Lens advice


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bouloss

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Nov 7, 2004
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Montreal Canada
www.pbase.com
Hi
I purchased 2 month ago a d70 with the kit lens 18-70mm ;p

I have a small budget for christmas to buy couple of lenses

Now i know people ask me depends on what you want to want to shoot.

Well i want to do portrait , macro and action sports

1 -for action sports i figured 70-200 Sigma HSM F2.8 APO

2- for macro i am hestitating
between Tamron F2.8 DI 90mm and sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG macro

3- for portrait maybe nikkor 85mm 1.8D or maybe i can use what ever
macro lens i pick

4 - one last maybe the nikkor 50mm 1.4d for general use. low light

let me know what u think . recommendations

thanks alot
 

1) 70-200VR
2) 105 micro f/2.8
3) 85 f/1.4
4) 35 f/2
 

budget is around 1600$ USd

i figured VR are excellent lenses. but way too much $$
even 85mm 1.4 is over 1k$ by it self

thanks
 

IMHO ...

1. Agree, Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 is a great performer for its price. Couple that with a 1.4X APO extender and you're set for sports. See if you can get it used for a cheaper price, you'll want to move to a 70-200 VR very soon, but for now, stay within your budget.

2. For macro I agree with espn, can't beat the Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8.

3. Portrait, get a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D. On your camera it's 75mm, which is close to the traditional portrait focal length of 85mm. And from some reports it outperforms the f/1.4D.

4. For day-to-day stuff, you can't go wrong with your kit lens, together with the 50mm f/1.8D.

And this all should fit nicely in your budget ... with change left over for other acquisitions like an SB800, good macro tripod, Markins ballhead ...
 

already got the sb-1800 and manfetto tripod. :)

is the 5mm 1.4d too short for portrait. ot better off with the 1.8d
 

bouloss said:
already got the sb-1800 and manfetto tripod. :)

is the 5mm 1.4d too short for portrait. ot better off with the 1.8d

u mean 50mm ? Since you have a 18-70 lens.. why don't you adjust the focal length to 50mm and see if it fits your needs nicely for portrait shots ?
;)
 

the 50mm is for low light conditions
and with 1.8 or 1.4 apreture i get better bokeh no ? ( compared to the lens kit
 

bouloss said:
already got the sb-1800 and manfetto tripod. :)

is the 5mm 1.4d too short for portrait. ot better off with the 1.8d

Hmm, SB-1800 very new, not available around these parts yet :bsmilie:

And 5mm definitely too short for portrait ;)

Just kidding ... the 50mm is fine for portraits, and is sharp to boot. If too short, then you either use the long end of your 18-70 or short end of the 70-200.
 

ericp said:
IMHO ...

3. Portrait, get a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D. On your camera it's 75mm, which is close to the traditional portrait focal length of 85mm. And from some reports it outperforms the f/1.4D.


like to correct this....u get a field of view of 75mm...

50mm on digital does not give u a focal lenght of 75mm.....properties of lens (including distortion etc) remain at tt of 50mm...

cheers..
 

That's a good point, Witness, but as the field of view is cropped, I thought that the inherent distortions don't really come into play anymore ? From what I've read, most of the distortions actually occur as you move out to the edges and corners, and if you crop 66% out of the middle, you miss the worst of it.

Actually, there's a practical reason to use a 50mm rather than 85mm ... in a small studio, you may only be able to get a head shot with the longer focal length, while the 50mm should give you 1/2 body.

And another practical reason to get the 50mm f/1.8D is cost ... less than US$100.
 

i understand wat u are saying.. but no.... distortions stay the same...

u image taking on film...then croppin on photoshop....nuttin actually changes...
if i am not mistaken..
 

One last question maybe

Whats the best lens to take portrait shots
between these 3 macro lenses

Sigma 105mm 2.8 Ex dG
Tamron 90mm 2.8 DI
Nikon 60mm 2.8 D

i was really considering the sigma . is it too long for portrait ( 155mm )
on a nikon D70 ?

thanks
 

Witness said:
i understand wat u are saying.. but no.... distortions stay the same...

u image taking on film...then croppin on photoshop....nuttin actually changes...
if i am not mistaken..

Persepective does not change if you use the same lens, same distance, same shot, you will only have lesser angle of view on a 1.5x crop. But perspective changes ...... if you move further to take with a 50mm on a 1.5x to achieve the effect of a 50mm on a 35mm, you are essentially cropping the whole picture and concentrating on the centre portion, the distortions on the same subject will be lesser.

For example, if you use a 50mm primes lens on a head shot using a 35mm body, being so near, chances are you will have distortion (slight) on the face, especially the pertruding portion, namely the nose.

However, using the same 50mm primes lens on a head shot using a APS-C sensor, you will have to stand further away to take the picture, thus the perspective changes a bit.
 

blurblock said:
Persepective does not change if you use the same lens, same distance, same shot, you will only have lesser angle of view on a 1.5x crop. But perspective changes ...... if you move further to take with a 50mm on a 1.5x to achieve the effect of a 50mm on a 35mm, you are essentially cropping the whole picture and concentrating on the centre portion, the distortions on the same subject will be lesser.

For example, if you use a 50mm primes lens on a head shot using a 35mm body, being so near, chances are you will have distortion (slight) on the face, especially the pertruding portion, namely the nose.

However, using the same 50mm primes lens on a head shot using a APS-C sensor, you will have to stand further away to take the picture, thus the perspective changes a bit.

Thanks blurblock :D That's what I thought but couldn't confirm before. Using a 50mm f1.7 lens, quite happy with its low light (indoor) performance and its size too.

Cheers!
 

bouloss said:
Hi
I purchased 2 month ago a d70 with the kit lens 18-70mm ;p

I have a small budget for christmas to buy couple of lenses

Now i know people ask me depends on what you want to want to shoot.

Well i want to do portrait , macro and action sports

1 -for action sports i figured 70-200 Sigma HSM F2.8 APO

2- for macro i am hestitating
between Tamron F2.8 DI 90mm and sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG macro

3- for portrait maybe nikkor 85mm 1.8D or maybe i can use what ever
macro lens i pick

4 - one last maybe the nikkor 50mm 1.4d for general use. low light

let me know what u think . recommendations

thanks alot

I recommend
Macro/protrait : Tamron 90mm Macro
sports : Nikon 70-200 VR

They just fit your budget aren't they? :)
 

blurblock said:
Persepective does not change if you use the same lens, same distance, same shot, you will only have lesser angle of view on a 1.5x crop. But perspective changes .......

distortion dun change ...perspective change u mean..
 

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