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Hello,

I'm trying to understand why you would want to buy a 50mm lens for the D70 when it comes with a 18-70mm lens? Can't you get 50mm from the 18-70mm?

What would you use a 50mm lens to shot, what would you use the 60mm to shot?

I have the kit lens for the D70 and the Nikon 70-300mm 4-5.6 G. I would like to take a portrait of my two boys in front of a fire place. What lens would you recommend using?

Thank you very much.

Semper Fi,

Robert Perry

i think your kit lens would be the go for your portraits.regarding the 50mm
they are a good lens because of the fact they are a fast as well as being a
low light lens,i hope that makes it a little clearer.
cheers pa

Hi Robert,
Welcome to the forum !

As Pa has mentioned, the 50mm prime lens is a fast lens, which means it has a very wide maximum aperture (either f1.4 or f1.8, depending on which model you have). The kit lens' maximum aperture is variable and zoomed in at 50mm, is probably around the f4 mark.

Already the difference between f4 and f1.8 is huge. This will allow you to capture more natural or "ambient" light, without the need to compromise your shutter speed or ISO settings....or use a flash to give you more light.

These prime lenses are also considered "extremely" sharp lenses, which will give you a photo that is often much sharper than what you will experience from the kit lens (although the kit lens itself is quite a good lens for it's price). The drawback is that you lose the ability to zoom via the lens....and you need to actually move your position (if possible) to compose your photo (basically your feet are your zoom with a prime lens !)

I hope this elaboration helps you to understand the difference.

It is probably worth mentioning that the 50mm f1.8 lens is THE best value for money lens Nikon produce.

If you do a search on the net, or within this forum even, for this lens, you will be able to see lots of examples taken with these lenses and you'll see what I mean.

The aperture of a lens is a mathematically derived number that determines how much light from the subject is getting to the sensor.

The common element between each usual aperture numbers (f1 f1.4 f2 f2.8 f4 f5.6 f 8 f11 f16 f22) is 1.4 (the square root of 2) and every time you increase or decrease the aperture by this factor you are either halving or doubling the amount of light entering the camera.

Therefore - the advantage of a f1.4 lens used at maximum aperture over an f4 lens is that it is letting in eight times the amount of light into the camera and therefore, assuming you are making a portrait of your kids in low light in front of the fire, you can use a shutter speed that is eight times faster ( ie 1/60 as opposed to 1/8 ). The advantage of doing this is that there is less chance of camera shake or your kids moving and appearing bluured at the faster shutter speed.

There are only four sets of numbers to learn on a camera, any camera no matter who made it or when it was made... they are the Aperture, the Shutter Speed, the ISO and the Focal Length. Learn these numbers and what they represent and you will go a long way towards being a better photographer.

Slightly off topic but only a quick question I didn’t think a new thread was necessary for but is an 85mm 1.4 lens preferable for portraits because the distance away from the model always for less reflection in say the eyes or jewellery while still being sharp and fast?

A prime of fixed lens is designed and optimised for the particular effects at that focal length. In general a fixed lens will show less distortion, aberations, vignetting and associated issues.

The 50/1.4 of 50/1.8 are superb lenses with brilliant sharpness and nice creamy boke

Thank you all very much for the Great information. I am very happy that I have found this forum. I have been taking pictures for a long time and have the basic knowledge of A,P, AND ISO but I don't know much about the different lenes. Now I have something to go on because of the information you guys provided.

Thanks again!!

Semper Fi,

Bob

Bob,

Welcome.

There's little I can add to what's been said already, but to remind you that any zoom lens is designed as a compromise solution.

The Nikkor 18-70 kit lens basically is designed to serve similar purposes to several prime lenses - 18, 24, 35, 50, and 70.

That gives you, as the photographer, a very high level of flexibility, with all of those focal lengths built into the one, small, lightweight lens. Just imagine for a moment having to carry around those 5 different prime lenses, and the time it might take you to swap from one to another to another, while you're in an active shooting scenario.

Obviously there's a significant benefit there.

As with any compromise though, that flexibility comes at a cost. As noted above, the 50mm Nikkor primes are exceptionally sharp, and they're optically, significantly faster than the kit. Faster than all zooms, in fact. And they represent exceptionally good value too, but the advantages of prime usage comes back to what you're going to be shooting, and how you intend to do your shooting.

