What is the sharpest lens you have used on a D810 or D500?

Ironheart

vtc2002 said:

... the sharpest lenses is the one that you have mounted on your camera. Wishing you had something different and not taking photos because you feel your equipment is lacking will result in missed opportunities to capture something great.

Which is why the 16-80mm is a great piece of kit. Notice I didn't say "lens". Yes, optically it has a bit of distortion and vignetting (easily fixed in post), and no mid-range zoom is perfect. But, the VR is top notch (4-stops), good coatings (fluorine, nano), electronic aperture, and it does it all in a compact size/weight ratio to the camera. Great walk around, pretty sharp stopped down, what more could you ask for? Well, focus accuracy and speed matter. The 16-80mm is on par with all of my f/1.8 primes for focus speed and accuracy on my D500. A picture that misses focus is a never a sharp picture Thom recently addressed this in his recent blog post on focus or IQ. Great walk around combo, my vote for not missing "opportunities to capture something great".

rmp

I agree: the 16-80 is a great "carry it all day" lens. And, it is good for 80-90 percent of all the pictures I take. But, then there is that other 10-20 percent where I want better IQ, and that gets us back to the primes. I guess, every dog lens has it's day.

DaveyJ

Vtc2002 has a pretty good response. My situation having owned over $100,000 in prime lens for large and medium format is influenced by many times those resultant images getting roundly beaten by the Nikon F5 I was using to meter, etc. usually I was using a 20-35 f2.8 Nikkor on the F5. Or a 70-200 w.8 Nikkor. Many locations I shoot in really require a photo right then or there or lose it. Or waste time.....I used to follow MTF curves, and a heap of other tech spec data. Even with sharpness alone I was never completely certain the objective of super sharp and colorful prints was achieved....although some received accolades. The D500 is a camera that is geared for speed......say it isn't and your target is VERY different than mine or my guys. That is why zooms with the right range of focal length, color, and clarity are our choice. If I picked a prime to shoot on the D500 it would be in the video department and it isn't the hottest video camera on the market. Still.....I rate the D500 with the 16-80 Nikkor as being the best single combo I have used in photography.

So as Ironheart states....depends on your subject and I say....depends on what your own limited experience suggests would be successful and what you CAN afford....as Vtc2002 says....I just grab the best camera and lens and get out there and shoot. My days of winning awards or attention in photography are over.....but ironically I believe I am also using the best I have ever used. The D500 certainly rates using with a good lens. I pick Nikon zooms as filling that need. Still miss my Fuji GX 617 and lens panels (primes) from 90 to especially 180!

Pistnbroke

Its not always what you want (a 24-200mm) but what Nikon give you (a 28-300) which determines whats on the camera. If its the only lens available then its the sharpest lens you can get for your purpose. Primes forget it, changing lens forget it.

MegapixelSchnitzel

I constrain myself to a 24-70 90% of the time. I especially don't like trying to change lenses on the fly, especially in the field. I make the perspective work. If I need a bit more tele, I take my two feet and get closer... if I can. And I'm not going to tell you what ancient D-series camera I'm using. *Hint: I've had it for just about 11 years.

VisualUniverse

I have both D810(A) and D500. Sharpest normal lens is my Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art, and sharpest long telephoto is Nikon 500mm f/4E FL. I think the Nikon 105 f/2.8G VR ED macro is quite sharp, but not at same level as the previous 2 lenses I mentioned.

pictureted

I use both D810 and D500 regularly and find they seem to perform differently for me with different lenses and excel in different ways. All of the lenses I've used are exceptionally sharp stopped down to f5.6-f11 (diffraction not-with-standing) whether prime or zoom. They are all sharper if I use a heavy tripod and mirror-up, but maximizing sharpness is rarely the primary goal. The world's best lens shot wide-open and hand-held is probably about equal in IQ to a cheap lens stopped down on a tripod.

In day to day shooting the D500 gets used with 200-500VR, 16-85VR and 70-300VR (in that order). I never liked the 70-300 before using it with the D500, now it's standard kit.

