is no object!

 

[Ron H]

Also, if macros interest you as well. the 60mm Micro Nikkor would be a very useful choice as well. Would also give you a useful 90mm equivalent focal range and on shots of close up to medium distance is one of the sharpest lenses you can buy at any price.

I don't have a prime lens yet and I need some advice as to which
prime lens is the best all round and the sharpest for the S2 pro.
Money is no object!

 

[Chas Images]

I chose the 24-85D 2.8 and I love it. I use it a weddings, receptions and in the studio. It works great.
--
Chas

 

[Rinus Borgsteede]

The 24-85 is good for most work but a standard prime lens would have to be the 35mm 1.4. If you do macro, the 60 Micro is excellent.
Rinus of Calgary

 

[TedS85150]

I don't have a prime lens yet and I need some advice as to which
prime lens is the best all round and the sharpest for the S2 pro.
Money is no object!

60mm micro nikkor all the way. one of the sharpest lens nikon ever made. You can capture a full sized butterfly to wonderful portraits. cheers

Ted

 

[Doug Jones]

I don't have a prime lens yet and I need some advice as to which
prime lens is the best all round and the sharpest for the S2 pro.
Money is no object!

If it doesn't have to be Nikor and you want a medium telephoto then I highly recommend the Tamron 90 f2.8 macro. Very sharp and a handy 135mm equivalent. (STILL waiting for my Nikor 50 f1.8 - must have been a rush on them?)
--
Doug Jones
Canberra
http://www.panamagic.com.au

 

[allen Bock91889]

I would second these lenses I have them and the price is right. Make sure the Tamron is a SP lenses. If you want to spend more the Nikon 85mm 1.4 is a real nice portrait lenses

Allen

I don't have a prime lens yet and I need some advice as to which
prime lens is the best all round and the sharpest for the S2 pro.
Money is no object!

If it doesn't have to be Nikor and you want a medium telephoto then
I highly recommend the Tamron 90 f2.8 macro. Very sharp and a handy
135mm equivalent. (STILL waiting for my Nikor 50 f1.8 - must have
been a rush on them?)
--
Doug Jones
Canberra
http://www.panamagic.com.au

 

[wgc]

Hi Ron,
You mean my 50mm f1.8 will become more than a weight in the
bottom of my bag? I just ordered my s2 from camumet. What is
the final 35mm equivelent? 90mm? What is the conversion factor?

I have been reading the forum for about 2 months and have decided
to jump in.

I also have a 105mm macro, 80 to 200 2.8f do you have any info on how
they work?

It took quit a while because of all the bad threads (ie. trolls and people
needing reinfrocement), but I finally found a few that had real data.
The review in dp also seemed very good?

I shoot full time and am currently using f4, n90, 4/5, mamiya 645afd/af,
hassy, fuji 645, pentax k1000, 2020, 6006, etc.
I bought an e10 a year ago to learn the work flow and that worked out
real well.

I don't have a prime lens yet and I need some advice as to which
prime lens is the best all round and the sharpest for the S2 pro.
Money is no object!

--
Regards Walt C.

 

[Ron H]

The 50mm will actually become a 75mm which is reasonable portrait lens that is very sharp and fast.The conversion is about 1.5. For most of my general shooting I leave on my Tokina 28-70 ATX f2.6-2.8 which by f4 gives really sharp pictures with good contrast and neutral color rendition. I am sure you probably have many good nikon lenses already.

I have been reading the forum for about 2 months and have decided
to jump in.

I also have a 105mm macro, 80 to 200 2.8f do you have any info on how
they work?

It took quit a while because of all the bad threads (ie. trolls and
people
needing reinfrocement), but I finally found a few that had real data.
The review in dp also seemed very good?

I shoot full time and am currently using f4, n90, 4/5, mamiya
645afd/af,
hassy, fuji 645, pentax k1000, 2020, 6006, etc.
I bought an e10 a year ago to learn the work flow and that worked out
real well.

I don't have a prime lens yet and I need some advice as to which
prime lens is the best all round and the sharpest for the S2 pro.
Money is no object!

--
Regards Walt C.

 

[Derrel87035]

I think that the "best" prime lenses for the S2 are,in order, the AF-D 105mm f/2 DC Nikkor, the Tamron AF 90mm SP f/2.8 Macro, and the AF-D 180mm f/2.8 Nikkor.The Sigma 180mm APO-Macro f/3.5 HSM is about fourth place in image quality, but VERY versatile with its 1:1 macro capability.