The kit is a great starter lens, and for the price, there's little that can beat it. It lets you get started, and you can learn what you like shooting, and how you shoot what you like to shoot.

This can and should be a guide to your further lens purchases: do you fins you're always shooting at the wide end of the lens's capabilities? If so, maybe you want to look at something in the wide angle realm.

Maybe you find you're always wanting a little more reach; look for a telephoto of some sort.

Perhaps you find that the focal length range is great, but your shots are always tending towards dark or underexposure, or perhaps there's blur from subject movement. In this case, a lens that has a wider aperture may be of use, such as one of the 50mm lenses, may well be what you need.

If you are able to get along to one of our meets, members will be more than happy to let you have a play with different lenses, and you can get to have a feel, under real shooting conditions, what these different lenses are all about.

Then you can better understand what's happening, and you will be in a better position to make an informed decision as and when that time arises.

Laurie wrote:Slightly off topic but only a quick question I didn’t think a new thread was necessary for but is an 85mm 1.4 lens preferable for portraits because the distance away from the model always for less reflection in say the eyes or jewellery while still being sharp and fast?

Laurie,

It's actually a bit more complex than that.

Traditionally, the angle of view of your subject that lenses in the 85 - 105 range provides tends to be more "pleasing" visually to people and thus lenses in these focal ranges are preferred for use as portrait lenses. Look too at the Nikkor DC lens.

It's slightly confusing these days because of the crop factor that we see with DX lenses. While that appears to make a 50mm provide the coverage that a 75mm lens might offer, it's still not a 75mm lens.

And comparing anything with the Nikkor 85 f/1.4 is probably not a fair comparison: that is just such a nice lens, probably the very best lens that Nikon make. If you want to shoot really, really nice portraits, that's the best foundation you can have.

Welcome Bob - usmcss1 - great fan of the USMC and have just been reading Col. Joseph H. Alexander’s Fellowship of Valor.

I look forward to seeing some pics from you

Laurie wrote:Slightly off topic but only a quick question I didn’t think a new thread was necessary for but is an 85mm 1.4 lens preferable for portraits because the distance away from the model always for less reflection in say the eyes or jewellery while still being sharp and fast?

As Gary said, it is the focal length and FoV which brings the portrait subject to life. Both focus and background are rendered sperately, this gives a "flattering" look on a portrait.

The Nikon 85/1.4 has optical characteristic of its own kind, I have yet found any other lens that behaves like this (probably I havent touched a 200mm f/2 yet). Its bokeh vs sharpness is the very most thing which you pay the premium for this lens, ie. just perfect portrait lens.

Great info Gary, thanks!!! You guys really have me motivated to start checking out new lenses.

Glad to hear your a fan Sirhc55. The Marine Corps has a lot of Great History. I am proud to have been apart of it!

Ok, I am assuming that when you say that the 85 mm is a great portrait lens, you are talking about taking a portrait shot of a single person? Unless you were to stand back about 20 feet and then you could fit more then one person.

What would be the down side of standing back farther from the subject?

Would it be that the photo would have less detail?

If I were to pick a lens to take to a party to shoot general photos, would I take the 85mm or the 50mm? I am assuming the 50mm, because of the wider angle?

Thanks.

Semper Fi,

Bob

Another question I have which I think will help other newbies is if I wanted to take a portrait head shot with the 18-70 lens, would it be better to open the lens up to 18mm and get closer to the subject or close the lens to 70mm and stand further away?

Semper Fi,

Bob

Bob. Just use whatever focal length looks best for the image you are taking, but generally you may find that closer to 50-70mm would be most used for a portrait.

What would be the down side of standing back farther from the subject?

Would it be that the photo would have less detail?

No, that shouldn't be the case. You just need to be further away from your subject to get the same field of view.

For use at parties or other similar functions then maybe you could consider a 28-70mm F2.8 lens which is excellent for people photos. But it comes at a high price.

The 18-70mm is a good lens and will still suit your purposes

Thanks Steve!!

I just realized that most of the people on this forum are from Australia; I knew there was a reason I liked it here.

