APS-C Primes

Create polls and watch the responses
Forum rules
Think hard before creating a poll. Admin may delete frivolous or repetitive polls!

Would you buy an APS-C-only prime lens?

Yes.
8
21%
No.
23
59%
Maybe.
7
18%
I already own one!
1
3%
 
Total votes: 39

User avatar
bfitzgerald
Subsuming Vortex of Brilliance
Posts: 3996
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:48 pm

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by bfitzgerald »

Don, I use film if you don't...well do I care?

I simply suggest that it's not the smartest thing to want an APS only lens on A mount, not a prime anyway.
What Nikon do may work for them, but that's based on them ripping out the AF motor, and making lenses like the 50mm f1.8 not AF on the D40/60 bodies. This is not the case on all A mount cameras.
And APS lenses are known for vignetting, we will see just how that does when the samples show up..wide open you can expect it to be more a problem than a ff lens.

Yeah I would rather take a 35mm f2 FF, and Canon show that they can make one for an ok price too.

Have a browse on dp, the D3 forum..and you will see more than a few Nikon owners think it's a dumb idea too.
User avatar
bfitzgerald
Subsuming Vortex of Brilliance
Posts: 3996
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:48 pm

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by bfitzgerald »

Well looking at the poll results, def most folks are not interested in an APS only prime!

People power eh?? ;-)
User avatar
Dusty
Emperor of a Minor Galaxy
Posts: 2215
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:04 pm
Location: Ironton, Missouri, USA

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by Dusty »

Coming from manual focus, I have no AF primes, but would like some, even APS-C only primes. I had and shot a lot with primes on my MD systems. I hope to build up the same range of lenses I have for MD on the Alpha mount system.

Dusty
An a700, an a550 and couple of a580s, plus even more lenses (Zeiss included!).
David Kilpatrick
Site Admin
Posts: 5985
Joined: Sat May 19, 2007 1:14 pm
Location: Kelso, Scotland
Contact:

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by David Kilpatrick »

I would not buy an APS-C only prime unless it was a lens impossible to make well with good coverage (full frame), such as a special-case 10 to 14mm f2.8 or something extreme like a 16mm f2, 20mm f2, 24mm f1.4 - or maybe a really clever tele like a 135mm f2.8 with an ultra compact design - or maybe a 35mm focal length 2:1 macro.

Something like a 35mm f1.8 has no appeal as my 28mm f2 covers full frame and is already about as small and neat as you can get, and the central performance is great on APS-C. I would rather see Sony re-issue the 24mm f2.8, 28mm f2, and 35mm f2 Minolta designs. And I would love them to make an 85mm f2 like the old MD design (wonderful lens) but for AF.

David
User avatar
bakubo
Tower of Babel
Posts: 5865
Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 7:55 am
Location: Japan
Contact:

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by bakubo »

David Kilpatrick wrote:Something like a 35mm f1.8 has no appeal as my 28mm f2 covers full frame and is already about as small and neat as you can get, and the central performance is great on APS-C. I would rather see Sony re-issue the 24mm f2.8, 28mm f2, and 35mm f2 Minolta designs. And I would love them to make an 85mm f2 like the old MD design (wonderful lens) but for AF.
Agreed, that would be even better. I would prefer for Sony to reissue the earlier FF lenses for a reasonable price. The only one I would likely get is either the 35mm f2 or 28mm f2 to use as a small, "normal" lens for my A700.
User avatar
Dusty
Emperor of a Minor Galaxy
Posts: 2215
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 5:04 pm
Location: Ironton, Missouri, USA

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by Dusty »

One of the reasons I never switched to the autofocus system was that I had a bunch of good glass to cover what I needed, and the cost of re--buying it again, along with the fact that the AF lenses cost more, didn't make any sense for the few extra features that the system offered.

I don't care about AF, as I never had a problem doing proper focusing. I did like the 9000 body when it came out, and convinced my sister to buy it over the 7000. (She still uses it). I was wishing Minolta would have come out with an X900, a MD system version of the 9000, but it was apparent that they where wholly committed to the AF system, and my features and shutter speeds would never increase.

In a way I'm lucky that I missed the film AF, as now I have to buy digital bodies, since 35mm film is dead in reality. Of course, had I bought into the system, I would have some nice FF glass by now. I may still be able to scarf some up, as an old shooting buddy of mine who had passed on his MD stuff to me when he went AF just bought a Nikon D60. I found out too late to talk him into Sony, and he has the funds to buy whichever system he wants, if he sees the value in it.

Since I don't see FF bodies coming down to my price range any time soon, I'd like what I call the 4 essential primes, 20/21, 28, 50 and 135mm. Of course, on APS-C these would be 14, 18, 33 and 90mm. And of course I would want these at reasonable prices! Only my 50s were Rokkor, all the rest from someone else. However, it seems that the aftermarket lens market has shrunk quite a bit, and there's less competition than there was in the 70's and 80's.

