Originally posted by yeatzee Out of curiosity, what makes this lens worth the $600+ you see them going for? How is it $200+ more of a lens than my sigma 105mm? Is it just because of its cult following? I mean obviously its a good lens, but is it really THAT good?
Where do you see them go for $600? Ebay?
Originally posted by rparmar All I know is I cannot actually imagine a better lens. Unless one could magically make it half the size and weight.
There are a whole slew of 90-105mm macros out there, the 105mm series 1 is certainly not the best of the bunch. David at "Making, Not Taking" did a pretty
nifty macro shootout comparison.
The Vivitar Series 1 90mm f2.5 (Bokina) is visibly better at corner sharpness/contrast and I would say slightly better at center sharpness as well.
Macro_LRC_layout_f2513.jpg (image)
I know I'm pixel peeing here but if you're going to pixel peep, macro shots are definitely where you would do it.
The Bokina requires an adapter to reach 1:1 and will not focus to infinity with the adapter on, while this is an inconvenience, I think it's a worthy trade off for superior image quality from macro to telephoto work.
I've heard that the 105mm S1 is not great for portraits and other non-macro work, is this true? I feel like it's more of a rumor.