Car Photography Lens Advice...

[Wise]

Looking at getting in to car photography a bit more and start doing it a bit more seriously. Looking into getting a sigma/tamron 70-200mm 2.8 to try and get more DOF which am not happy with in some of my shots...

I already have, sigma 10-20mm, 35mm, kit lens and 55-200mm, Spend most of my time using the 10-20mm and the 35mm just now. Have been looking into getting a 50mm 1.8D as well even though it wont focus on my d3100 but they can be picked up quite cheap these days! But not sure there is much point if I have a 35mm 1.8 already....

But ultimately this the the sort of DOF I want to be able to achieve, seen these pop up on Facebook... Not to everyones taste, but what would be the best lens to go for to get the same DOF?





Cheers

[markmullen]

DoF is affected by the distance to your subject, the aperture and the focal length, so to minimise your DoF you need as long as lens with as wide an aperture as possible aiming at an object close to you.

Most of the car photographers I work with on a regular basis use a wide angle (often a 17-40 or 16-35), a mid range (usually 24-70 f2.8 or 24-105) and a telephoto zoom like a 70-200 2.8

[Mr Will]

I think you might find howmuchblur.com useful. Try putting in various lens settings and see how it affects the results.

[LongQ]

Mr Will said:

I think you might find howmuchblur.com useful. Try putting in various lens settings and see how it affects the results.

Also an editor with good selection and blur control features.

[Simpo Two]

2 looks a bit fake to me.

Wise said:

to try and get more DOF

You mean less not more. What about a 50mm f1.4?

[Craikeybaby]

You say that you don't use your 55-250 much, yet you want to buy an expensive lens to replace it? Have you tried working with the 70-200mm focal range on your existing lens to ensure that you can get the effect that you want?

f2.8 at 200mm will be a very narrow depth of field, not only will your background be out of focus, a significant portion of the car will be too.

[Wise]

Thanks for the advice guys, looking at it and doing a bit of searching online the second photo does look like its been edited...

Yeah sorry I mean shallow DOF

Was looking into getting a 85mm 1.8 but they are still around £300 were's you can get an early sigma 70-200 for around the same price and the main reason am considering getting one... And the fact that from what I know the closer you can get the shallower the DOF will be. But then again shooting at 200 f2.8 will give a really shallow DOF and would probably need to stop in down to f4-8 anyway. So should be fine with my 55-200mm for the time being

Think I'll buy a 50mm 1.8d and take it from there

[LongQ]

Wise said:

Thanks for the advice guys, looking at it and doing a bit of searching online the second photo does look like its been edited...

I'm fairly confident that both will have been optmised in some way to maximise what they have to offer.

Edited by LongQ on Tuesday 30th July 19:26

[LongQ]

Plan B.

http://www.topazlabs.com/lenseffects/



On offer until tomorrow.

No idea if it works like the video suggests.

[Wise]

LongQ said:

Plan B.

http://www.topazlabs.com/lenseffects/



On offer until tomorrow.

No idea if it works like the video suggests.

Cheers, have been looking through flickr trying to find car photo's taken with the the different lens. Most photo's seem to be of modified VW's though

Found this one, taken with a 85mm 1.4 @ f2. So 70-200 2.8 looks like it's the right direction to head in, as I can us it for track days etc as well....


_JDS8345-web by xstartxtodayx, on Flickr

[HedgehogFromHell]

I use my 50mm f1.8 when i want something with less DOF

Some of those pictures look decidedly fake, or similar to a tilt and shift

[flat-planedCrank]

I'd take care with the post effects dof additions - it can look ok but imo it needs to be thoroughly thought-out to avoid it looking 'off'.

E.g. Stuff like reflections / refractions can betray the post effect.

Edited by flat-planedCrank on Tuesday 30th July 20:27

[METHS]

Wise said:

Cheers, have been looking through flickr trying to find car photo's taken with the the different lens. Most photo's seem to be of modified VW's though

Found this one, taken with a 85mm 1.4 @ f2. So 70-200 2.8 looks like it's the right direction to head in, as I can us it for track days etc as well....


_JDS8345-web by xstartxtodayx, on Flickr

(I think) That's been Photoshopped to have a blurred background.

I suggest you invest your time into learning how to edit photos rather than collecting gear in the hope that it will improve your photography.

