07-30-2010, 12:49 AM
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#47 |
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Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Long Island, New York
Posts: 5,892
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom 
It seems like when I'm at home, I use the 30mm more (bc of wider angle) - but when I go out into the world - I can't help it, the Nikkor 50mm1.8 is my walk-around lens - it's just SO light and small. I LOVE that lens.
I have been this close [] to buying the 85mm a few times. But, I already have a 60mm macro - so I just can't quite bring myself to buy the 85mm at this time. That 85 has quite a cult following for fantastic portrait pics, actually, and that's what attracts me more than anything (bc macro photos just stress me out, to be honest - I hate using tripods). I really do need to pull out my 60 and try some portraits and see if the 85 would be worth it, at some point.
| I had the Nikon 50mm 1.8 for about 20 years, and loved it. A filter broke on it, and we had trouble getting it off. I ended up replacing it with the 50 1.4g-AFS since it was a new lens that they had made some improvements on. I like it for the same reason as you like yours, because it's just so light, and it also is so good in low light. Because of it’s amazing bokeh, if the Sigma wasn't so large and, if it had better quality control, I would have gone with that one. On the EX lenses in the Sigma line, if you get a good copy, they are great, but I hear you sometimes have to get a few copies to get a good one. I use my 50mm a lot. It makes my camera so much lighter, and it's a nice focal length. I'd prefer the 30mm or 35mm focal lengths better on a DX camera because sometimes the 50mm is a bit too close and there isn't always enough room to step back, but I don't have one yet. That's why I use my Nikon 35-70 2.8. It's an old, pro lens used by many photojournalists. It's no longer being made. I love it; it doesn’t look big, but there is so much glass and that makes it very heavy.
If you aren't interested in macro, the 85mm 1.8 is a great lens. I think I'll wind up with that lens. In the future I might buy the 85mm 1.4 lens, but I won't spend that much money now. Nikon keeps talking about an upgrade to that lens, but I think the way it is now is wonderful. On a DX camera, your 60mm macro is about the same focal length (90mm) as an 85mm on a FX camera. The only problem with using a macro lens on portraits is that they are super sharp. I take a lot of portraits of my high school students, and my 105mm 2.8 macro (the older one) produces beautiful images. On people who are older than that, such a super sharp lens will see every flaw, so a macro lens isn't flattering for portraits much of the time. Even with teenagers, you often don't want to see every pore or mark. With our babies, a macro works fine, except that they don't focus very quickly. I think that's why I really do want to get the 85mm lens, and I'll get the 85mm 1.8 for now or the somewhere nearer future. It doesn't have the motor in the lens, but our cameras don't need that. I hear it focuses fairly quickly and the pictures are very nice from it. It’s not the same as the “cream machine,” but the bokeh is still supposed to be nice, and there is a big difference in the price between the 1.8 and 1.4.. |
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07-29-2010, 04:15 PM
