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A comment on Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan. Parent comment

Re:Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan by monkeynotes on Monday December 21, 2020 @08:41AM (#25494822)
2-3 stops is enormous. Speed of the lens is partially where the additional cost comes from, and professionals are willing to pay for that extra performance - especially sports photographers.

It's been a long time since I paid any attention to pro photographic equipment so I don't know if fast lenses are important with modern sensors performing so well in low light. But back in the analog/early digital days 2-3 stops was a huge advantage.

Also something to consider, the pro lenses also focus faster and more accurately. I was never sure if this was down to the software in the lens, which is proprietary and why 3rd party lenses are never as good as manufacturer. I could easily see Canon or Nikon tweaking the firmware on prosumer lenses to focus a fraction slower.

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Re:Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan by jonpurdy on Monday December 21, 2020 @09:11AM (#25495057)
Used to shoot sports back in uni, circa 2008 (Just amazing how much things have changed since then).

IIRC, the pro lenses (white Canons) focused faster as a result of them letting more light in, as well as having faster motors (USM), though mid-range lenses had these as well.

Around that time, the body also made a big difference since the 1D-series had ~45 AF points, and the lower and mid-range bodes had 9-20 AF points. Not sure if this is still relevant but I think even low end bodies have a ton of AF points these days.

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Re:Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan by CydeWeys on Monday December 21, 2020 @08:50AM (#25494890)
The focus motors are just flat out better in expensive lenses. By contrast, I have a $200 Panasonic pancake lens with a terrible focus motor in it. It's slow, noisy, and hunty.
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Re:Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan by da02 on Monday December 21, 2020 @11:57AM (#25496742)
Which Panasonic pancake lens do you have that is slow & noisy? How's the image quality despite the low-end motor?
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Re:Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan by trm42 on Monday December 21, 2020 @01:28PM (#25497777)
Sounds like the m43 20mm f1.7, which is known for its good IQ, pancake design but annoyingly slow AF :)
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Re:Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan by rodgerd on Monday December 21, 2020 @05:04PM (#25500166)
I was very disappointed when they bumped it to a version 2 and don't appear to have touched the motors or electronics. I'm very fond of the FOV from this focal length, but I have a hard time springing for a lens that will make... me... wait... so... long... for... focus... lock...

Especially when it doesn't have a nice manual focus ring à la the Olympus m43 lenses.

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Re:Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan by CydeWeys on Monday December 21, 2020 @05:48PM (#25500629)
Yup that's the one. It's fine for streetscape snapshots and taking photos of people who will stay still, but the slow AF makes it hard to use for anything fast-moving or unpredictable.
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Re:Nikon Is ending 70 years of camera production in Japan by ScottBurson on Monday December 21, 2020 @08:17PM (#25501795)
For fine art photography a fast lens is still desirable, but for almost anything else it matters less than it used to. The sensor itself is worth about 2 stops.
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