Nifty fifty? Or anything else?
Discussion
Some advice guys:
I'm lucky enough to be becoming a father for the first time in January.
As such I shall be using my Canon 400D for something more than messing about taking pictures of wildlife in the garden, and I will be looking forward to be taking some portraits.
As such, I was looking for something better than the 18-55mm kit lens which is soft and a bit slow for indoors. It is my understanding that the Canon 50mm prime at £80 or so produces some pretty acceptable performance for this kind of thing.
Is there anything else I should consider? I don't mind spending a but more, or even double, or triple, if I am buying better performance I will notice.
I have no doubt that there is a £2000 'L' lens with 'extra creamy bokeh', but at the more realistic end of the market does anyone have any other recommendations, and what would these give that the nifty fifty not do as well?
Cheers in advance!
I'm lucky enough to be becoming a father for the first time in January.
As such I shall be using my Canon 400D for something more than messing about taking pictures of wildlife in the garden, and I will be looking forward to be taking some portraits.
As such, I was looking for something better than the 18-55mm kit lens which is soft and a bit slow for indoors. It is my understanding that the Canon 50mm prime at £80 or so produces some pretty acceptable performance for this kind of thing.
Is there anything else I should consider? I don't mind spending a but more, or even double, or triple, if I am buying better performance I will notice.
I have no doubt that there is a £2000 'L' lens with 'extra creamy bokeh', but at the more realistic end of the market does anyone have any other recommendations, and what would these give that the nifty fifty not do as well?
Cheers in advance!
Theres 2 ways to go here.
The nifty fifty for shallow DOF/low light and prime sharpness.
Or a decent flash.
Both have great potential.
The nifty fifty is built out of old kellogs packets and is almost impossible to manual focus (especialy on a styandard focus screen), and also hunts in low light some.
Its not super sharp wide open (1.8)though is usable, but by 2.2 its fine and 2.5 its tack sharp. Bokeh wide open is fine, stopped down some is a bit sketchy.
Saying this its a superb lens and the downsides are far outweighed by its opticaly quality.
A good flash will allow you to bounce light around and properly light your subjects allowing you to shoot stoped down and flash generaly gives sharper images (indoors) than without, also gives you a ton of flexability especialy if you can use it off camera.
Idealy combining the two gives you the best results
I'd say pin your kit lens to 50mm and have a shoot with it see how you liek the field of view because 50 can be a bit narrow for general shooting, its Subperb though for potraits and kid shots IMO.
The nifty fifty for shallow DOF/low light and prime sharpness.
Or a decent flash.
Both have great potential.
The nifty fifty is built out of old kellogs packets and is almost impossible to manual focus (especialy on a styandard focus screen), and also hunts in low light some.
Its not super sharp wide open (1.8)though is usable, but by 2.2 its fine and 2.5 its tack sharp. Bokeh wide open is fine, stopped down some is a bit sketchy.
Saying this its a superb lens and the downsides are far outweighed by its opticaly quality.
A good flash will allow you to bounce light around and properly light your subjects allowing you to shoot stoped down and flash generaly gives sharper images (indoors) than without, also gives you a ton of flexability especialy if you can use it off camera.
Idealy combining the two gives you the best results
I'd say pin your kit lens to 50mm and have a shoot with it see how you liek the field of view because 50 can be a bit narrow for general shooting, its Subperb though for potraits and kid shots IMO.
I've got the nifty 50mm (and two young children), don't use it much and tbh found a flash more useful as the built in one is very harsh/cold for portraits/family shots. As alternative lens how about Tamron 90mm Macro lens (yes okay 3 times the price) but is very good for portraits (imho) as well as you can play with the beasties in the garden (when you get a quiet minute to yourself).
Good luck with the new arrival
Good luck with the new arrival
I got this lens solely to take some decent quality indoor photos at my parent's 40th anniversary. I was very pleased with how the photos turned out, given the lighting inside was not great. Though I agree that it is not super sharp at 1.8, it's still superb performance given how little the lens costs.
FYI the photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbwebdesign/sets/7215...
FYI the photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbwebdesign/sets/7215...
Congratulations on impending fatherhood - having something worth pointing your camera at is one of the very many ways that your life will change for the better.
I also have a 400d and also bought a nifty fifty for taking photos of my young family - it's excellent for all the reasons stated but in reality I rarely use it as I find the fixed focal length quite restrictive for the sort of impromptu photo opportunities that young children present.
The best money I spent on my camera was replacing the original mediocre 18-55 kit lens that came with the camera with the more recent IS version of the same. Read the excellent reviews all over the internet - it's all true.
Second best money was a decent flash with a swivel/tilt head so as to bounce the flash and create much more natural indoor shots. Very happy with my 430 EX but anything that lets you bounce the flash would be fine.
Third best was a telephoto zoom - my children are 3 and 4 now and I love being able to take natural, candid pictures of them without disturbing the scene by getting in their face with a camera. You can wait a year for this though. I'm delighted with my EF 70-300IS but I read that the EF-S 55-250 IS produces just as good images for half the money.
Make sure you've got a good point and shoot compact to live in your wife's handbag as well - you'll kick yourself the times when you don't have your DSLR with you otherwise.
I also have a 400d and also bought a nifty fifty for taking photos of my young family - it's excellent for all the reasons stated but in reality I rarely use it as I find the fixed focal length quite restrictive for the sort of impromptu photo opportunities that young children present.
The best money I spent on my camera was replacing the original mediocre 18-55 kit lens that came with the camera with the more recent IS version of the same. Read the excellent reviews all over the internet - it's all true.
Second best money was a decent flash with a swivel/tilt head so as to bounce the flash and create much more natural indoor shots. Very happy with my 430 EX but anything that lets you bounce the flash would be fine.
Third best was a telephoto zoom - my children are 3 and 4 now and I love being able to take natural, candid pictures of them without disturbing the scene by getting in their face with a camera. You can wait a year for this though. I'm delighted with my EF 70-300IS but I read that the EF-S 55-250 IS produces just as good images for half the money.
Make sure you've got a good point and shoot compact to live in your wife's handbag as well - you'll kick yourself the times when you don't have your DSLR with you otherwise.
I pretty much agree with SR, for younger kids that are all over the place the fifty isn't the greatest lens, a good zoom would be much better. However, my little girl is now 6 and will quite happily model for me and it's now that the fifty comes into its own, a lens that cheap has no right being that sharp!
If you want examples of what lenses can do then check here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.p...
I would always get at least 1 prime if i was in your position. The 50 is probably the most sensibly priced for you, there's the 85 too, but that's probably a little long, unless you swap to a 5d
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.p...
I would always get at least 1 prime if i was in your position. The 50 is probably the most sensibly priced for you, there's the 85 too, but that's probably a little long, unless you swap to a 5d
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