What photo-gear Hunter can’t leave the house without.

A lot of people are surprised when they see the inside of my kit bag, partly because it is usually full of leftover bits of sushi and chocolate bars and secondly because it is crammed full of primes.

Prime lenses…… I love prime lenses. I like the restriction of not being able to zoom and the subsequent creativity that ensues. I love being able to have lenses that are sharp even stopped down and perhaps most of all, I love the primes price tag. Now unless you are Alfie (or me) and are lucky enough to be able to afford Nikon`s sublime 85mm f1.4, the chances are that you have taken a look at two lenses; the 50mm f1.4 G and the 35mm F1.8 G.

Right off  the bat, I just want to say…for the price the 50mm f1.4 G is pointless. Unless you absolutely have to have the G type lens focussing speed, save yourself a heck of a lot of money and go for the 50mm F1.4 D. Apart from the slightly softer bokeh generated by the G, I personally can’t tell the difference.

Nikon 35mm f/1.8 G AF-S DX

Now onto the 35mm. Chances are, unless you have got a serious income, that you will own a cropped sensor nikon (i.e. D300, D90 etc). This means that every lens you stick on your camera body won’t actually be at the focal length stated on barrel. So a 35mm is actually something closer to a 50mm (you do the maths, its a 1.6 x crop). Now 50mm for a long time was the staple of all the photographic greats. It was all you needed; fast, close to the film plane, not too long and not too wide, a perfect photojournalist or street snapper lens. With the onset of the modern zoom nearly everything covers the 50mm focal length so people have started to replace primes with “do everything” lenses. This is a shame as they miss out on the fun and creativity that a fixed focal length creates. I often just leave my house with this 35mm slapped on my camera and see what I can make in the face of single lens restrictions.  But the main draw of any prime, particularly this 35 is the fast f-stop. This lens will stop down to 1.8 which is nice and quick. Wide open it is a little bit soft with the corners losing a bit of detail but its nothing to get in a huff about. At f2 however this lens comes into its own, it is razor sharp for a piece of glass costing less than ¥25000 new. It has the G type focussing which is lightning fast, particularly on the newer Nikon bodies.

A word of warning to film users or people who like depth of field scales on their lenses…The 35mm has no aperture ring so isn’t going to be fun on any old film bodies and it lacks a depth of field scale because…well basically it is a cheap lens. Oh and it wont work on non DX bodies as its especially for us crop sensor users.

I have produced some really great shots with this lens. It focusses quick enough for some “from the hip” action and doesn’t hunt so much at night so that fast aperture can really be taken advantage of. The lens is also tiny so it helps when your trying to go about doing some inconspicuous street work. One final word on this piece of glass, it feels cheap, not as cheap as the horrific Canon 50 f1.8 but its getting there. Anyone who is use to Nikon’s top end glass will immediately feel the difference both in weight and materials used. But so what, it costs nothing and produces great images so just don’t drop it.

For anyone on a budget or planning on picking up a prime  for their DX I would highly recommend this lens, its an awesome little piece of kit to have in your bag.

Nikon 50mm f1.4 AF-D

This lens is a relatively new addition to my sack, with only a weeks play time so far. I did once own the sublime 50mm f1.2 AIS which if you can be bothered with manual focussing is possibly the sharpest prime ever. That 1.2 was sadly sold to make way for new “working lenses” that I needed for jobs. However the lack of a 50mm focal length in my bag began to make my head feel sore so it was soon replaced. Having a lens that stops down to f1.4 is fun, especially if you are a bit of a bokeh-holic such as myself. The seven blade aperture in this lens pulls out some really nice soft and smooth backgrounds albeit if a bit over the top compared to the 85 1.4. One thing of note is that it doesn’t quite match the colour of the more expensive G type 50mm but thats fixed pretty easily in photoshop anyways.

You can pick these lenses up all over Tokyo for basically nothing. I got one for around ¥17000 which they may as well have sold new. Like all fast primes this lens is sharp if set at about f2 but crank it up to f4 and it really starts to shine. Focussing speed wise its not quite up to par when compared to the new set of G lenses but its still quick enough. The  lens also doesn’t seem to hunt in low light which is again fantastic. I am using it on a d300 which has Nikon’s killer multi point focussing system but still I know a lot of people who use it on lesser models and it performs extremely well. In terms of build the lens is like all of Nikon’s older aperture ring bound lenses..much better than the new ones. For a lens that costs so little you will struggle to find anything as solid as this.

All in all then the 50mm is a solid investment if you are a DX owner and trying to build up your prime collection . If you are full frame it’s a no brainer. This lens combined with a d700 or d3 is lethal when it comes to low light work.

Nikon 17-55 f2.8G Af-S

This is possibly the most boring lens I own but it is also the one that earns me the most money. It is my “workhorse”.

The focal length this lens covers is wide enough for indoor work and long enough for outdoor stuff. Its 2.8 aperture and sharpness at F4 makes it extremely useful when you just have to get a shot of something and its light-speed focussing means you wont ever miss a shot. If you are a working photographer with a DX sensor body then the chances are you will own this lens. The 17-55 doesn’t quite bear the price tag of the 24-70 f2.8 G lens and nor does it quite match it for sharpness or bokeh but boy is it close. One thing which similarity which it does have with its older full frame brother is weight, this is a heavy lens with a big front element so for street snapping it just isn’t fun.

Reviewing this lens is a difficult one because I don’t really enjoy using it, I just have to own it. That is not to say that it is not a fantastic lens, it performs superbly at all apertures and is as sharp as any prime at f4. It is just a boring lens and one that I felt compelled to own as a working photographer. It sits in my kit bag on weekends and comes out during the week when I have to work. Personally if you can afford that little bit extra I would go for the 24-70, it is sharper than a lot of Nikon’s primes and produces lovely soft bokeh at f2.8. However if you own a d300 then get this lens, stick it on the body for five minutes and you will see what I mean. The camera and lens work together perfectly, with its focussing speed pushing the d300′s Af system to its absolute limit.

In terms of build quality this lens is superb; holding it feels like you are holding a brick. It is tough, rugged and designed to be used every single day in any situation. The gasket on the back helps build on the weather resistance of the d300 and it has an extremely smooth zoom action. The final thing I will say about this lens though..why oh why did Nikon put the zoom ring at the back of the lens, its proximity to your camera body makes zooming for anyone with big hands a real difficulty…

Nikon 85mm F1.4 AF-S D

If could only own one lens it would be this and for a long time it was all I had. You probably know that if Alfie could make Nikon babies then it would be with this piece of kit, but I am pretty much on the same wavelength. It is ridiculously sharp at f2 and if used correctly can produce some incredible low light results at f1.4 with it churning out some of the creamiest and smoothest bokeh imaginable.

However I have one major criticism of this lens which Alfie seems immune to. It hunts..a lot. The age of the 85mm means it was designed really to sit on Nikon’s old F film bodies. It is lightning fast to focus on a F4 but slow and unpredictable on a d300. For a lens with such length and such a high aperture you really need to practice with it to get the most out of it as getting sharp results at 85mm can often prove difficult. That said the satisfaction you get when you nail the focus on this lens is brilliant especially if you are using it at night. If you have got the extra cash, completely ignore the 85mm f1.8 and just blow it all on the 1.4..you will not be disappointed.