On the other side, the 70-200 2.8 is excellent for track days. Gives you a fast shutter speed. I have the 50mm 1.8, you will be disappointed if you're going to use it to blur the backgrounds of cars, the subject is too far away.

Edited by METHS on Tuesday 30th July 22:19

[Janesy B]

Wise said:

Cheers, have been looking through flickr trying to find car photo's taken with the the different lens. Most photo's seem to be of modified VW's though

Found this one, taken with a 85mm 1.4 @ f2. So 70-200 2.8 looks like it's the right direction to head in, as I can us it for track days etc as well....


_JDS8345-web by xstartxtodayx, on Flickr

Don't get too carried away, that's taken on a full frame camera. You'd have to stand further away from the object to get the same field of view and because of this you will lose out on that blur.

These were taken at 85mm and f/1.4 on my 550D, I had to stand miles back! Not really practical for shows or tight spaces.


Masters_Brands_Hatch_2013-5588 by Bryan Janes, on Flickr


Masters_Brands_Hatch_2013-5587 by Bryan Janes, on Flickr

If you have a crop sensor, you're on a hiding to nothing trying to recreate that speedhunters-esque style. I've learnt this.

Edited by Janesy B on Tuesday 30th July 23:10

[upsidedownmark]

So:

Shallow DOF (blurred backgrounds):
Long lenses
Being close to the subject
Wide apertures

• Distance between the subject and the background

For sharp backgrounds, vice versa. So using your wide angles will increase the DOF, contrary to what you're looking for. Also think about field of view: Wide angle lenses will pull in *more* background, longer lenses will be tighter and show less background.

• Ultimately, if the background is 2ft behind the back bumper you'll have a problem getting separation. If it's 1/2 a mile away, you'll probably separate it nicely with anything.

My advice would be to get busy with the longer kit lens you have and get a feel for what you need, and if that gives you what you want in terms of composition etc., you may well get the DOF you need, but if you don't you'll at least have a feel for the other compromises.

[IanMorewood]

Your existing set up should be able to make blur its more a case of setting the zoom and distance to subject up correctly. However if your looking to splash some cash you could do do much worse than invest in a fixed lens, 85mm 1.4 would be an excellent choice.

[Wise]

Cheers for all the advice guys.

So ultimately to getting anything close to the photos posted or the speed hunter type photos is to go full frame? Would rather spend money on lenses then a new body as the d3100 does everything I need it to.

Am not really a fan of editing photos to make them something there not... But needs must and all that, I'll have a play about with editing and see what I can come up with.

Will go out at the weekend with all my gear and take it from there

[LongQ]

Wise said:

Am not really a fan of editing photos to make them something there not... But needs must and all that, I'll have a play about with editing and see what I can come up with.

Personally I agree if it involves significantly changing the shot by, for example, replacing large parts of the image with parts of a different image - unless that was part of the original intention as it would probably be these days shooting HDR or merging bracketed images. The equivalent of stuff that used to be done in the old wet darkroom days.

Careful use of of sharpening and blurring techniques, also practised back in the days of film in different ways, are not unacceptable if there is no other way to get the result you want. But, IMO, they usually need to be treated with a delicate touch although sometimes a bold artistic statement may be better for your purpose. It can be a matter of fashion - fleeting.

[Simpo Two]

METHS said:

I suggest you invest your time into learning how to edit photos rather than collecting gear in the hope that it will improve your photography.

You'd have him apply fake effects in software rather than do it properly in-camera? If you want to learn something, learn the proper route not the bodge.

[flat-planedCrank]

Wise said:

Cheers for all the advice guys.

So ultimately to getting anything close to the photos posted or the speed hunter type photos is to go full frame? Would rather spend money on lenses then a new body as the d3100 does everything I need it to.

Am not really a fan of editing photos to make them something there not... But needs must and all that, I'll have a play about with editing and see what I can come up with.

Will go out at the weekend with all my gear and take it from there

You have a 35mm f1.8 already? Does that not give sufficient dof or are you not standing close the the car for the shot?


As for editing, personally I wouldn't edit to add dof in post like that. However I would edit for general stuff like contrast, leveling, etc. You won't make a rubbish photo into a good photo... but you can make a good photo really sing