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(0 votes) 6:28 pm
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February 11, 2014
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I am taking portraits of my grand kids. For pictures inside and pictures outside is there 1 lense I could use or would it be better to get two different lenses and if so what should I get?
10:14 am
VIP Student
September 15, 2012
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It’s hard to say without knowing which camera you use, which lenses you already have and what your budget is.
-- Mandrake --
11:10 am
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February 11, 2014
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I have a Nikon d5200 and sigma 18-200mm 5-6.3 II HSM. My price range would be $1500
11:56 am
VIP Student
September 15, 2012
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magsterone… If I were you, I’d try taking some portrait photos with your Sigma lens.
First, I’d try with the focal length set at 35mm and then some with the length set at 50 mm.
Test both focal lengths at the widest aperture setting possible. See which focal length you like best.
Once you are comfortable with one or the other I think you should buy either the
Nikon 35mm AF-S DX f1.8G or the Nikon 50mm AF-S f1.8G.
These are both very sharp and fast prime lenses. There is really no need to spend many more times their cost.
An 85mm full sensor lens is often thought of as the classic portrait lens.
For your camera, with a crop factor of 1.5, the 50mm would be equivalent to 75mm.
My guess, therefore, would be that you will prefer the images from the 50 mm setting on you Sigma.
It is, nevertheless, worth the effort of trying both 35mm and 50mm with your current lens.
Good luck to you… and, as I did not say it before, … a big WELCOME to our forum.
-- Mandrake --
3:31 pm
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February 11, 2014
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I was looking online at lenses and could you tell me the difference between 50 mm af-s f1.86 and the 50 mm f1.4g sic sw.
Thank you for the big welcome and all your help.
3:57 pm
VIP Student
September 15, 2012
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magsterone said
could you tell me the difference between 50 mm af-s f1.86 and the 50 mm f1.4g sic sw.
The obvious difference is that the f1.4 is capable of shooting with a wider aperture and therefore allowing more light to reach the
sensor when used wide open. This would mean shorter shutter speeds and lower ISOs in low light conditions.
The wider aperture would also give you a more narrow depth of field and arguably better bokeh.
Of course… nothing is simple. See this article for further analysis.
-- Mandrake --
I have 50mm F1.4, but to be honest I don’t use aperture of F1.4 too often, because in most cases DoF if too narrow for the subject and it is very easy to miss the focus. Especially when it come to kids, who have a hard time to sit still. If I were you, I would save the money for another lens and just go with cheeper 50mm f1.8G.
85mm f1.8 is another prime lens to consider. It is a classic portrait length, which will give you less distortion then 50mm for close up portrait.
I would say just buy 50mm f1.8G first (since it is relatively cheep) and see how you like it. I am sure you’ll love it. You just need to get use to a prime and the fact that you have to move back and forth, instead of just changing the focal length with the zoom lens. You will also see that you might run into some space limitation. It is a great middle change prime lens to start with.
Rama said
70-200 lens is good too for portraits even for a cropped sensor camera
Rama
You are right Rama. A lot of photographers use it for portraits. But it also personal preference. I for example have that lens and really rarely use it for portrait, because it is so heavy. Lately my favorite lens for portraits was Nikon 105mm f2.8 Macro. It works great on the full sensor. For crop sensor close to it would be 85mm.
I was intended to do a video on all portrait lenses, but I lost my 85mm :(. I’ll do it as soon as I get another one.
The photos bellow were takes with Nikon D800 and Nikon 105mm f2.8 Macro lens just yesterday.
Left: ISO 100, f3.5, 1/500
Right: ISO 100, f3.5 1/640
ISO 100, f2.8, 1/1250
But you can never go wrong with 50mm to start with, especially on a full sensor. It is cheep, light, sharp, fast and gives you nice bokeh. Even if I have a whole collection of lenses I still use it. This photo is from the recent shoot as well. I was in a limited space, so longer focal length would not work. And this was on full sensor as well – D800.
ISO 320, f2.8, 1/125.
The lens used is 50mm f1.4, but I almost never use f1.4, so if you buy cheeper 50mm f1.8, you will be totally fine.
10:27 am
VIP Student
September 15, 2012
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Hrelena has great………………. earrings.
-- Mandrake --
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