Ode to a Lens
Excuse me while I wax poetic about a lens I rented. When I read on Still Life With that it is possible to rent a lens online from a reliable company, I hopped to the site for a rental for the party last weekend. I thought it would be a perfect time to try it out.
My pics from last weekend turned out ok, but not great. Given the chaos of the day and the fact that the lens had been in my hand for two days, it doesn't surprise me. But this weekend, I felt that I really came into my own with the lens, which is a little unfortunate considering the price, and the fact that it has to go home to Ziplens this week.
I went to the Heart of the City Farmers' Market today, and will be reviewing it on Bay Area Bites for my market review series. But I'll give you a preview of some of my favorite shots with the heavenly lens.
Holy smoke! Those pix are like 3-D!! Bright. Clear.
You think we should buy one, split the cost, and share custody?
:D
Posted by: cookiecrumb | November 20, 2006 at 10:27 AM
Oooh! I am right with you on the lens lust, though I must say the excellent photos have as much or more to do with the sensitive eye behind the machine. Cookie, I had the same thought!
Posted by: Melissa | November 20, 2006 at 11:03 AM
BEAUTIFUL shots, Jen.
I cannot believe the difference a good lens makes. Have you tried just a plain ol' 50mm F/1.8? That's all I could afford at the time, but I'm in love with it. I still have my Canon Powershot with some zoom capacity, but I am gobsmacked with the Nikon's 50mm.
I bet you'd like playing with it. And best of all is the pricetag: around $100.
Posted by: Tana | November 20, 2006 at 02:17 PM
wow jen, that's amazing. which lens was it? Maybe i need to go read the link...
Posted by: sam | November 20, 2006 at 06:16 PM
Melissa & Cookie -- now that would be cool, some sort of a "lens share" program - ha.
Tana - thanks so much. I do need to look into that 50mm/1.8. I've seen some shots from people who use it and it seems like it could be a good substitute.
Sam - it was the 85 fixed F/1.4 from Nikon. It's in the link. :) The thing I loved about it was that it's a long enough zoom that I can shoot without being too obtrusive.
Posted by: jen maiser | November 20, 2006 at 10:08 PM
hey jen - good seeing you in sf yesterday, and i even got to look through this here lens. these pics explain it well - they are great.
Posted by: jeff | November 21, 2006 at 09:53 AM
Gorgeous photos, but you've got to give most of the credit to the eye behind the lens. I have the Nikon 18-55 zoom, and I've been quite pleased with it, though I have to agree that a good fixed length 50 mm always comes in handy.
Posted by: lydia | November 27, 2006 at 03:26 AM
The baby bok choi is lovely.
Posted by: Becca | December 01, 2006 at 12:44 PM