Birthday Gift - help needed tonight !

[dibbly dobbler]

Suggestions please ladies and gents.

Sitrep: Moderately clueless beginner with Canon 450D and kit lens has birthday next week. Mrs has offered to buy photo equipment (budget roughly £100 - £200) but it will have to be done tomorrow.

Options: ND filter to do long exposure stuff, some other kind of filter perhaps, software maybe (I have PSE already), or the obvious one - a new lens (but there are so many options ).

I'm quite keen that I don't rush into the wrong thing and end up wasting the money...

Help !

[XG332]

Get a 50mm f/1.8. Usually around the £100 mark, but one amazing lens for the price!

[paul911]

If you’re interested in landscapes Mike, then a set of ND grads is essential. Along with a decent sturdy tripod. Don’t waste money on cheap wobbly stuff.

[andy-xr]

A 1.4 might only need an extra £50'ish adding in from other present givers

[dibbly dobbler]

Oilver - is that what I have heard described as a 'nifty fifty' ? What sort of thing is it good for ?
(ps is that really how you spell your name ? no offence intended)

Paul - good suggestion thanks. My old man has offered me his spare tripod (which I believe is pretty good quality) so I am sorted there. The ND grads bring down the sky down a bit don't they ? Do they just screw onto the front as per a UV filter ?

[dibbly dobbler]

andy-xr said:

A 1.4 might only need an extra £50'ish adding in from other present givers

Andy, thanks I get that a 1.4 would be better than a 1.8 but sorry I really am clueless about lenses, how does it work compared to my boggo kit lens (ie 18-55). Is it an all purpose lens ?

[paul911]

dibbly dobbler said:

Paul - good suggestion thanks. My old man has offered me his spare tripod (which I believe is pretty good quality) so I am sorted there. The ND grads bring down the sky down a bit don't they ? Do they just screw onto the front as per a UV filter ?

The holder screws onto the camera lens, then the ND grads slot in to the holder, so you can vary the position the graduated bit covers, ie the sky. You can also slot in a ND (not graduated) filter to slow the shutter down to get the water affects you like.

[andy-xr]

dibbly dobbler said:

andy-xr said:

A 1.4 might only need an extra £50'ish adding in from other present givers

Andy, thanks I get that a 1.4 would be better than a 1.8 but sorry I really am clueless about lenses, how does it work compared to my boggo kit lens (ie 18-55). Is it an all purpose lens ?

You can use it for lots of things

Mine's been stuck on my D300 since I got it, before that I had a 24-70 F2.8 on there. The 50mm is as suggests a 50mm. And it's quick, f1.4 is very handy albeit tricky sometimes to control. I found mine sharper with better image quality than my 1.8 but I'm using Nikkors

[dibbly dobbler]

paul911 said:

dibbly dobbler said:

Paul - good suggestion thanks. My old man has offered me his spare tripod (which I believe is pretty good quality) so I am sorted there. The ND grads bring down the sky down a bit don't they ? Do they just screw onto the front as per a UV filter ?

The holder screws onto the camera lens, then the ND grads slot in to the holder, so you can vary the position the graduated bit covers, ie the sky. You can also slot in a ND (not graduated) filter to slow the shutter down to get the water affects you like.

Ah I see

That sounds like a good plan then - I'm worried that if I blow out on a lens without really knowing what I am doing I'll end up getting the wrong thing but I'm definitely going to be needing filters in any event.

I'm off to do some Googling

[XG332]

dibbly dobbler said:

Oilver - is that what I have heard described as a 'nifty fifty' ? What sort of thing is it good for ?
(ps is that really how you spell your name ? no offence intended)

That would be the one, very good for macro, portraits as the depth of field allows for very short depth.

Just a quick image to show you.


My name is oliver, is my username not XG332? or do i know you from elsewere?

[paul911]

dibbly dobbler said:

paul911 said:

dibbly dobbler said:

Paul - good suggestion thanks. My old man has offered me his spare tripod (which I believe is pretty good quality) so I am sorted there. The ND grads bring down the sky down a bit don't they ? Do they just screw onto the front as per a UV filter ?

