Some of my best pictures out of the DF was with a 300 f2.8 vrii. That sensor made for some wonderful pictures with the exotic glass.
Also the 50 1.8g produced some stellar results. Maybe it's just that 16mp sensor working the magic. lol.
I've read a lot of people talk about the 58 1.4g and DF being sublime. Never shot that combo myself.
Hi,
I use the Df at the race track (road courses) with the 500/4P on a monopod. Focus on the spot on the track, pan in and out and shoot at the spot. Works well. And that lens is stellar. I've had it forever, and it was beat up when I bought it from a professional motorsports magazine shooter when he got a new AFS 500/4. :)
That 300/2.8 is in the same category. Nice.
I'll have to put together a Df lens list. Meaning the ones I kept out of many more lenses I once had.
Stan
I bought my black Df new in May, 2014. Metering and the electronic rangefinder works with any lens, so it's ideal for use on a bellows or with manual extension tubes, reversed lenses, lens coupling, &c., with no need to enter information into the camera. I would like to have interchangeable finders and screens, though.
Hi,
Me, too. I was hoping, the day the Df was announced, that it was based on the F3 and not the FA. Oh, well. It'll do (and has).
Stan
Mostly, Distagon 21mm f/2.8, Distagon T 35mm f/2.0, Makro-Planar T 50mm f/2, and Makro-Planar T 100mm f/2.
Many favorites but the overall ONE is the 85/1.4D without a doubt. All the 85s are sharp but that’s the best overall creamy image.
Thanks for mentioning the 25-85 Ben. I owned this lens, acquired it when I bought my D600 as a kit. I wish I would have kept it. I agree that it would be a great fit on the Df and I thought it was a pretty good lens. Take care, Archie
I have the 50mm 1.8 G and it is a very good lens. I would like the 58mm, but it’s out of my price range at this time, but I’m always looking for a deal.
They're starting to come down thanks to mirrorless but seem to be holding onto resale better than other F mount used lenses.
I've really, really beefed up my F mount stuff in the last 6 months as I've taken advantage of falling prices. I bought a D850 and a 24-70 f/2.8E late last summer/early fall and then picked up a D5 and a 300 f/2.8 VR(1) last month. I have no immediate plans to move to the Z mount, but even if I did the recent lens purchases should adapt well.
It's also been a bit disappointing as I ended up selling my older 24-70mm f/2.8G for about half what I paid for it in 2020. I have a D800 and D810 also, and really should sell one of them. The D800 is so inexpensive now that I wouldn't want to sell it, plus mine has a lot of sentimental attachment as my first FX camera and first serious step into getting into digital, plus has had a CLA/shutter replacement in my ownership so I know it should live a lot longer. The D810 still has some decent value, but I can't get around how much I genuinely like it and how comfortable/familiar it feels(especially as a backup to my D850) as it was my main/primary camera a lot more recently than the D800 was.
Some have surprised me at prices, though. For one, I'm pretty sure I paid around $1200 for my Df from KEH, and the last time I looked they seemed more in the $1600 range for silver(mine is black, which seems to sell for more and is also what I prefer). I looked at the 58mm f/1.4G also and they seem reliably $900+. It seems a great lens by all accounts, but considering how many perfectly serviceable 50mm f/1.4 lenses I have(albeit only one AF one) it's hard for me to justify spending that on it.
Same man. Price are so good right now.
Took 3 years off so I had to rebuy from scratch. I was amazed on how much mirrorless came along.
When I left the 500pf was just out, still hard to get a D850, D6 was announced, and I believe the Z6/7 were in their infancy
not getting good reviews.
For me, everything Mint, all original contents, and boxed as if new(only way I'll buy used, OCD lol).
D4 $900
20 1.8g $400
24-70e $900
70-200e $1100
50 1.4g $150
300 VRii $2200
Might look at a D850 after I recoup this initial $ hit.
It's a great time to buy this out of date ancient crap lol.
Nice, you’ve found some excellent bargains. There are some great deals and like you, this ancient and obsolete gear works for me. I don’t remember the last new Nikon camera or lens i bought new. I found a good deal on a used 35mm f/2 D and hope to have it next week.
You’ve definitely done well regarding the F mount gear. The pricing is generally good and I’m only buying used now. I paid $1700 CDN for a mint Df (silver, I would prefer black one) which is enough, but this is the lowest price I’ve seen around here. You got a good deal on your 58mm, I don’t see them often here
Welcome to the conversation and thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with your Df and lenses. I’ve always wanted one and am happy finally to have one. A whole new world of glass options is now available to me; I just have to figure out what I want and find them. But this is part of the fun I suppose. Your thoughts regarding the lenses is valuable to me.
