So how are *ist D users coping with the lens mag factors and are some lenses now less useful than they were on film bodies?
Since 80% of my shooting is with telephotos, I've been quite happy with the crop factor "magnification." My birding rig is now equialent to a 1000mm setup, and having the extra room for insect macro will be great. Initial tests show that my Kiron 105mm f2.8 A-compatable and A* 200 f4 macro will work great with the *ist-D.
However...
50mm lenses have gone from a generic all purpose lens to a speciality focal length. In the past, when in doubt I always would opt for a 50mm. An effective 75 mm is just not the same. So I suspect that I will use my 50mm's less, though I will probably use 50mm macros more for close up work.
Ditto that with "normal zooms" in the 28 - 70/100 range. A 43-150 mm zoom is OK, but far less useful.
I'll use the 20-35 f4 more, but for now it is a stop gap for a good normal prime. The effective focal length of 30-52 is kinda lame (would you buy a 30-50 zoom for a film camera?) But for now it is the best walk around lens I have.
I find the prospect of no true ultra wide angle to be a bit disturbing. I shoot a fair amount at 20mm in 35mm film, and can;t really replicate this with the *ist D. ANd every now and then I want to shoot really wide or fisheye, and neither goes well with the *ist d. But I for every ultra wide shot I want to take, there is probably 100 telephotos that I take, so I can live with it.
Are you using the *ist D in parallel with film bodies?
I'm waiting to see what happens when I take the *ist-D into production mode. This time of year is terrible for outdoor phtogrpahy here, and I'm tied up with retail stuff anyhow. The stock agency I work with wants 35 meg files minimum, so I anticipate that I will shoot film in tandem with the *ist D, just to keep them happy.
- MCC
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Mark Cassino Photography
Kalamazoo, MI
http://www.markcassino.com
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