Beautiful photographs with new Nikkor 105DC lens

Great images with the best lenses 

I just got delivered yesterday yet another lens to add to my extensive collection. This is a rare lens and is rated as one of the sharpest lenses that Nikon have ever produced. At f2, it is a very fast lens but the unique feature is the DC which stands for Defocus control. This allows for the background to be the softest, smoothest washes of color you’ve ever seen. I already love to work with my lens "wide open" for close ups and if you use the best quality lens, the bokeh (a Japanese term to describe the out of focus areas in an image – it comes from the Japanese word boke (暈け or ボケ), which means "blur" or "haze") is beautiful and can be controlled on the lens.

Two quotes fron the reviews that persuaded me to buy this lens are below

"The Nikon AF 105mm f/2 DC is Nikon’s, and arguably the world’s, greatest portrait lens and is also Nikon’s sharpest 105mm lens, and an extraordinarily great lens."

"In fact, the 105 DC gives a true stellar optical performance and is one of the finest Nikkors ever made."

I already use the best Nikon lenses available and earlier this year upgraded my favourite 70-200VR1 to the version 11 which is stunning. As it is nano coated, I can shoot with very strong back lighting and still get beautiful images. By having the background out of focus with good bokeh increases the perceived sharpness of my subjects and concentrates attention on the eyes. This is only achieved using expensive high quality lenses.

The photographs below of Ling and Niall at the Marcliffe and Fiona at Dunkeld Cathedral were taken with a 180 f2.8 lens and the 70-200 above, both fully open at f2.8, backlit with fill flash. I love the soft wash effect that the background has and shoot most of my close ups "wide open" and as close to 200mm as possible.

I am looking forward to using the 105DC at weddings and David is already testing it in the studio. When I buy equipment "boys and their toys" is often the comment but when it comes to my camera equipment, lens quality is absolutely critical. When I am asked for advice on camera equipment, I always make the point to spend on the lens rather than the camera. Good quality "glass" is more important than mega pixels and "bells and whistles".