Originally posted by k100d you are truly a bokeh connoiseur, kelly. on the subject of lenses, sometimes i wished i had a certain lens at a certain time, but i've never thought, i wish i could use the bokeh of this particular lens in the situation, that's just too advanced for me.
Thats the thought - sometimes the only reason a subject I'm shooting will be interesting is because of what the lens will do to it and in reverse, sometimes the only reason I select a subject is because I'm interested in how a certain lens will render it. Thats really at the heart of the matter. The old addage 'horses for courses'.
I've been using the Nokton almost exclusively for a month now, with a little VL125 thrown in. I don't have a lot of experience in the 50mm range generally to know whether or not this particular favoritism has more to do with the Nokton specifically, or 1.4 specifically. I'm very excited to put the T*85/1.4 to work and see what emerges; it'll be the only other lens I've had that let in as much light.
I can confidently state though, the FA31 while fast, is quite different.
Originally posted by k100d: ...but usually i have the FA31 and you're very familiar how reliable it is in all situations and it does the trick. both the FA31 and A50 1.2 seem to be able to give everything a soft blur without being too distracting.
Some more bokeh shots...
It's funny, at first I was thinking both those shots were A 1.2 shots and I was going to wholeheartedly agree to a similarity to the 31, hehe... Your 31 example sums up the 31 nicely for me - a good field of view, smooth and generous bokeh, though its very intelligible. Clean and professional. Like a straight A student, its predictable and sharp. It was my first lens and remains the only AF lens I own but it doesn't offer many surprises. I look forward to FF for when the 31 will really get to shine, as a great wide angle, not just a normal normal.
Do you find the 1.2 oof rendering similar to the 31, just more? Its nice bokeh certainly. I'd be curious to see what happens if you stick the 1.2 in a thicket of weeds with the late afternoon light shining across the scene, see what sort of mangling it does (or doesn't?). My first example of the Nokton was basically just that. Doing that with other lenses would produce results leaving very little to the imagination (like the 31). You'de just see what was there a little blurrier and the mystery of the shot would be gone. Need that lens for that shot, not necessarily the range.