Calling all you photographers (again...)

D

DrNick

Senior member
 Wickham, Hampshire
I have a canon D-SLR and a couple of lenses - 17-85 is USM, 75-300, 105mm macro.

The 17-85mm lens is a great walk about lens, but for portraits somewhat limited by its aperture (f4). I really like seeing portrait pics with shallow depths of fields and was thinking about buying a 50mm f1.8 which is only about £90 as Im going to a couple of weddings in the next few months.

Do you photographic experts agree its worth buying to mess about with? Or as a photographic novice am I barking up the wrong tree?
 
I have the 50mm and it is a fantastic lens with very crisp optics at a wide range of f-stops.

I don't remember it being £90 though, so there may be more than one version or the price has dropped.
It was an excellent purchase and don't regret it.

However, it has a limited role for portraiture and some reportage. It doesn't work as a walkabout lens due to fixed focal length, esp inside. I would often change lenses, and so would carry camera bag with me (but this also allows me to carry flash, remote flash unit and tripod. (this tends to give best results for portraits since you can light from top front left or right, or bounce off ceiling.)

So you need to decide if you will need other focal lengths during the wedding. If so, then you may find swapping a pain. Esp if you are drinking at the wedding. Also long focal lengths are good for the more intimate reportage photos that capture emotions. (being far away allows the people to be more relaxed) and at long zoom, the depth of field becomes narrowed anyway.
 
I have a few friends who bought that lens (the 50mm 1.8 ). For the money it's an absolute bargain. Good quality glass and great depth of field. Not much of a walk-around lens but as a fast, cheap portrait lens it offers amazing value. I say go for it.
 
Interesting points, thanks. Yes it wouldnt be a walk about lens, thats why i bought the 17-85 - but another one to have in the bag with flash gun and other such stuff

I don't remember it being £90 though, so there may be more than one version or the price has dropped.
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there are 3 versions, £90 (f1.8 ), £300 (USM f 1.6) and £700 (F1.4 L) - i love the USM on my other lens but for amount i would use this one, not worth it.

Also long focal lengths are good for the more intimate reportage photos that capture emotions. (being far away allows the people to be more relaxed) and at long zoom, the depth of field becomes narrowed anyway.
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Agreed - this is what I always have relied on before. Just tempted to get the mix!
 
@DrNick: I thnk you mean:

50mm f1.8 = £90
50mm f1.4 = £300
50mm f1.2 = £1200

I have the 50mm f1.4. To be honest you really won't shoot at 1.4, you pay the money for the better focusing and better build quality. The 1.2 is way overpriced, but IMHO the 50mm 1.4 is worth it's weight in gold! It's my favourite lens by far. In terms of results the f1.8 has just as good glass, you just need to treat it gently.

The 50mm f1.4 is due a refresh soon, so when the MkII comes out you may get some cheap MkI's, but in my experience not THAT cheap.
 
Also long focal lengths are good for the more intimate reportage photos that capture emotions. (being far away allows the people to be more relaxed) and at long zoom, the depth of field becomes narrowed anyway.
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Agree with that. I'm not seriously into photography in any way, but I was at a mate's wedding on Friday and stuck my 55-250mm lens on for most of the time (my only other lens in my kit 18-55mm lens). It was great for taking shots where the subject had no idea you were focussing on them - makes for some different photos to what everyone else was taking: http://www.flickr.com/photos/a11y_m/sets/72157626785544160/
 
I'm not seriously into photography in any way
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:rofl: your talent for it speaks otherwise :thumbsup: always very envious of the eye you have for your shots

I did the same thing at a wedding a couple of years back, stuck my 75-300mm lens on and snapped away all day, made an album for the couple which they thought was better than the official photographer (who was, it must be said, rubbish) as they were like you say so much more natural.

Oh the joys of the forum - such a great distraction from revision :headbang: !
 
Nice photos A11y..

It all depends if you have plenty of available night... during the day (with good light) a long focal length is good, and with an aperture of f4 you will get a nice short DOF. When it comes to evening time or if the light is crap then you really need to shoot wide open (low f-number). I tend to shoot at around f2 - f2.2 in low light, and raise the ISO. Last resort I use some bounce flash, but prefer not to.

Everyone should have a 50mm lens... if you have the cash go for the 1.4, but if not then the 1.8 is a no-brainer!
 
I have the f1.8 - really is a great lens for the price. Definately not a walkaround lens as has been said here, but I've taken some really good portrait shots with it.

Go for it!
 
ga41 said:
I have a few friends who bought that lens (the 50mm 1.8 ). For the money it's an absolute bargain. Good quality glass and great depth of field. Not much of a walk-around lens but as a fast, cheap portrait lens it offers amazing value. I say go for it.
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This :thumbsup: Excellent, bargain bit of kit. Paid £85. for mine about 3 months back.
 
sp3ctre said:
Nice photos A11y..

It all depends if you have plenty of available night... during the day (with good light) a long focal length is good, and with an aperture of f4 you will get a nice short DOF. When it comes to evening time or if the light is crap then you really need to shoot wide open (low f-number). I tend to shoot at around f2 - f2.2 in low light, and raise the ISO. Last resort I use some bounce flash, but prefer not to.

Everyone should have a 50mm lens... if you have the cash go for the 1.4, but if not then the 1.8 is a no-brainer!
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How much more noise do you get with the raised ISO?
 
pvr said:
How much more noise do you get with the raised ISO?
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Depends on the camera. I have a 5D MKII and I can get away with high ISO's, whereas the 500D (for example) would not do quite as well. If you use Lightroom 3 the noise reduction works very well.

The key thing to remember is you can often "rescue" a noisy photo, but you can't fix a blurry photo, so do whatever you need to to get the shutter speed you need.
 
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