The holder screws onto the camera lens, then the ND grads slot in to the holder, so you can vary the position the graduated bit covers, ie the sky. You can also slot in a ND (not graduated) filter to slow the shutter down to get the water affects you like.

Ah I see

That sounds like a good plan then - I'm worried that if I blow out on a lens without really knowing what I am doing I'll end up getting the wrong thing but I'm definitely going to be needing filters in any event.

I'm off to do some Googling

Oh, you’ll also need an adapter ring to attach the filter holder to the lens.

[dibbly dobbler]

XG332 said:

dibbly dobbler said:

Oilver - is that what I have heard described as a 'nifty fifty' ? What sort of thing is it good for ?
(ps is that really how you spell your name ? no offence intended)

That would be the one, very good for macro, portraits as the depth of field allows for very short depth.

Just a quick image to show you.


My name is oliver, is my username not XG332? or do i know you from elsewere?

Thanks Oliver - nice example

Forgive the idiocy of this - does it work in basically the same way as a normal lens (eg 18-55) but without the ability to zoom in and out ?

(your PH profile has a small typo hence my query - easily fixed via 'my info' then 'profile')

[XG332]

Yes basically it is a locked 50mm but the f/1.8 allows shallow depth of field. You can focus on a persons nose and have their ears blured, very creative and arty lens.


Thanks for pointing the spelling mistake, the spelling nazis are getting alot more crafty.

[dibbly dobbler]

XG332 said:

Yes basically it is a locked 50mm but the f/1.8 allows shallow depth of field. You can focus on a persons nose and have their ears blured, very creative and arty lens.


Thanks for pointing the spelling mistake, the spelling nazis are getting alot more crafty.

Ah right - excellent, thanks for the explanation. I think I am maybe a bit green a this lark to get the best out of that kind of lens but at least I have an idea what they do now

[d1d215]

only it's going to take some effort to learn how to deal with the f1.4. but a 50mm is a must have.

[dibbly dobbler]

Gents - thankyou all for the suggestions, excellent response as usual for this forum

Think I am going to go for something like:

this Cokin NDx8 for some long exposure work (but what does Filter Factor = 8 mean exactly ? )

and this Cokin circular polarising for general use outdoors

any thoughts ?

[d1d215]

well. i would get a 50mm day or night, whatever the situation, but it's up to you anyway. that's the most amazing stuff you can buy for yourself/camera. I just want to make sure you're aware of it .

[dibbly dobbler]

d1d215 said:

well. i would get a 50mm day or night, whatever the situation, but it's up to you anyway. that's the most amazing stuff you can buy for yourself/camera. I just want to make sure you're aware of it .

Thanks - point well made and received loud and clear

[dibbly dobbler]

paul911 said:

dibbly dobbler said:

paul911 said:

dibbly dobbler said:

Paul - good suggestion thanks. My old man has offered me his spare tripod (which I believe is pretty good quality) so I am sorted there. The ND grads bring down the sky down a bit don't they ? Do they just screw onto the front as per a UV filter ?

The holder screws onto the camera lens, then the ND grads slot in to the holder, so you can vary the position the graduated bit covers, ie the sky. You can also slot in a ND (not graduated) filter to slow the shutter down to get the water affects you like.

Ah I see

That sounds like a good plan then - I'm worried that if I blow out on a lens without really knowing what I am doing I'll end up getting the wrong thing but I'm definitely going to be needing filters in any event.

I'm off to do some Googling

Oh, you’ll also need an adapter ring to attach the filter holder to the lens.

Right - just back from Jessops

Got some good (I think) advice from a very pleasant young lady following which Mrs DD purchased me the following :

• a Cokin filter holder
• an adapter ring for my 18-55 - interchangeable for when I get a lens upgrade
• a Cokin ND x4 filter - for some long exposure stuff
• a Cokin Grey Graduated Filter - to sort out my crappy sunsets
• a Cokin circular polarising filter - for general out door use and better colours if it's sunny

Was trying to stick to £100 but failed miserably

Mrs DD is making me wait until my birthday until I get it though - she's a hard woman !

Thanks again all for the advice