Fast Prime

[Carlj]

The Alpha mount isn't short on cheap affordable primes. 35mm and 50mm all for just over £100. The 85mm f2.8 a smidgen more. Dyxum database is a good place to look at the iq on Sony bodies too.

I personally own the 50mm f1.8, but not sure how much use it's gonna get since I invested in the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 mind.

[Jonathan]

It`s the Nikon 1.4 G just under £300

This one?
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-nikon-50mm-f1-4-g-af-s-lens/p1028370

Very nice lens.  Flare control far better than the old 1.4.  People who say it's soft may have difficulty using a 1.4 lens

Very slow to focus though.  Like very slow.  And there's really no reason for that - Nikon must have just decided to make it slow.

What do you mean by 105 DC?

This http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=67

[jinky]

Yes that`s the one Jonathan. yes similar to what I have read but people complaining often seem to reply that they have been using a focus point on the eye and then recomposing and so shifting focus with a 1.4. That DC lens sounds interesting and probably much more useful as a portrait lens but I`ll work with what I have a bit longer yet I think. I am trying to shoot more with my lenses wide open and check out performance at the moment as I have been guilty of playing too safe sometimes I feel.

[Jonathan]

Yes that`s the one Jonathan. yes similar to what I have read but people complaining often seem to reply that they have been using a focus point on the eye and then recomposing and so shifting focus with a 1.4.

Yep that would be it.  They can't use a lens at 1.4

[Alfonso_Frisk]

Yes that`s the one Jonathan. yes similar to what I have read but people complaining often seem to reply that they have been using a focus point on the eye and then recomposing and so shifting focus with a 1.4.

Yep that would be it.  They can't use a lens at 1.4

C'mon JR, lets have some tips for getting the best out of our F1.4 lenses. 

[Jonathan]

C'mon JR, lets have some tips for getting the best out of our F1.4 lenses. 

Don't recompose

This should make things clear..... http://www.hasselbladusa.com/media/2234814/when%20true%20focus%20makes%20a%20difference.pdf

[Graham]

   Some one famously said "You don't choose which eye to focus on, you choose which eyelash to focus on!"
                     Graham.

[Oldboy]

   Some one famously said "You don't choose which eye to focus on, you choose which eyelash to focus on!"
                     Graham.

I always thought you didn't shoot until you saw the whites of the eye! 

[jinky]

Damn you Jonathan you have me looking at the 100DC now - or even better the 135 dc even dearer one. Great reviews everywhere and love the idea of the adjustable bokeh

[Hinfrance]

Paul, if I might refer you to Don's earlier thread at this point, before you do something daft. Not to mention expensive 

Meanwhile I am finding that I am having quite a lot of fun with my Fuji Bridge camera. Yep, naff all DOF control what with it being a compact sensor, but now I've worked out where some of the weak spots are I am snapping away quite merrily. I take it along with the K5 for its sheer instantaneous versatility.

But this thread has made me decide to dig the 50mm from the bottom of the little used kit pit and stick it on the front of a DSLR this weekend,

[jinky]

I don`t get the link with Don`s earlier thread and the tyre sensors? 

I`m getting a few paid jobs just now and desperately trying to just lift some of the shots I do hence the interest in a decent portrait lens. I do use my 50mm and 85mm 1.8s but their bokeh can be harsh wide open I find. I may not be investing just now in anything I am looking at so don`t worry H. probably stick to using my excellent Sigma 70-200 for those portraits which I find is sharper than the Nikon 85mm at most apertures but offers a much softer background too. Can`t knock a man for looking. I have given up looking for a bridge though - just cannot get anything that matches any where near the quality of my D700 and if travelling i`ll take fewer lenses and leave the grip off rather than take something not as good to a place I might not be back to again.

[Hinfrance]

Sorry Paul, totally mucked up the link - it wasn't Don's, it was John's HERE.

Anyway, you're right about the bridges, any quality they offer is in a very narrow range. But my baggage allowance is only so big and I have to carry the water and sandwiches as well when on tour, so a bridge it has to be. I'll just keep it on ISO100 and keep my fingers crossed

[Jonathan]

Just seen a 135 DC for sale at £600.  #justsayin

[jinky]

Ooh - where Jonathan?

[Jonathan]

It's on Talk Photography - and also eBay (may be slightly higher on there)