On the D810, it's the 24-85VR, 70-200/4 and 20/1.8G for walk-around and 200/4 Macro, Zeiss 100/2, Voigtlander 58/1.4, Rokinon 14/2.8 for more critical work.

If I'm doing critical work, I always want the D810's MPs and DR, unless I need the superior AF from the D500 or the DX crop (long zooms).

tektrader

200 f2 that is all................

Pistnbroke

Just got a Samyang 85mm f 1.4...( £219 $285). Not a fan of changing lenses during a wedding but at this price thought I would give it a go for pre wedding shoots ...Was a bit worried when my friend said his Nikon 85/1.8 was good at F8..but oh boy is this Samyang sharp. At F2 its fantastic . Focusing is easy it just seems to snap into focus on the screen and then glance at the light. Great backgrounds.

MegapixelSchnitzel

Since we're talking sharpness, has anyone ever tried an 85 Zeiss Otus on their D810?

Coastalconn

My new to me 300 F2.8 AF-S II is the sharpest lens I've had on my D500. The 500 F4 G-VR comes pretty close though..

snakebunk

@Coastalconn: Do you use the 500/4 with converters, is it stil sharp?

Coastalconn

@snakebunk Not too often. The first TC I had worked great with the 300 F4/d I had but showed wicked front focus. I sold the 300 f4 and the TC as a package. I just got another tc-14e II and it works ok, but not great. Have to stop down to f8, FoCal still shows +24 is needed so I put it at +20. Here is a sample from The other day.. https://flic.kr/p/LMRBvR

snakebunk

@Coastalconn: The image looks great. I've been thinking about this combination as an alternative to the super expensive 600/4e. So, images can be great but you have to stop down, and auto focus can be problematic. Thank you!

paulr

MegapixelSchnitzel said:

Since we're talking sharpness, has anyone ever tried an 85 Zeiss Otus on their D810?

I use the D810 with the Otus 55 1.4 and it takes the D810 to another level after all, the Otus range were designed for high mega pixel cameras.

proudgeek

Coastalconn said:

My new to me 300 F2.8 AF-S II is the sharpest lens I've had on my D500. The 500 F4 G-VR comes pretty close though..

When did you get that?

Coastalconn

@proudgeek Like 2 weeks ago.. I went through this whole thing thinking I wanted a backup/companion camera.. The D600 and D700 didn't cut it. I was thinking about getting a D4, but decided the 300 F2.8 was better for me for a close up hawk lens with the D500 instead of the D4 with the 300 F4. So I went old school and got a D300 for a real backup for $200 and sold,the other stuff and got the 300 f2.8.. It is awesome. Only 5.5 pounds and wicked sharp. I found one on eBay that had just been serviced by Nikon with a new AF-S motor and electronics for 2k. Mint condition..

DaveyJ

I would,never sell my D300. I took some amazing photos with it! However it sits on a shelf and I use D7200 and D500 and even D3200 now. The D300 is a great camera, you got a very god deal on one!

autofocus

The 200mm f/2 on the D500... Even with the TC-17E...

MegapixelSchnitzel

I was thinking about asking my wife for the Otus 3-pack, F-mount, for Hannukah. Hey, they even come with a nifty carrying case! Then I can buy a D810/20/50/whatever to go with them after she's made the purchase. Has anyone ever tried this tactic and did it work?

WestEndFoto

I wonder how the Otuses would stand up against the superteles?

Ironheart

The plural of Otus is Otii

Look here:
https://www.zeiss.com/content/dam/Photography/new/pdf/en/industrial_applications/datasheets/otus_1485.pdf

Wide open they are not as good, stopped down to f/4 they start to compare

WestEndFoto

Thanks Ironheart, I did not know that. So wide open the superteles are better than the "Otii"?

Ironheart

In terms of MTF the 600 and 800 are the best I've ever seen. I'll post the actual charts up here later, but unless I'm missing something, yes.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plural_form_of_words_ending_in_-us

paulr

All the Ziess lenses are named after birds The Otus lens is named after an Owl.