I noticed something with my 18-55mm Nikkor kit lens. On the right side of the frame, the sharpness is significantly lower that other parts of the image, even than other edges. It seems to be most visible at around 35mm, but happens pretty much at all focal lengths.
The left side seems to be almost as sharp as the center of the frame, but the right side is noticeably less sharp. I suspect this is normal for a kit lens, but what do you think?
Now that I got some money saved up, it got me thinking… are DSLR lenses (like the Sigma 17-50mm F2.8) still worth it these days, when DSLRs are pretty much discontinued throughout the industry? The thing is, I’d like to keep my D3500 for as long as possible, change to mirrorless is way out of budget.
Hello, the screenshots you supplied are too small to judge sharpness, at least with my eyes. Apart from that I think it’s better to compare 2 images at 100% zoom.
I have both lenses. The Nikon kit lens came with my Nikon D40, a long time ago. Later I bought a D7000 and added the Sigma 17-50. Since then I never used the kit lens anymore, the Sigma is really very good and sharp.
Downside, for me: the Sigma is a bit big because it’s a f/2.8 constant and a bit heavy. That’s why I’m considering the TTartisan 2.0/25mm, a manual focus pancake model that works as a 35mm on my D7000. Very cheap in fact, around 75€ new.
As for your question if DSLR lenses are still worth it these days, only you can answer that! If you want to stick with your D3500, just stick with it until it dies (very rare for a Nikon, my D40 still works like on day 1, I bought it perhaps 17 years ago). Edit. Same for my 40+ years old F-501!
And if you want to add the Sigma, just do that, you won’t be dissatisfied!
Yeah, that’s what I like about the kit lens - it’s so light! When I swap Sigma 105mm Macro (715g) with it, it feels odd, as if the camera had no lens
The only downside of getting the 17-50 that I can think of, would be the ND filter kit that I got, it’s only 55mm in diameter, I would only be able to use it with 70-300mm kit lens, but I didn’t really use it with that lens. In fact, I barely use the ND filter kit at all, so it might not be a downside in the end. I would only need to get a CPL, but those are not that expensive as dark ND filters
Yeah, I realized that it wasn’t exactly the best question to ask In the end it’s me who is going to decide if I keep the D3500 or not.
If anything now is a great time to buy DSLR kit. Since everyone is upgrading to mirrorless, DSLR bodies and even lenses can be bought really cheap second-hand.
Oooh, that’s pretty good, 209€ with 17€ standard shipping seems nice. Thanks for the link.
I’m a bit worried about the second-hand factor though (unpleasant experience with buying my current camera with lenses from private seller), but 50% off compared to new sounds great.
It’s the AF-P version, shot at 35mm f/8.
The thing is, it’s not corner sharpness, it’s roughly in this part of the image:
Is there any tool that would make it easy to quantify sharpness on an image? I know DT has a focus peaking overlay, but that’s quite hard to read if you are looking for slight differences on a zoomed out image.
Like I could take a photo of a detailed pattern that spans across the entire image and quickly see which areas are the least sharp
Oh I forgot about this sort of compatibility. As the sensor in a mirrorless is not as “deep” compared to a DSLR, you can just put the lens further. The other way around is not possible, right?
MPB is not a private seller, though, and you get a 6 month warranty. To be honest, unless you have the money and absolutely want the latest and greatest, you would be a fool to buy new. While lenses generally hold their value pretty well (well, DSLR ones not so much right now), camera bodies are much like cars, losing value as soon as you open the box and even more so when the next version comes out. So by being even just one generation behind, you can save a lot of money, while still having really good gear.
If there is a strong bias in one direction then it is possible you either have a bad copy of the lens or that it has become damaged. As these lenses are somewhat common you may want to see if you can go to a camera store which carries Nikon and ask if they will let you try another copy. This should help you get a feel for what is going on.
The thing is, it doesn’t always happen and I don’t know why. Even when focal length and aperture are the same (more or less), then it is sometimes fine. I remember for almost all of these photos that I wasn’t focusing very far - but close to hyperfocal, for those I remember seeing right side a bit blurry, as I described. No idea if focus distance matter at all… as I know it happens when focusing as far as possible as well.
I might get the Sigma 17-50 though, I’m not sure yet.
Here in Canada at least, buying from somewhere like MPB is almost the same price as buying new once shipping is factored in. It’s really annoying because I really want a trusted 3rd party seller of used gear like MPB or KEH. There are some camera stores, but they usually have a very small range of used gear compared to those US sites.
Honestly, checkout reddit’s /r/photomarket. I’ve sold a number of things on there, always gotten more than MBP/KEH offered me, and often times was faster than MBP/KEH.
I’ve also so a number of things to KEH, and while its easy, you don’t get a lot for it and they always find some way to give you less than their original estimate.
Thanks for the tip. I’ll definitely check it out. I assume it’s just a trust-based deal? Is there any way to guarantee you’re not dealing with a scammer?
In the end it’s me who is going to decide if I keep the D3500 or not.