"Best" for me is a telephoto. Something with a limited angle of view, for selecting objects and "parts" of a scene, or for photographing people and landscape "things"--not broad vista-type landscapes, but narrow,directed studies. Consequently, I "start" thinking at 35mm in length, with that as my "50 millimeter". I feel that 28mm is the true "normal" for 35mm photography, and I think of 35mm (on 35mm film) as being semi-selective, covering approximately a foot of width for every foot back from my subject. The AF-D 35mm f/2 Nikkor single is a compact,light,and pretty good lens that doesn't cost much, and it gives you 10-segment, D-aware Matrix metering, which helps.

The 105mm f/2 has razor sharpness. It works well with diffusion and center-spot and vignette filters,has 72mm thread,and of course Defocus Control effects. The Defocus Control makes this lens more versatile than any other type of lens for "effects".It's f/stop and 150-mm-ish multiplied focal length make using filtration very worthwhile for pictorial effects. You can use graduated neutral density easily with this lens's small-ish front element and narrow angle of view.

There's also a 135mm f/2 AF-D Defocus Control.I'd like to get that lens too, for a very-fast(ow light),autofocusing 200. Can't comment on it, but those who own it really like it.

The Tamron 90 AF-SP is a sweetheart. It's light,sharp,and focuses to 1:1,and it has a length that,for landscapes,seascapes,people,flowers,is very good. With its deeply-recessed front elelement, it works EXTREMELY well with diffusion,soft-focus,and center-spot filters. it is RAZOR sharp at the best macro apertures (6.7,8,9,11,13) and is still very good at f/16 when flash is the illumination. This might be the second-best lens I have ever used.

The 180mm AF-D Nikkor is super-sharp. I's good for background elimination/control,excellent sharpness at f/4 to f/11,light. Not the best AF however, but great flash control with the D-chip in it. A light 270mm f/2.8 with autofocus that's "okay" but GREAT manual focusing action. Compared to a 300mm 2.8, this 180 is a size/weigh/image quality bonanza. it works well with Kenko AF extension tubes, and is VERY sharp with a tube applied for extreme macro work. VERY good at f/8 in macro range with a tube added.

The new Sigma is light,but long, has excellent HSM auto focus with continuual manual focus override with no doggone "Switch". It's only f/3.5,but it is about 10 millimeters longer than the Nikon, which reports in the EXIF headers as being as 179mm, while the Simga reports and APPEARS as well to be a 189mm lens,so it is a "tiny bit" more telphoto,and is very sharp and constrasty at all "normal" apertures (4,4.8,,5.6,8,11).

--
Happy Shooting!
Derrel

 

[wgc]

Thanks Ron, I will use 1.5 as a approximate conversion factor.
Yes I have quite a few lenses/toys (vbg). At least my wife thinks
so. But I agree 75mm is just on the bottom of the portrait requirements
and should be very satisfactory. I have an old 28 to 70 nikor I am dying
to try with the S2, and a very old 80 to 200.

I have been reading the forum for about 2 months and have decided
to jump in.

I also have a 105mm macro, 80 to 200 2.8f do you have any info on how
they work?

It took quit a while because of all the bad threads (ie. trolls and
people
needing reinfrocement), but I finally found a few that had real data.
The review in dp also seemed very good?

I shoot full time and am currently using f4, n90, 4/5, mamiya
645afd/af,
hassy, fuji 645, pentax k1000, 2020, 6006, etc.
I bought an e10 a year ago to learn the work flow and that worked out
real well.

I don't have a prime lens yet and I need some advice as to which
prime lens is the best all round and the sharpest for the S2 pro.
Money is no object!

--
Regards Walt C.

--
Regards Walt C.

 

[efanous]

Tamron 90mm is awesome. Critically sharp, perfect for portraits, close-ups, indoor photos and flash photography.

ef

Allen

I don't have a prime lens yet and I need some advice as to which
prime lens is the best all round and the sharpest for the S2 pro.
Money is no object!

If it doesn't have to be Nikor and you want a medium telephoto then
I highly recommend the Tamron 90 f2.8 macro. Very sharp and a handy
135mm equivalent. (STILL waiting for my Nikor 50 f1.8 - must have
been a rush on them?)
--
Doug Jones
Canberra
http://www.panamagic.com.au

--
efanous

 

[Rinus Borgsteede]

Tamron 90mm is awesome. Critically sharp, perfect for portraits,
close-ups, indoor photos and flash photography.

But too long for portraits other that the "in your face" type shots with 135mm equivalent. I have it and the 60 Micro Nikkor. (90 equiv.) The Tamron is taking a backseat now.
Rinus of Calgary