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Prime lens questions? I have the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 and just got the Nikon 35mm f/1.8. I took some play/practice shots with both lenses last night and don't see any difference really other than the 50mm seems to be clearer and more in focus. Should there be much of a difference in these lenses? I took shots in both Aperature mode and Portrait mode. With both, the pictures were blurred if the subject (one of my pups) moved even the slightest bit, such as turned their head. Are these lenses not suitable for taking shots of a slowly moving subject or do I need to adjust the settings? With both lenses, there were several times when I had the subject in focus but the camera would not take a picture no matter how I tried pressing the shutter release. I tried backing up, getting closer, etc. but nothing worked to make the camera snap the picture. What am I doing wrong? Sorry to sound so clueless....but, I am. :p |
The only difference in these 2 are the length. I use Manual Mode & do my own setting's I have the 35mm & love it I haven't taken it off the camera since i've gotten it. You need to just play aroung with the camera til you get it. I have Taken Crisp Moving Images With no problem. |
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The really frustrating part is my last question, where the shutter release won't engage and snap the picture. I've lost so many cute shots because it just won't take the picture. :confused: |
It Most likely Isn't focused on anything That's the only time usually it does that You need to make sure you have One of the focus points on the subject you want to take a picture of. |
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1 Attachment(s) Here's one good shot I took last night. I LOOOOOVVVVE how these prime lenses blur all that mess on the counter top behind Murphy. :p |
I wish i could lol When you look at the focus points are you making sure the one you want Lights up red? |
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I'm going to put the kit lens on when I get home and see if it does the same thing. I haven't used the camera in a while and I feel like I've forgotten everything I learned in class and them some. :rolleyes: |
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The 35mm is a higher quality lens, in general, but differences caused by quality alone sometimes take more time to see, especially as you're getting used to the lens. Another difference might be closest focus distance - what is the closest you can be w/ the 35mm where it still has the ability to focus? That's really helpful to know. For the blur question....when shooting at wide apertures, your depth of field is so tiny - so if the subject moves *out* of the field that is in focus, then they are in the blurry area (very easily, w/ slightest move). The other consideration/cause there is the light - if you are also shooting in tough light, your shutter may be too slow - so that could also be what's causing the blur (or, are you using your flash?)? Quote:
So, do you mean...does it give you the "I'm in focus" indication, but shutter never engages? Or, does it just never focus? I'm thinking if it locks a focus, but doesn't engage, then I wonder what your flash setting is...ie, is your camera set to flash, but the flash isn't ready...or...? |
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Yes, it appears to me that everything is in focus but the shutter never engages. I did have instances where it would not focus also but that was when I was seeing how close I could get, and once when I was focusing on a gray object. So I'm certain it is focusing on these other shots just not snapping the picture. |
Ann, I just saw you posted on Pippin's thread. Those are some of the shots I was having problems with. She was sitting in the same spot, I was standing in the same spot.....sometimes the shutter would release and sometimes it wouldn't. The flash never came up and the lighting was the same or close for all of them. And if she moved even the tiniest bit her whole body would be blurred in the picture. |
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The very first thing I'd do is: check to see if you have your "focus indicator" turned on...? This is a beep that tells you "yep, I'm focused and locked in" - so that you don't have to judge if you're focused in on something, the camera tells you when it's focused. NOW, as to whether the camera has focused on the POINT you wanted it to, is another subject (ie, did the lens focus on the eyes, or on the tail...and that's when the human factor has to be involved). 2nd thing: what is closest focus distance of that 35mm? (just so it's in the back of your head) Quote:
Maybe an analogy using space? (depth of field=DOF) Like, this is your DOF at 1.4 [ ] And, this is your DOF at 22 [_____________________________________] So, at f1.4, the subject has this much depth of space [ ] in focus during the shutter release. Very shallow depth of field....therefore, one major area of focus, rest of piccie blurred out (bokeh). But, at f22, the subject has this much depth of space [_____________________________________] in focus during shutter release. Very wide depth of field....therefore, almost everything in focus, very little blur (think: landscape pictures). Argh....don't know if that made sense....:p... |
