Nikon 18.5mm Versatility

I think thats why I like the 50mm focal length (or rather, almost anything between 35 and 75) .. its just so versatile. You may not get 14 or 15mm for a landscape, (or in the case of the shot below, a cloudscape) but it really is just fine. It might not be as fabulous as an 85 for portraits, but it does the job pretty nicely. And even if you can't go 1:1 for macro/closeup, its still decent. I havent been shooting much lately, and these are just from out my front door... but I have no desire to take the 18.5mm off the V1... at all.

The morning sky today.
cloudy.jpg


Tom wants my porridge (yes, I'm bad. I sit at the computer and have breakfast)
iwantporridge.jpg


My tuckeroo tree is soooo grateful for the rain, theres been nearly none since last November.
tuckeroo.jpg


This is a manhole cover which is in the middle of my driveway. The driveway is sinking, and the scrape marks are from the bottom of the engine bay going over the top. Oh joy.
silly.jpg
 
Thanks, all :)

Garry: The tuckeroo leaves are really photogenic, I keep shooting them.
Luke: Tom has a very expressive face, heavens knows how he does it. Or are we anthropomorphising?
Steve: Thanks so much for your kind words. And yes, Tom is a good looking boy. Mind you, I think all cats are gorgeous :)
 
I got along with a single 50mm prime on my Minolta SRT-200 SLR for about five years in the 1970s. And I've always been a fan of the 35mm view. That was my next lens, in fact. But when Panasonic brought out its 20mm f/1.7 prime for micro four-thirds, I discovered the 40mm view is my favorite. The 27mm pancake on my Fuji X-E1 (41mm view) is pretty nice, too.
 
Those photos demonstrate the V1 + 18.5mm capabilities very nicely.

I'm sentimental about a couple of my (slightly) older cameras that I don't use as much as I should, and particularly those with excellent lenses. I've simply refused to sell my Panasonic GX1 + 20 1.7, and same goes for my Nikon V1 + 18.5.
 
I got along with a single 50mm prime on my Minolta SRT-200 SLR for about five years in the 1970s. And I've always been a fan of the 35mm view. That was my next lens, in fact. But when Panasonic brought out its 20mm f/1.7 prime for micro four-thirds, I discovered the 40mm view is my favorite. The 27mm pancake on my Fuji X-E1 (41mm view) is pretty nice, too.

Me too with the Minolta, mine was/is the srt303b and I have an adapter and use it on the pentax sometimes
 
Sue (or anyone else with the 18.5mm prime), how much of a difference does this lens make in terms of indoor, lower-light auto-focus performance compared with other Nikon 1 lenses? There is a point with the most of the Nikon 1's where the camera decides there isn't enough light for the phase-detection auto-focus and it switches to contrast detection with notably slower performance. In its original review of the V1 and J1, dpreview said they noticed they enjoyed the services of phase-detection auto-focus in lower light with the 10mm f/2.8 prime compared with the 10-30mm zoom. I'm wondering if the 18.5mm f/1.8 lens will provide an improvement on that. I plan to use the J1 at one of those monster-con gatherings at a hotel. My friend, to whom I recommended the J1, didn't buy one. But I did. He'll no doubt be coming to me for photos. ;)
 
I've never really bothered measuring the speed. I'm aware that the focus is "fairly quick" indoors. I havent used the 18.5 with the 18.,5, but I'll see if I can do a quick comparison now... its going to be very subjective, though :-/

[edit] Using both the 18.5 and the 10-30 at around the same f/l... Truly I cannot really see a massive difference. The problem in using the 10-30 is that your aperture is going to be around 4.8 at that f/l.. I just did some focussing on Tom in his bed. the lighting is an energy-smart globe in a lamp. Its a white light but not great for photography. I had to slow the shutter to 1/15 with the 10-30 before it would focus, at all. Naturally, the 18.5 was much more accommodating. If you're going to a monster con, take the primes, you'll be better off.
 
I've never really bothered measuring the speed. I'm aware that the focus is "fairly quick" indoors. I havent used the 18.5 with the 18.,5, but I'll see if I can do a quick comparison now... its going to be very subjective, though :-/

Thanks, Sue. Yes, it will be subjective... but I'm just wondering if you can tell you're still getting the use of phase-detection auto-focus in lower light than you'd be able to get with other Nikon 1 lenses.
 
Naturally, the 18.5 was much more accommodating. If you're going to a monster con, take the primes, you'll be better off.

That's kind of what I was thinking already. I believe when the camera has the opportunity to use the larger aperture, it will bring in more light and hang onto phase-detection auto-focus longer, which is good. Thanks Sue.
 
Steve, I have no idea when the V1 switches from PD to CD AF, but I have successfully used the V1 with the 18.5 indoors. In very poor light.

Nikon V1 + 18.5mm f/1.8 go to a Birthday Party

The 1 system isn't a real low light system, but the 18.5 makes it serviceable, esp if you are shooting BW. I'd imagine that a little fill flash would help as well.

What monster-con are you going to BTW?
 
Steve, I have no idea when the V1 switches from PD to CD AF, but I have successfully used the V1 with the 18.5 indoors. In very poor light.

Nikon V1 + 18.5mm f/1.8 go to a Birthday Party

The 1 system isn't a real low light system, but the 18.5 makes it serviceable, esp if you are shooting BW. I'd imagine that a little fill flash would help as well.

What monster-con are you going to BTW?

Hi, John. No, the 1 isn't truly a low-light system but I like it's relative compactness for carrying around at this particular venue. What I'm trying to preserve is the J1's legendary fast-focus ability. I can get decent exposures with a number of cameras - including my micro four-thirds gear. But I'm trying to maintain fast and accurate focus -particularly if I hand off the camera to someone else with the settings on auto.

I had my E-PM2 there with the 17mm f/1.8 last year. The results I got were fine. But every time I handed the camera to someone else, focus was all off no matter how I had it set. I could bring the Pentax K-5 or K-30 of course - and I will if I have to. But if the 18.5mm prime on the J1 body (with the 10mm f/2.8 in my pocket as a back-up) will do the job, fantastic.

BTW, here's the venue, Monster-Mania Con at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Route 70 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey:

http://www.monstermania.net
 
Just yesterday I was fooling around with the V1 and 18.5mm under very low light. I set ISO to 3200, underexposed by 2 stops (effective ISO of 12800), set aperture to f/1.8 and got an exposure speed of 1/60. So it was very, very dark. Clearly the V1 had long before light levels got so low switched to contrast AF, but I was still able to focus on lines with strong contrast with usable speed.
I don't think you will encounter such low light levels at a venue, thus AF with the 18.5mm should not be a problem. If so, try rotating the camera around the Z axis, so that contrast lines are vertical in the EVF, focus and then rotate back to make the shot. This will make it easier for the AF to do its job.
 
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