Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/02/04
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]" In 2008, full-frame DSLR's from three makers became affordable, and interest in classic 50mm lenses was renewed." I've had my eye on the new redesign of the Nikon 50 1.4 about to come out; For like 333 some odd bucks but with silent built in auto focusing AFS they call it which are not on my other versions. Especially my AI version. And focusing manually at f1.4 and be there on a cheap body with non groundglass style groundglass is hit or miss. The writer of this article mainly about the new Sigma fat 50 is David Kilpatrick and he seems to have a leg up on how optical design on fast 50's, 55's, 58's have come down over the rolling decades. For the The British Journal of Photography http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=837772 Radical new designs coming out he says.... Zooming with an f 4 lightweight zoom to me is plenty of fun at a 30th of a second or a 60th of a second with a Yuban brand 2.8; but its a 250th of a second with a 1.4. No need for those wimpy ultra high ISO's with less than elegant noise or grain patterns. If you were doing ISO 1600 with f4 you'd be doing ISO 200 at 1.4 That's slow. Would you call that slow? I'd call that slow! He talks about the Summicron coming from a Taylor Taylor Hobson design. I forgot I never knew that! Is that why they call it Double Gauss? Kilpatrick seems to have checked out the radical new 50 1.4's on 24 million pixel full-frame cameras. The Sigma 50 1.4 uses a 77mm filter thread thread!! Older 50 1.4 designs have focus shift you notice with digital he says. "The Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM is a monster." Mark William Rabiner