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When I say it appears that everything's in focus, I mean that the lens moves until the area around my focal point (lit up in read) becomes clear and focused in the viewfinder. I've only been shooting in Aperature mode, with a couple of practice shots in the Portrait mode. My questions are mainly about what happens in the A mode, since that's what I have it set on most of the time. I'm going to practice with both lenses and take more notice of what's going on. Last night I was too focused on cute little faces and not on what the camera was doing. ;) Hopefully with more facts you all can help me figure out what I'm doing wrong. |
I've been playing with the prime lenses. The shutter release not engaging IS because I was too close. :rolleyes: If I hold the button down and slowly back away, it will engage and snap the picture as soon as I'm at a correct distance. I can also see the difference between the 35mm & the 50mm - it's so obvious to me now. :p I'm still having a problem with blurring, though. I put the camera in 'auto' mode and no blurring, but I don't like the f-stop it chooses in auto mode. Should I try a faster shutter speed in aperature mode? Or do you think it's something else I need to adjust to stop the blurring? I'm going to set it to manual mode and play around with it some more today. Thanks for all the advice! :) |
I have to read through everything written here slowly, and then I'll respond again. I just wanted to mention that sometimes a camera has difficulty focusing if there's not much color difference in the subject. Your pictures of your precious Pippin are pretty close, and the focus points are all her dark hair. I wonder if you tried to put a little topknot in her hair if you would be having the same problems. It would have something a different color to distinguish the focus points. Test it out and see if that makes a difference, and you will be able to see if that's the reason why it isn't focusing right. I love the angles that you are using and the pictures are great. The camera is hunting to find focus and can be set up to take the picture so that it won't take it if it is not in focus if you want. The lens also has a minimum distance that you can take a picture for it to be in focus. |
Sometimes, with children and animals, you need a really fast shutter speed to stop their action, but it's also cute to take photos that show the action. The light may be good, but not good enough for a fast shutter speed. You may be using a large aperture like 1.8 or 2.2, but the shutter speed might be still not fast enough if Pippin is moving around a lot. You could use manual then and your flash, or you can still use aperture priority, the flash, and it probably will choose 1/60 second for shutter speed. That might not be fast enough, so if you can use manual, it would be better. |
Sorry for posting some of what had already been written. You already got some great information and advice. Portraits are great when you use large apertures, but focusing is so critical. That's why I also keep mentioning the apertures 1.8 and 2.2. At 1.8, depending upon how close you are to the subject and also the focal length of the lens, sometimes it is difficult to get both eyes in focus. Most of the time in portraits, you want to focus on the eyes (although some pictures of noses and tongues as the focus of your pictures can also be adorable). Sometimes I have to bring the aperture to 2.8 to get both eyes fully focused with certain focal lengths. When I mentioned using a top knot, it was only to see if that was the reason why you were having trouble focusing, since the camera can't focus on flat black. I know that's not the case with Pippin, because she is so fluffy, but it can't be easy getting her in focus, especially since she is so active. When you play around more, I'm sure we'll be able to come up with some more things. Enjoy all of your babies. I'd love to see pictures of every one of them when you have a chance. You have such a wonderful family! Murphy is gorgeous, as is the picture you took of him. I love his silky hair and his eyes. |
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I'm about to go play around with the manual mode and see what results I get. It seems most of the really good pictures I've seen are taken on manual mode, but don't quote me on that. Thank you for the nice compliments about my babies! :) I will certainly be trying to get some good shots of all of them to post on here. |
