I keep reading that you should have a fast prime lens (50mm ish) in your kit bag.
I can pick up a Sony A mount for about £100 which is not bank breaking but is it worth the money if I won't use it ???
Do you have any primes and how often do you use them or do they just sit in your kit bag?
I have a Canon 50 mm f/1.8 and I use it fairly often. In fact I once went for a month ONLY taking photos with it. I used it as a challenge to myself to view things differently. The wide aperture is very handy to have, especially for low light and it makes a great portrait lens.
I`ve been trying to make myself shoot more with my 50 and 85 mm 1.8 lenses more - especially on the odd paid shoot and they are so fast and useful. That said - it`s having the time to change sometimes and wide open my 50mm can be a little harsh with the bokeh sometimes. I prefer the bokeh on my 24-70 and 70-200 at 2.8 if I am honest just now. That siad - for speed in low light situations the 50mm is great. I`m trying to decide whether to buy a 1.4 50mm which is supposed to be softer - any views on that one too to save another thread opening but do answer Michael`s query too first.
I've got a 50mm f1.4, which is an excellent lens . . which I hardly use. And a 35mm f2.4 (which on an APSC camera is close to 50mm on a 35mm film camera) which is also super sharp, and which I use a little more. If I'm honest the 17-50mm f2.8 Tamron is almost permanently attached to my K5, and the Tamron 90mm f2.8 to my K20D.
But as you say, a useful thing to have, and not too expensive for your system, so I'd say get one. If you don't like it, stick it on eBay and you'll get most of your money back anyway.
I also have the Nik F1.4 50mm. Its does not get used much at all now compared to when I first got it. Its a cracking lens and IQ sharp throughout. Will be giving it another run out soon as I am doing some tests with the newly acquired Fuji S5 pro and all my lenses.
I've got the Nikon 50mm F1.4, Nikon 60mm F2.8 Macro, Nikon 105mm F2.8 VR Macro, 300mm F4 and 400mm F2.8 which, are all primes. :tup:
My Canon 1.8 stayed in the cupboard for just about 3 yrs after I bought my 5D MkII, however, I used it for the first time a few weeks ago and was stunned at the results. I've been using it more since then, it is a great little lens for the price.
I use both my 35mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.4 and love them, especially when used wide open.
Nick
Low light capabilities aside would it be worth investing in the 1.4 and selling the 1.8 nikon 50mm thos ethat have used them. Is the bokeh softer?
Everyone suggested that I'd need a 50mm, so I got a s/h one off fleaBay - never used it beyond testing as I use 105 or 70-200 (occasionally 300) for portraits and shoots - 15-85 for studio
Thanks for all the replies and advice, I might just go and find a SH one on fleebay and see how I get on :)
50 prime is a standard largely because it's (relatively) so cheap and a lot of quality for your money.
If you think about it, it's going to be one of the most boring lenses you can buy. It's "somewhat similar" to human vision. A 24 mm prime will give you a wider view and of course a 100mm will compress stuff.
I like my 105 DC a lot. I have a couple of 50s but can't get too excited about them.
@Jinky - which 50 1.4? If it's a Nikon then there are 2 or 3 and all have different quirks.
I have a Nikon 50 1.4 (New version) and an 85 1.4 (Old version) and it's fair to say they don't get a lot of use.
When I do use them though, there's nothing to beat them for quality, speed and discreetness (That is a word...I looked it up!)
Here's a few I took on St Patrick's night with some mates down the local, with the 50 on a d700.
Most were taken STOPPED DOWN to 2.0 or 2.8
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7039/6992367557_d5b1b06aec_b.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/6992367671_e68fb92db6_b.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7037/6992368405_3dc437092b_b.jpg)
And the last one is Four or five stitched together.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7205/6992367739_7eefc956db_o.jpg)
Graham. :)
Oh and some more pics with the same lens/camera can be found here.
http://cameracraniums.com/forum/index.php?topic=2247.msg25594#msg25594
Quote from: Jonathan on April 03, 2012, 02:20:24 PM
50 prime is a standard largely because it's (relatively) so cheap and a lot of quality for your money.
If you think about it, it's going to be one of the most boring lenses you can buy. It's "somewhat similar" to human vision. A 24 mm prime will give you a wider view and of course a 100mm will compress stuff.
I like my 105 DC a lot. I have a couple of 50s but can't get too excited about them.
@Jinky - which 50 1.4? If it's a Nikon then there are 2 or 3 and all have different quirks.
It`s the Nikon 1.4 G just under £300 and I`m thinking just now `ll not bother but as I said trying to make myself shoot some portraits at the weekend wide open I was loeft with some really harsh bokeh with my 1.8 at apwrtures up to f2 and wonderiung if it would be softer as claimed. Read reviews that tell me don`t bother but everyone who has one seems to talk highly of it. What do you mean by 105 DC?