One day my family will be making a trip to see your great country!

Semper Fi,

Bob

usmcss1 wrote:What would be the down side of standing back farther from the subject?

People will accidentally get in your frame not knowing you are taking a picture of the person, just because distance between is too far and not many pedestrians (or party invites) will be aware of this.

Would it be that the photo would have less detail?

Not at all assuming that you are still 'filling the frame'.

If I were to pick a lens to take to a party to shoot general photos, would I take the 85mm or the 50mm? I am assuming the 50mm, because of the wider angle?

I will take the 50mm with me. The 85mm is too tight to work with party indoors. Even the 50mm may seem tight for group shot, I take my 35mm for this very purpose.

But, keeping a zoom is best option to go. The 18-70 kit lens is just right for any situation in this kind of party events. If you ever have the fortune to spend on a party lens, then the 17-55 or 28-70 may be your choice. But that is the expensive way, the 18-70 + SB800 is what I will say to go first before anything else.


So for now, if you want some party shots and mostly indoor and dim lighting... Forget about fast lenses and go for a SB800 before any other lens purchase, I did this and Im glad I did. Didnt missed an opportunity with the flash.

The 18-70 is a very good "party lens". I've just shot a couple of work functions with it, and it does a brilliant job. You can do large groups at 18, smaller groups at 35, waist-up portraits at 50 and head & shoulder portraits at 70.

I've got a Tamron 28-75/2.8 on order, and that will become my new party lens

As Yi-P said, an external flash will be one of the best purchases you can make for your camera. Absolutely essential for anything indoors or at night, and pretty damn useful outdoors too.

How crazy is that, I just got back from the local camera shop with the 50mm 1.8 and the SB-800. I was really happy to see that Losfp and Yip recommended what I just purchased!

I have never had an external flash before and I see I have a lot of learning to do.

I went with the 1.8 instead of the 1.4 because of cost. The guy at the shop said it is a nice lens for the money.

Thanks again to all.

Semper Fi,

Bob

Yep - the SB-800 is a pretty complex bit of kit, BUT you can also set it up for most situations pretty simply.

If you are using it at night or indoors, put the D70 on manual, 1/125 shutterspeed. Stick the SB-800 on TTL. Aperture will then affect the exposure of your subject, and shutterspeed will affect the background.

If you are using it outdoors during the day as fill flash, expose for your background and snap away

Then experiment!

Yi-P wrote:The Nikon 85/1.4 has optical characteristic of its own kind, I have yet found any other lens that behaves like this (probably I havent touched a 200mm f/2 yet). Its bokeh vs sharpness is the very most thing which you pay the premium for this lens, ie. just perfect portrait lens.

Yippy, the 200mm f2 is defiantly the the king of the mountain. 85 f1.4 is a distant 2nd.

Something not mentioned about using telephotos for portraits is the fact that it compresses the facial features, so noses look recessed into the face more. This is a lot more pleasing to the eye, then say using a 28mm for a mug shot.

padey wrote:
Yippy, the 200mm f2 is defiantly the the king of the mountain. 85 f1.4 is a distant 2nd.

padey, the 200/2 makes the 85/1.4's price look like pocket change!!!!

And there ain't many lenses that can manage that....

usmcss1, you've already a fair bit of good info here, and I note that you have already bought your first prime (congrats on the new lens, btw... )

I will just add one thing - some primes are built for specific "usability", which you rarely if ever get in a zoom lens. For example, the 60mm that lens I think you are referring to in your thread title, is a Micro lens, which is used for taking macro shots (ie close-up photography). So if you need a lens for a specific purpose, sometimes your only option is a certain prime lens. Other such examples are Perspective Control lenses and Defocus Control lenses, and I'm sure there are more I can't think of right now.

Enjoy your 50mm!

Thanks Rae, I have been experimenting with the 50mm and it's Great!! The SB-800 is as well.

The next lens I want is the 10-20mm. After that the 60 Macro.

Semper Fi,

Bob

I sense lens lust if building up on you....

That's funny you say that Yip, I have been sitting here today debating whether I should just go ahead and get the 10-20 right now.

Also let me say that I went to your gallery and it's Awesome!

Semper Fi,

Bob