Well, I can't say I have just one favorite lens for the Df. However, I do like the 35/2 AF due to its small size. The fixed focal length also makes me think in a different way and the pictures look a bit different from those taken with a zoom lens.
My current walkaround zoom lens is Tokina 28-70/2.8 which is a bit heavy, though. For slow moving objects/portraits I like to use the 70-210/4 AF.
I like the pre-Ai 28/2, but it doesn't get that much use as I'm not a great fan 28 mm focal length.
My most used lens with the Df is, however, the two-ring AF-D 80-200/2.8 that I use for horse photos.
-Topi
Thank you!
In the last week I have really gotten opportunities to use the 55mm f/1.2 K (AI-converted) lens - it balances surprisingly well with the Df and never feels "heavy". It's supplanted my 50mm f/1.4 AF that I had used for the last year, and I find that focusing at f/1.2 is not as challenging as I expected. (Probably helps I have 14 years of experience doing manual focus on DSLRs, half of which were on DX cameras not suited ideally for that task!)
I have brought back the Micro-Nikkor due to its compact dimensions compared to the 28-105, and it is a nice lightweight companion to the camera when taking food close-ups - yet somehow I still am enjoying just sticking to the 55/1.2 more of the time just for the look.
Since people have mentioned prices in this thread: I got the 55mm f/1.2 K for around $200 on eBay, but have seen AI-converted older ones go for less than $100 on there too. My copy is very sharp, even when doing indoors wide-open shots (though outdoors in sunlight I get more of the crazy "glow" effect that I have enjoyed before on my AI-converted Nikkor-S 50mm f/1.4).
The 70-300 AF-P is stellar at sharpness at 300mm and has effective VR even at 1/30th in dimly lit areas, though its one drawback is that it doesn't really provide much in the way of bokeh at the max aperture of f/5.6. Definitely less front-heavy with its weight compared to the push-pull 80-200mm f/2.8 AF I barely use these days.
I have no favorite lens for my Df - it's a pleasure to use with every lens I own.
Hi,
I have been culling my Nikon lens collection since buying a medium format kit
back in 2020. This, with the Df firmly in mind. Some of these lenses date back
to the F2 and then a FE, an FA and an F4. So they cover all the series of lenses:
pre AI, AI, AI-S, AI-P, AF and AF-D. Then came the various F5 bodies and the D1 and
D2 series using them all.
But now just one F5 and the Df. Oh, a D1H is still here but rarely used.
These are the keepers specifically for the Df and F5 at this point.
AF 20/2.8
AIS 24/2.8
AF 24/2.8
AFD 28-105/3.5-4.5
AIS 28/2
AFS 28/1.8
AIS 35/2
AFS 35/1.8
Type K 45/2.8 GN
AI 50/1.8
AF 50/1.8
AFS 50/1.8 Df Kit lens
Type A 85/1.8
AI 105/2.8 macro
Type A 105/2.5
Type K 105/2.5
AFD 105/2 DC
Type K 135/2.8
AFD 135/2 DC
AFD 180/2.8
Type K 180/2.8
Type A 300/4.5 six element (not the crappy 5 element)
AFS 70-300/4.5-5.6 G VR
AIP 500/4
The two pre AI 105/2.5 are of different designs. One is Gaussian and the
other Sonnar. And I can't recall which is which off the top of my head.
Anyway, a motley collection. But I have been at this a long time. I began
with the FE in 1979, then added the used F2 because it came with many
lenses. Some are still here, the Type A and K ones. All were converted
to AI aperture rings back when Nikon still sold those.
The AI ones are from the FE, the AIS ones from the FA and the AF ones from the F4.
The AFD and AFS are from the F5 and then digital era.
Stan
Hi,
Aw, heck. I forgot the Noct. AI 58/1.2 Noct. Not in the other two large lens bags.
That's a special lens for rendering points of light as points at night. It came
from a surplus MRI being parted out. It has no aperture blades. So it can be
used only wide open. It sold cheap because of this. Only $600.
Stan
Wanted to post some examples of the K 55mm f/1.2 as it's fast becoming my favorite lens on the Df, period. I originally wanted one thinking it would get me the "glow" that my pre-AI 50mm f/1.4 has wide open, but it's actually a pretty well-corrected lens at f/1.2 and surprisingly easy to focus.
For a week or so I had been bringing back my 55mm f/3.5 micro for close-up work, since it is nice and lightweight compared to the 28-105 AF-D - but I ended up bringing the zoom today at early dinner and liked the result I got here: