Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post

dogsy · 04-24-2011, 07:43 PM

It's a daunting choice with new bodies being relased so frequently these days.

If I were in your shoes and starting on a lean budget....I'd look at getting a body second hand (but almost new, someone who didn't have it long, is still in mint condition), skipping the crappy kit lenses that come with them, and then seeing what you have left over for one of these....

- 50mm (75mm on a Nikon DX crop body, 80mm on Canon EF-S)
- 35mm (~52mm on a Nikon, 56mm on Canon)

Not sure what your level of knowledge is, so skip past this bit if you're already up to speed. Nikon and Canon have 'cropped' sensor camera bodies, and full frame. At your budget you're definitely in the former category. This means that whatever lens you see (35mm, 50mm etc) you need to multiply that by the 'crop factor' which varies from brand to brand. Nikon = 1.5x (50mm = 75mm), Canon = 1.6x (50mm = 80mm).

In general terms a 45mm to 50mm lens is roughly what your eyes see. It's a good compromise between wide angle and telephone lenses. At 80mm (a 50mm lens on a budget Canon body) you'll be at a great focal length for doing portraits, but will suffer big time if you need wide angle shots. So what to do? Consider the 35mm which then becomes ~52mm/Nikon and 56mm/Canon.

Why bother with one of these lenses? They're dirt cheap. Both Nikon and Canon produce a 50mm f1.8 lens for around $140-$150. Bad timing though - photography prices have leapt up big time lately. You could pick up that lens for $99 six months ago. If you're patient, the prices will settle down again at some point.

Why get a cheap 50mm lens? It'll free up some budget to get a zoom lens for one thing (another topic entirely). But the big advantage is having that f1.8 (or the f1.4 version if you can stretch it - I have the f1.2L but that's almost $2K) which allows you to 1) shoot in low light, and 2) produce the great out-of-focus (bokeh) effect that you see in 'good photos'. Right off the bat you'll be able to take photos of people or cars and isolate them in the image by blurring the background. For only $99-$150? Bargain.

Feel free to ping me directly. I don't log-in that often but I'll pick up your messages when I do. Cheers.

04-24-2011, 07:43 PM	#11 (permalink)
dogsy Base Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NorCal, USA Posts: 5 Drives: 370Z PG+Tour+Sp+Nav Rep Power: 16	It's a daunting choice with new bodies being relased so frequently these days. If I were in your shoes and starting on a lean budget....I'd look at getting a body second hand (but almost new, someone who didn't have it long, is still in mint condition), skipping the crappy kit lenses that come with them, and then seeing what you have left over for one of these.... - 50mm (75mm on a Nikon DX crop body, 80mm on Canon EF-S) - 35mm (~52mm on a Nikon, 56mm on Canon) Not sure what your level of knowledge is, so skip past this bit if you're already up to speed. Nikon and Canon have 'cropped' sensor camera bodies, and full frame. At your budget you're definitely in the former category. This means that whatever lens you see (35mm, 50mm etc) you need to multiply that by the 'crop factor' which varies from brand to brand. Nikon = 1.5x (50mm = 75mm), Canon = 1.6x (50mm = 80mm). In general terms a 45mm to 50mm lens is roughly what your eyes see. It's a good compromise between wide angle and telephone lenses. At 80mm (a 50mm lens on a budget Canon body) you'll be at a great focal length for doing portraits, but will suffer big time if you need wide angle shots. So what to do? Consider the 35mm which then becomes ~52mm/Nikon and 56mm/Canon. Why bother with one of these lenses? They're dirt cheap. Both Nikon and Canon produce a 50mm f1.8 lens for around $140-$150. Bad timing though - photography prices have leapt up big time lately. You could pick up that lens for $99 six months ago. If you're patient, the prices will settle down again at some point. Why get a cheap 50mm lens? It'll free up some budget to get a zoom lens for one thing (another topic entirely). But the big advantage is having that f1.8 (or the f1.4 version if you can stretch it - I have the f1.2L but that's almost $2K) which allows you to 1) shoot in low light, and 2) produce the great out-of-focus (bokeh) effect that you see in 'good photos'. Right off the bat you'll be able to take photos of people or cars and isolate them in the image by blurring the background. For only $99-$150? Bargain. Feel free to ping me directly. I don't log-in that often but I'll pick up your messages when I do. Cheers.