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need focal length suggestions
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:05 am    Post subject: need focal length suggestions Reply with quote
its me again....

just wanted to know on what do you guys suggest me getting in regards with focal lengths. will probably shoot more people rather than landscapes or architecture in which i plan on taking them too. what 3 focal lengths lenses you guys suggest me carrying all the time??? i don't want any zooms...just straight prime lenses. you guys are more than welcome to suggest what kind(focal length and aperture) of lens should i get.

thanks again! Very Happy


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
It depends on your camera (FF? APS-C? µ4.3?)

On APS-C, I use 50 and 135 for your kind of pictures. You could consider a 85 too, maybe combien with a 35 to replace the 50.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
50mm on FF, 35 on crop, 25 on 4:3


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
it depends how much of their body you want to show in the photos.

usual portrait lengths are 85mm to 105mm, but if you want more background in the photo you should use wide angle lenses, 28mm or even less...i shot a portrait of a friend with nikkor 20mm/4 , more like a snapshot and it gave me result that makes me wanna explore portraits with that lens

as for aperture...the faster the lens the thinner dof is, so more difficult to nail the focus right on the eyes... you should look for lenses 85-105 mm with aperture 2-2.8 , but any lens can serve this purpose if it has nice bokeh to separate the object of the portrait from the background


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
If you use an APS-C cam:

2.8/24 - 1.4/50 - 2.8/105 (perhaps plus a compact 28 or 35mm lens)


If you use a FF cam:

2.0/35 - 1.8/85 - 2.8/135 or 2.8/180 (And a Zuiko 1.4/50 is so small that you don't even realize you also carry it around.)


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 11:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I use same focal length for all type of cam, 85mm for portraits.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Without knowing your camera's format, we can't make good suggestions. It's like asking "What shoes should I get?" when we don't know your foot size. But if you can calculate formatfaktor, consider this:

Back in the day, a 135/FF (35mm) photographer might carry a few specific primes. 24-28mm for real wide, 35mm for moderately wide, 50-58mm for long normal, 85mm for close portrait, 135mm for long portrait, 200mm for tele.

Now translate those numbers for your camera.

Attila wrote:
I use same focal length for all type of cam, 85mm for portraits.

At one time I shot official and unofficial portraits, using both my own and the organization's gear. I shot in 9x12, 6x6, 135/FF, and 135/HF (close to APS-C). In all formats, 80mm was my preferred focal length. The field-of-view varies but the perspective relationships remain the same.

The FF:HF formatfaktor suggests that a 58mm lens on APS-C is the same as 85mm on 135/FF, and for angle-of-view that's true, but not for perspective. A 90mm on APS-C is NOT the same as 135mm on 135/FF. Lenses in the 50-58mm, 80-90mm and 135mm ranges, no matter the field-of-view, have certain qualities of rounding or flattening of subjects. Shorter is rounder, longer is flatter, and 80-90mm is just about right.

Which focal length is *best* for portraits is a matter of individual taste. On another forum we discuss one photographer's preference for 180-200mm at f/2.8 on APS-C as a portrait favorite. We've seen fine full-body portraits shot at 15-20mm on APS-C. If I were shooting a Mafiya funeral, I'd use a 1000mm mirror from a safe distance. Smile


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
oh sorry guys....im using a Nikon D80 so it is a 1.5 crop sensor.

thanks for all the suggestions...i think i will be getting a 35mm, 85mm, and 105/135mm lenses. so i stick with Nikon AI-S lenses or are there any other good or even better alternatives out there???

thanks Very Happy


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
RioRico wrote:

At one time I shot official and unofficial portraits, using both my own and the organization's gear. I shot in 9x12, 6x6, 135/FF, and 135/HF (close to APS-C). In all formats, 80mm was my preferred focal length. The field-of-view varies but the perspective relationships remain the same.

The FF:HF formatfaktor suggests that a 58mm lens on APS-C is the same as 85mm on 135/FF, and for angle-of-view that's true, but not for perspective. A 90mm on APS-C is NOT the same as 135mm on 135/FF. Lenses in the 50-58mm, 80-90mm and 135mm ranges, no matter the field-of-view, have certain qualities of rounding or flattening of subjects. Shorter is rounder, longer is flatter, and 80-90mm is just about right.


Thanks for this, I had the same feeling but didn't know how to describe it. I almost convinced myself of not looking for an 85. You ruined my effort Very Happy


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
jun_1.8T wrote:
oh sorry guys....im using a Nikon D80 so it is a 1.5 crop sensor.

thanks for all the suggestions...i think i will be getting a 35mm, 85mm, and 105/135mm lenses. so i stick with Nikon AI-S lenses or are there any other good or even better alternatives out there???

thanks Very Happy


Nikon AIS lenses are top performers I don't think so you need anything else than Nikkors. I suggest to take wider lenses also like 20 or 24mm mm lenses.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
ylyad wrote:
RioRico wrote:
Lenses in the 50-58mm, 80-90mm and 135mm ranges, no matter the field-of-view, have certain qualities of rounding or flattening of subjects. Shorter is rounder, longer is flatter, and 80-90mm is just about right.

Thanks for this, I had the same feeling but didn't know how to describe it. I almost convinced myself of not looking for an 85. You ruined my effort Very Happy

Pity. Smile One of my stranger and more satisfying efforts involved my ordering a brace of FSU enlarger lenses, about US$20 each shipped from Ukraine. One was an Industar-58U 75/3.5. What I got is a big weird black trumpet. See it here. I shoved some PK-mount macro tubes on it to give it a mount with a fixed-focus distance of around 1.5m, which makes it quite good for headshots, even if it is a bit intimidating. And yes, I can change the tube for other distances.

I also use enlarger lenses in the 75-105mm range on bellows for portraiture. Being flatfield, they give corner-to-corner sharpness for situations where that is desirable. Most (Vivitar, Rodenstock, Apos, Novoflex, Industar) cost under US$10. Good EL-Nikkors can be bought cheap also. And there's just something about shooting portraits with a bellows...

Last edited by RioRico on Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:50 pm; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
jun_1.8T wrote:
oh sorry guys....im using a Nikon D80 so it is a 1.5 crop sensor.

thanks for all the suggestions...i think i will be getting a 35mm, 85mm, and 105/135mm lenses. so i stick with Nikon AI-S lenses or are there any other good or even better alternatives out there???

thanks Very Happy


The 35mm and 135mm should be reasonable, but the 85mm and 105mm options are pricier.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 7:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
thanks for all the inputs Very Happy

so i would grab for now a 55mm 3.5 and a 135 3.5mm both AI-S nikkors. and then later on when i saved up enough money i will also grab a 20mm/24mm, and a 105mm.

does that sound good???


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Good plan, do it.


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 8:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
135mm might be a tad long on a crop camera for portraits, unless you want head only or must be distant from subject

I'd go for 35mm and 85mm


PostPosted: Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
135mm might be a tad long on a crop camera for portraits, unless you want head only or must be distant from subject

I'd go for 35mm and 85mm

+1


PostPosted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
35 f/2.8, 50 f/1.7 or f/1.4, 85 f/1.4 and a 135 f/2.8. Then save for a good 200mm f/3.5.
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