The Alpha mount isn't short on cheap affordable primes. 35mm and 50mm all for just over £100. The 85mm f2.8 a smidgen more. Dyxum database is a good place to look at the iq on Sony bodies too.
I personally own the 50mm f1.8, but not sure how much use it's gonna get since I invested in the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 mind.
Quote from: jinky on April 03, 2012, 06:55:27 PM
It`s the Nikon 1.4 G just under £300
This one?
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-nikon-50mm-f1-4-g-af-s-lens/p1028370
Very nice lens. Flare control far better than the old 1.4. People who say it's soft may have difficulty using a 1.4 lens ;)
Very slow to focus though. Like very slow. And there's really no reason for that - Nikon must have just decided to make it slow.
Quote from: jinky on April 03, 2012, 06:55:27 PM
What do you mean by 105 DC?
This http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=67
Yes that`s the one Jonathan. yes similar to what I have read but people complaining often seem to reply that they have been using a focus point on the eye and then recomposing and so shifting focus with a 1.4. That DC lens sounds interesting and probably much more useful as a portrait lens but I`ll work with what I have a bit longer yet I think. I am trying to shoot more with my lenses wide open and check out performance at the moment as I have been guilty of playing too safe sometimes I feel.
Quote from: jinky on April 04, 2012, 08:10:23 AM
Yes that`s the one Jonathan. yes similar to what I have read but people complaining often seem to reply that they have been using a focus point on the eye and then recomposing and so shifting focus with a 1.4.
Yep that would be it. They can't use a lens at 1.4 ;)
Quote from: Jonathan on April 04, 2012, 10:00:45 AM
Quote from: jinky on April 04, 2012, 08:10:23 AM
Yes that`s the one Jonathan. yes similar to what I have read but people complaining often seem to reply that they have been using a focus point on the eye and then recomposing and so shifting focus with a 1.4.
Yep that would be it. They can't use a lens at 1.4 ;)
:tup:
C'mon JR, lets have some tips for getting the best out of our F1.4 lenses. ;) ;)
Quote from: Alfonso_Frisk on April 04, 2012, 10:26:56 AM
:tup:
C'mon JR, lets have some tips for getting the best out of our F1.4 lenses. ;) ;)
Don't recompose ;)
This should make things clear..... http://www.hasselbladusa.com/media/2234814/when%20true%20focus%20makes%20a%20difference.pdf
Some one famously said "You don't choose which eye to focus on, you choose which eyelash to focus on!"
Graham. ;)
Quote from: Graham on April 05, 2012, 04:48:10 PM
Some one famously said "You don't choose which eye to focus on, you choose which eyelash to focus on!"
Graham. ;)
I always thought you didn't shoot until you saw the whites of the eye! :2funny:
Damn you Jonathan you have me looking at the 100DC now - or even better the 135 dc even dearer one. Great reviews everywhere and love the idea of the adjustable bokeh
Paul, if I might refer you to Don's earlier thread (http://cameracraniums.com/forum/index.php?topic=587.msg31195;topicseen#new) at this point, before you do something daft. Not to mention expensive :D
Meanwhile I am finding that I am having quite a lot of fun with my Fuji Bridge camera. Yep, naff all DOF control what with it being a compact sensor, but now I've worked out where some of the weak spots are I am snapping away quite merrily. I take it along with the K5 for its sheer instantaneous versatility.
But this thread has made me decide to dig the 50mm from the bottom of the little used kit pit and stick it on the front of a DSLR this weekend,
I don`t get the link with Don`s earlier thread and the tyre sensors? ???
I`m getting a few paid jobs just now and desperately trying to just lift some of the shots I do hence the interest in a decent portrait lens. I do use my 50mm and 85mm 1.8s but their bokeh can be harsh wide open I find. I may not be investing just now in anything I am looking at so don`t worry H. probably stick to using my excellent Sigma 70-200 for those portraits which I find is sharper than the Nikon 85mm at most apertures but offers a much softer background too. Can`t knock a man for looking. I have given up looking for a bridge though - just cannot get anything that matches any where near the quality of my D700 and if travelling i`ll take fewer lenses and leave the grip off rather than take something not as good to a place I might not be back to again.
Sorry Paul, totally mucked up the link - it wasn't Don's, it was John's HERE (http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/03/hammerforum-com).
Anyway, you're right about the bridges, any quality they offer is in a very narrow range. But my baggage allowance is only so big and I have to carry the water and sandwiches as well when on tour, so a bridge it has to be. I'll just keep it on ISO100 and keep my fingers crossed :)
Just seen a 135 DC for sale at £600. #justsayin
Ooh - where Jonathan?
It's on Talk Photography - and also eBay (may be slightly higher on there)
Well I got the 50mm F1.4 off Fleebay, picked it up from the Post Office this morning. I've had to wait a while to find one that came into my price bracket as around Easter they were going for £170+
So now I've just got to find something to take with it, I'll probably start with this weekend comp ;)