I am more than happpy to help anytime. Your photos are beautiful, and I love seeing them! When I started photography years ago, manual was the only choice. In difficult lighting or times when I definitely want to take a picture using a certain aperture and shutter speed, I'll use manual, but I don't think it's necessary all the time. Sometimes it's nicer not to have to worry about it and let the camera do it for you, so that you can focus on getting the right composition or what you want in the photo. I've done so much reading about photography and it's been a hobby for over 30 years. I don't know much about studio lighting, but I do know what would be effective in many cases. Still, a lot of the time I am rushing to take a picture, and I don't end up applying that knowledge. I took a lot of photos of my little girls, my Yorkies, which many times had to be quick to get the photo. I also take a lot of portraits of my high school students. I can stop and think taking a photo of one teenager, but it's not easy with a group of teenagers. I don't think I ever could use manual in situations like that. If you learn how to use exposure compensation, you don't have to learn how to use manual. The reason why I suggested using manual possibly is that when you use flash, I think the camera will default to 1/60th second shutter speed. Changing that might be more difficult. I use in-camera flash some of the time, but mostly I use Nikon's SB-800 flash. The small SB-400 flash is also very nice, because it also has the ability to bounce the light. When I took photos of my babies, I bounced the flash off of the ceiling or a side wall, so that I could still get their eyes dark and without the gold or green eye. I need to get better at changing all of the controls of the speedlights, so I sometimes have trouble getting the shutter speed that I want with flash, and that's when I move to manual when I become frustrated by it. In auto mode, the camera always defaults to either 1/60 or 1/125th second. Once you start playing around more with the camera, it will get much easier for you. My film Nikons are like second nature to me, but with my D300, I am still learning after more than two years with it. I love my 50 mm lens, but I often need a wider angle of view. I use my 18-200 lens when I'm not taking serious photos, but I use my Nikon 35-70 2.8 in lower light, my 50 1.4g, or my 105 2.8 macro. If I had the 35mm lens that you have, I'd probably use that a lot. I think it's a great lens, and I hope you enjoy it. I look forward to seeing more photos of Pippin and your other beautiful babies. I am sure they are getting so much love from you, and I can tell what a wonderful mother. When we got our little Gracie a year after we got Ashley and Kiwi, we were worried about how they'dfeel. All that extra love that we gave them really made them even more loving, and Kiwi turned into mush. Give some extra kisses to Alexander from me. |
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You just don't *know* how many times I've been too close to my subject for the lens - so that's why I mentioned this. You can just be a mm too close, and yep, it won't finish focusing in order to release the shutter. BEEN THERE :p plenty of times! Okay, so....now that we know what the shutter release thing was, we can deal with that blur. The auto mode is clearer bc, you're right, it is likely choosing a much smaller aperture - so much more is in the focused depth-of-field (DOF). You like A-mode (me too, that's my main mode), so I'd stick to that and choose the aperture that *you* want and then force the rest of the conditions to work for you, bc that's a great way to learn too (I've found). First thing to do: review your camera's point-of-focus choices....see how w/ the D90 you can choose a bunch of different "points" in the viewfinder to specifically focus the lens? That is one factor you can control. The next thing is, choose the aperture you want to work with...I dunno, maybe 2 or so? Choosing 2 is still really a wide aperture, will give lots of backgrnd blur, without being totally wide open (gives you a little leeway). Take light out of the equation, use your SB400, angle it mostly toward ceiling. Taking light out of the equation will allow you to focus mostly just what's happening w/ your aperture here and focal point. So, using f2.0, maybe you're focusing on a pup's eyes -- so, you're waiting for the "I'm focused" beep - however, you want to pay close attention to the viewfinder to make sure that OF the various focus points...the ONE that is focused/locked -- is the ONE that is one the eyes. In other words...you don't want to have the focus point locked in on the tail, the picture snaps, and then you go "oh dang, I wanted that on the eyes" -- when the camera had actually locked its focal point in on the tail. So, you want to be sure the lens is focusing where *you* want it to, when you're using such a narrow DOF as f2.0 (you have to be very specific here). So, the bottom line is....I don't necessarily think shutter speed is your problem....it may just be focal point. But to find out for sure, take light out of the equation (ie, take shutter speed out of the equation), choose one aperture, work with it, and look at your focal points from there. {you know what I mean by those "flashing" areas of focal points, right?} Seriously....I feel like such a dolt when typing this nonsense....it's hard to describe, I think...? If this makes no sense whatsoever, don't feel weird....bc I can't say I wrote this in a way that made any sense :p. I cannot be held responsible for maintaining any shreds of sanity when it comes to cameras. |