Dusty
An a700, an a550 and couple of a580s, plus even more lenses (Zeiss included!).
rogprov
Oligarch
Posts: 170
Joined: Sun May 20, 2007 5:10 am
Location: Gloucester, UK
Contact:

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by rogprov »

Dusty wrote: Since I don't see FF bodies coming down to my price range any time soon, ...
Dusty
So what's the best price for a a900 body in the US? Best I found in UK is 1660 GBP (equivalent of about 2350 USD).
Roger
User avatar
bfitzgerald
Subsuming Vortex of Brilliance
Posts: 3996
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:48 pm

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by bfitzgerald »

I am always amazed to read "film is dead"
Reality is..I can still buy the stuff!

Smaller market, yup..who cares? It's the vibes you get with the stuff.

Back on topic. Lenses..well, I honestly don't expect anything much low end from sony on primes, we still await the 50 budget model. If it will turn up, who can say. Sony seem more into their G and Zeiss stuff so far, no problems..tamron and minolta do some nice stuff on ebay ;-)
User avatar
KevinBarrett
Emperor of a Minor Galaxy
Posts: 2449
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:32 pm
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Contact:

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by KevinBarrett »

As of this post the vote was as follows:

Yes: 6
No: 16
Maybe: 4
I already have one: 0


I am editing the original post and poll now that Sony has released some "concepts" including two prime lenses for APS-C only. You may go back and change your votes if you so desire.
Kevin Barrett
-- Photos --
User avatar
bfitzgerald
Subsuming Vortex of Brilliance
Posts: 3996
Joined: Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:48 pm

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by bfitzgerald »

Still a no for me ;-)
User avatar
artington
Imperial Ambassador
Posts: 553
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:22 pm

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by artington »

I voted no as well. Purely personal preference. I have a good range of full frame Minolta primes, from 28/2.8 to 200/2.8 and my favourite is the 135/2.8, which is a miniature wonder in my view. I am currently using A700 and Dynax 7 bodies but intend to buy an A900 next year when the price comes down. Now the latter is available, however, it would be very good to see some more fast FF primes from Sony at the wide to super-wide end - hopefully ones which do not weigh a ton. I must say I cannot really see the point of getting a 135/1.8 CZ weighing over 1 kg with a 77mm filter size when you can still find the wonderful Minolta 135/2.8 at 360gm and 55mm filter for 20% to 30% of the CZ price. Yes, the CZ is faster, but you can shoot pretty noiselessly up to ISO 1600 on the 700/900 bodies so the advantage is less critical with digital.

All that said, most people are going to be happy to stay with APS-C so I should have thought it would make perfect commercial sense to offer some fast APS-C lenses at the wide end.
User avatar
KevinBarrett
Emperor of a Minor Galaxy
Posts: 2449
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:32 pm
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Contact:

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by KevinBarrett »

Image

A 60/2.0 Macro from Tamron, APS-C only. Change anybody's mind yet? I'm tempted. We'll have to see how it performs.

As of now:

Yes: 7
No: 21
Maybe: 6
Already Own One: 0
Kevin Barrett
-- Photos --
Javelin
Emperor of a Minor Galaxy
Posts: 1856
Joined: Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:51 pm

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by Javelin »

I have a 90mm and 10mm of which I only really use the 100mm (fulll frame lenses) for macro I think i'd rather have longer than 60mm for macro. maybe if I didn;t already have a 50mm but even then I can get the Sony 1.4 and have the low light capabilities (if I wanted to stick with new) and the tamron is an F2 for how much?
User avatar
KevinBarrett
Emperor of a Minor Galaxy
Posts: 2449
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:32 pm
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Contact:

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by KevinBarrett »

I have considered Tamron's 90mm Macro, and wish that I had acted on that consideration when they were just a hair over $400 before Christmas. I expect this new lens to fall into that same price range. On one hand it would give an APS-C user the equivalent of 90/2, which is perfectly situated as a portrait prime for those who haven't already sprung for both an a900 and an 85mm CZ. Add to that the unique possibilities of a 1:1 macro lens a full stop faster than other popular 50, 60, 90, and 100mm macros. It has the potential to serve two popular purposes very well, giving a strong selling point to APS-C primes that I hadn't considered before.

(I used to work in sales, and I've still got a bit of the flare for it, I'm afraid)
Kevin Barrett
-- Photos --
User avatar
Dr. Harout
Subsuming Vortex of Brilliance
Posts: 5662
Joined: Wed May 30, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Yerevan, Armenia
Contact:

Re: APS-C Primes

Unread post by Dr. Harout »

Kevin, I think APS-C is not a temporary format so we'll hear about lots of primes in that format. Previously, I was quite convinced that APS-C was just a "road station" on the way to FF, and after final improvements with sensors, cameras and lenses APS-C will be discontinued in the SLR market. Now I see that it's not so. So think about APS-C primes too.
A99 + a7rII + Sony, Zeiss, Minolta, Rokinon and M42 lenses

Flickr
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests