105 f2dc or 105 2.5AIS + ???

[ja6ke]

So up to now I have been using my 70-200 for portraits and the like but I have always wanted a 105 f2 dc. I got to play with one a while back and loved the results. As I was going through the images from a wedding I could tell right away which ones had been shot with the 105.

Now the complication, I am currently saving (and will be saving for a long while yet) for 300 2.8 in order to pursue a probably hopeless quest, barn swallows.

So the question is if I go for a 105 2.5 AIS in order to not delay the 300 by so much, will I still get images noticeably better than the 70-200? Will they compare favorably to the 105 f2 dc?

 

[Pianisimo]

I really don't think you'll find much of a difference between your 70-200 and the 105/2.5 AI-S. I managed upon a pre-AI 105/2.5 for free and I love it...but unless you're looking for something smaller without VR and AF to carry around, I wouldn't really consider it. That being said...I'll trade you mine for your 70-200 :biggrin: I'd figure out if you need the 300 or the 105 more, and then just go with whatever the answer is. And I think if you got the 300, you would pretty much forget about wanting anything in the 105 range.

 

[ponderosabob]

Buy the 105DC now, enjoy the full use of it while you continue to save up, and when the time comes you are ready to buy the 300, you will still have the 105DC, and can either keep it or opt to sell it with little or no loss. Free use of the lens, and you will be making decisions based on your experience, and not someone else's recommendations.

 

[dgh3]

I have both. I've had two of the DCs, and now have several of the Ai, Ais, N.C., and P versions of this lens. I Ai'd the P myself, and had John White Ai the N.C.

You won't see any real difference in image quality between the AF, DC, and non-AF versions. But, the ease of use for the AF is valuable to me.

But, pick up a used Ai... version and try it out for awhile. If you like what you see, and it will look different from the 70-200, then step up to the DC version and sell the MF one. If you don't pay too much for it, then you won't lose any money at all. Of course, if it doesn't look different from the 70-200, to you, then you don't have to spend the $$.

Dave Harris

 

[CLLoh]

But, pick up a used Ai... version and try it out for awhile. If you like what you see, and it will look different from the 70-200, then step up to the DC version and sell the MF one. If you don't pay too much for it, then you won't lose any money at all. Of course, if it doesn't look different from the 70-200, to you, then you don't have to spend the $$.

Dave Harris

If I may take this opportunity to ask, should there be any optical differences with an AI compared to AIS for the 105mm? From my limited reading, some seems to prefer the AI whereas some preferred the latter version...

 

[dgh3]

Sorry for taking so long to get back.

No. I don't see any differences at all. I don't see any differences with the DC version versus the other versions either.

Dave Harris