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I did discover that on f/1.8 having the focal point set exactly is very important, just as you talked about here Ann. I can easily tell the pics where the focus was on the tail instead of the face. When I was using the A-mode, the camera would default to a very low shutter speed...usually either 20 or 40. So, I set the camera in manual mode and upped the shutter speed. That helped get rid of the rest of the pesky blurring. :thumbup: But, it caused me lighting problems. So I reduced the shutter speed back down some and I engaged the auto-ISO function of the camera to self adjust for me. I found that I get the best results in direct sunlight using a very high shutter speed. Indoors, I need it quite a bit lower but at least 100 to prevent blurring. Mainly, I found I need a LOT more practice. :rolleyes: A lot of what I learned in class is coming back now that I'm actually using the camera. I'd like to be able to leave it in manual mode, so I'm trying to find lots of different lighting and other situations to practice in. :) Thank you all for the excellent advice! |
1 Attachment(s) Here's a picture I took this weekend that I really like...I know, I'm strange. :rolleyes: It was taken in manual mode in bright direct sunlight, and I love the grass blurred in the background and how it's captured the individual strands of Tate's shaggy do while he plays with his brother, Maddox. :D |
This photograph is wonderful! I have a feeling you are going to get many precious and beautiful images of your pups. |
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A couple of easy things to try here next time, which are slick: 1) skip auto-ISO; instead, increase ISO to 800 (800 can cause some graininess in pics...I actually like that look in some cases); increasing your ISO will "let more light in" --or-- 2) adjust your exposure compensation - maybe 2 levels (this is easy to do, but I can't really type it up, just look up exp. comp. in the manual) Quote:
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All of this information is wonderful, and as you use your camera more, it will become more like second nature to you. You are posting some wonderful images of your beautiful babies. I am envjoying them a great deal. Each lens that you us is a little dfferent, and the depth of field and amount that is able to be in focus when the lens is wide open varies. The 35mm lens is considered a mild wide angle lens, but on a DX camera, with the 1.5x crop, it is like a normal lens. A normal lens equals the focal length that our eyes view things at. It is a wonderful lens to have. With wider angle lenses, more parts of a photograph will be in focus at a given aperture than if you were using a telephoto lens. Still, you are moving in closer when you take the photos to compensate for the wider angle of view, and then you are losing a little depth of field. With more practice, you will see how focal length of a lens and aperture affect the depth of field in a photograph. With an ultrawide lens, there's almost no need to focus, because so much of a photo will be in focus, even with the lens fairly wide open. Your picture of your two babies is wonderful! You used a wide aperture and a fast shutter speed, which completely stopped the action. Because the lens brought a lot of light into it due to it being wide open and the fact that it was bright and sunny, the camera was able to have a high shutter speed. That made it able to stop the action. I do adjust ISO to achieve the effects that I want also. I highly recommend buying buying the book Understanding Exposure by Brian Petersen. He explains things so clearly, and his images are wonderful. I have a number of his books. They are fast to read, and you can pick them up for just a few minutes and get so much out of them. This is his most popular book. I think it is a must read for anyone interested in photography, and it is very popular.  Amazon.com: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot... Another good book that he has that is like a combination of all of his books abridged is his Field Guide, the newest of his books:Amazon.com: Bryan Peterson's Understanding... Bryan also has online courses. I haven't taken any of them, but I've heard very good things about them. It is through his Perfect Picture School of Photography. There are many wonderful courses (one also on taking great Pet Photographs), and I am very interested in taking his Portraits Unplugged course. Here is the link for his most popular class: Understanding Exposure Understanding Exposure |
