Originally posted by Lowell Goudge I often wonder if pixie dust is a term to defend the pentax "snobbery" that I see occasionally where other makers lenses are deemed inferior because , while, just because they are not pentax
An understandable thing to wonder about. It's very subjective, and like pixies themselves, sometimes goes away when you look too closely - or when you try to show someone else.
I can tell you that I love the Nikon 85 1.8, a very sharp, not-too-large, fast mid-telephoto with FA-like contrast and rendering - but it doesn't have the scintillating pop the 77ltd has. The bokeh on the 77 isn't butter-smooth, but it has a certain sweetness, and the Nikon 85's bokeh is just..... serviceable. The 77 has a transition to OOF that can often 'float' the subject in the mind for that extra fraction of a second as the image forms, bringing that moment of pleasing surprise... The Nikon 85 gives you acceptable, nice subject isolation.
On FF, the Nikon is a more interesting lens and might pull ahead of the 77 in some ways - but all that really makes me pine for is a small, FF body from Pentax to shoot that 77ltd on.
So, I hear you about the pixie-dust thing, but.... I wish I could stop experiencing it. My analytical mind is making fun of my aesthetic/artistic mind.
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