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To round out the optics

DrEntropy

Great Pumpkin
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I went ahead and got a 14~24mm ∱2.8 Nikkor. Now can cover the FX (full-frame in Nikon speak) range from 14mm, thru 400mm with three optics.
D8B_1925Th.jpg
 
Now you just need to find a good used Sigma 150-600mm contemporary with the Nikon mount. 🀠
 
Now you just need to find a good used Sigma 150-600mm contemporary with the Nikon mount. 🀠

Already have the 200~500mm ∱5.6 Nikon glass as the longest. With the extenders, that pretty well covers anything I'd want (at present :sneaky:).
 
Well, the "present" seems to be relative...

The GAS attack and a good deal on another of the ∱ 2.8 optics came along. Now a Nikkor AF-S 24~70 is in inventory. The community 4th of July Parade is coming along directly. Meanwhile, some practice.

Screenshot from 2025-06-05 0.png
 
There is no cure for GAS. It never ends!

Cruel... but fair.
As it happens, my (and your) birthday is coming soon, so I got myself a pre-birthday present. AF-S Nikkor 85mm ∱1.4 G. BIG front lens! And as sharp across the aperture range as all the reviews say it is. 82A_1126Gcrsc.JPG
 
Funny you should mention birthday optics! Yes, my BD is coming up in a few days. I have decided to get a wide angle lens to round out my stable of glass.
Currently, I have a 24-105, a 70-200, a 300mm prime, and a 150-600mm. In addition I have a 50mm f/1.4 prime, an 85mm f2, and a 135mm f2.

So, I’m pretty well covered from 24 to 600mm. What I don’t have is a good ultra-wide zoom. I do have a 14mm f/2.8 prime for night sky shots but it is manual focus only.

I have narrowed the choices down to two possibilities. First is the Canon RF 16–28mm F/2.8 and the other is the Canon RF 14–35mm f/4. The price of the latter option is about $250 more expensive. Also, the 14–35 is what is called an β€œL” series lens. It is a sturdier build and has a faster quieter USM motor. The cheaper 16–28 is not an L series, lens, though it does still have a metal base. It has a slower somewhat noisier STM focus motor.
Both of these lenses have excellent reviews as far as image quality goes so that is really not a deciding factor. Also, since they are fairly closing price that won’t be a deciding factor either.
The less expensive 16–28 of course is a little less in the overall focal range, but has the advantage of being an F2.8 lens. The 14–35 has a much wider focal range, but is less bright by one full stop.
I’m kind of agonizing over which option to go with, but I am leaning towards the 14–35 option even though it is a little less bright of a lens.
 
The 14–35 has a much wider focal range, but is less bright by one full stop.
I’m kind of agonizing over which option to go with, but I am leaning towards the 14–35 option even though it is a little less bright of a lens.
My 2p... The 14~35 is the one. That jump from ∱2.8 to ∱4 is just about meaningless with your full-frame high res. sensor and an ISO you can manipulate to make up for it. The wider range of angle-of-acceptance is more important, IMHO. In my case, with the 14~24 wide angle Nikkor optic, I went with the sharpest (according to the many reviews) one I could get. Just happened to be ∱2.8. Had it been an ∱4 with reviews being the same, it likely wouldn't have had me looking for a faster lens.
 
My 2p... The 14~35 is the one. That jump from ∱2.8 to ∱4 is just about meaningless with your full-frame high res. sensor and an ISO you can manipulate to make up for it. The wider range of angle-of-acceptance is more important, IMHO. In my case, with the 14~24 wide angle Nikkor optic, I went with the sharpest (according to the many reviews) one I could get. Just happened to be ∱2.8. Had it been an ∱4 with reviews being the same, it likely wouldn't have had me looking for a faster lens.
Honestly that's kinda the way I'm leaning. One advantage of the f2.8 that would be useful, however, is that it would work well as a night sky lens. However, since I already have a Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 (manual focus only) I'm covered there.

Another RF mount option is the 15-35 f/2.8, which I would love to have, but that sucker costs $2400 - that's $1000 more than the 14-35 f/4. A thousand dollars is a heck of a lot to pay for 1 stop of light that I probably would not use that often since this lens will be mostly (not only but mostly) for landscapes and maybe some street photography. Also, the more expensive 15-35 f/2.8 weights more than a half pound more than the 14-35.

Yep, pretty sure the 14-35 f/4 is the way I'll go.
 
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