I was in a rush when I wrote my last post, and I now realize that I was a bit repetitive. I'm sorry about that. I'm not sure what R5 means. If you are taking a lot of action shots very quickly, your buffer might be filling up on your camera and your memory card can't take in more pictures. It means that there will be a lag for a few seconds for it to clear before you can start taking photos again. I just did a quick google search on your camera, and that's what it said. I have no idea if it's that or not. I use the manuals written by Nikon guru Thom Hogan. His website, particularly the Nikon section, has a lot of good information in it. His e-books really simplify the manual. Before I found out about him, I used to buy the field guide books by several different publishers, but I like his e-books better. It's just a thought for the future. Complete Guide to the Nikon D90 Thom Hogan's Nikon Field Guide and Nikon Flash Guide The only things I've gotten within the past year relating to photography are books and filters. There are a number of lenses that interest me, but I'm going to wait on them. I do want a tripod, but a good one is expensive, so I also will wait on that. Bryan Peterson's courses really interest me. The Understanding Exposures class is one of the more expensive ones because it runs 8 weeks, but I have heard it is wonderful. Many of the other ones are only 4 weeks. The Pet Photography one sounds like a lot of fun, and I really want to take Portraits Unplugged. Pet Photography Portraits Unplugged by Bobbi Lane There are so many other classes that interest me also, and I will take at least one of them in the future. I signed up to get emails from them. Of course they are advertising their courses, but the emails also supply some very useful photographic tips. You should sign up for them. The Perfect Picture School of Photography : Mailing List Signup The Understanding Exposures book is a great resource. I've had two copies of the book, and I gave them away to friends. Still, I repurchased another one for myself, because even though I completely understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, there is still so much fantastic information in the book with such great concrete examples and photographs, and I refer back to it occasionally. The difference between the course and the book I imagine is that you can interact with the instructors and others in the class and they also give you feedback on your work and suggestions on ways to improve. We're here and would love to help anytime, but I don't think it's the same. For now, I would start with the book, though. When people are asked for a name of a book that has helped them develop as a photographer, especially with understanding light and aperture, this is the book that most people mention. If you'd like, I have an older edition to the book that I'd be happy to give to you. If you PM me your address, I'll send it to you. I'm certainly not trying to tell you to spend a lot of money on all of this. I'm just trying to give you information on things that I know have been helpful to a lot of people and me. If you ever have a chance, one thing I did many years ago is take a course at Nikon School. There are two one day classes. I took a variation of the first one. In New York, it comes two weekends a year. I'd like to retake the first one and also take the second one. The course was amazing. I took it before digital photography came to be, but even if there wasn't new information, I got so much out of that class and I loved it! I'm sure a refresher would be really good for me. Introduction to Digital SLR Photography from Nikon I hope you enjoy your photography and, of course, your beautiful babies. Sometimes photography is very frustrating because there is always more to learn, but the time you put into it is worth it. Some of my photographs are truly priceless to me. I always took a lot of photographs of my babies, but when I got my first digital camera, the Nikon D300, a little more than two years ago, I started taking more photos of Ashley. Still, I regret not taking more than I did, but although Ashley wasn't afraid of the camera, she just was not thrilled with it, either Any time you need help with anything, just ask. I may not be able to help much, but I certainly will try. If I am ever giving you too much information or confusing you, just let me know. |
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Also, I attached the sb-400 like you'd recommended earlier and took several shots with it. Indoors, I was getting some shots I really like (I *think* - I haven't uploaded them to the computer to really look at them yet) by using the bounce flash, setting the shutter speed to 200 and the ISO to 640. I want to keep playing around with the settings more though, because I don't want to have to rely on the flash all the time. And, having the bounce flash attached seems to limit how fast I can set my shutter speed. I think I have it set plenty fast, but there may be a time when I want to adjust it. Whew! So much to learn. |
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You give such great information, and this is something I really want to learn.....so I doubt I can get too much information. :) Now getting confused is another story! I'm reading a lot of this at work and I don't have my camera here with me, so I take notes of ideas and advice and try it all out when I get home. It's much easier for me to understand when I can see the camera and the results - then I'm not so confused. :p |
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I really don't like flash either, so I always try first: 1) look for nice indoor, indirect sunlight (bright) 2) increase my ISO (as far up as I can go/deal with graininess) 3) adjust my exp comp to +2 or so 4) use wide aperture (if subject is still enough) If that all fails (or, if subject is super-action-y), then I move to flash. |
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