not sure what lens

woody12

woody12

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Hi, just had a new baby in the family and i've been asked to take photos for all the family - as if i'm a pro, still rather green. Also a friend has asked me to take pictures of his little girl. What i would like is advice on buying a portrait lens for my nikon3100. Looked at the 50mm f1.8 - is this worth chasing. Money is tight £100-£200 as a guide. Can i use the above for macro - really want a go at macro. The lens i have at moment are 55-200 zoom and the kit lens 55-18. Any thoughts and examples might help. Thanks in advance
 
Get a nikon 35mm F1.8G, 50mm is way to long for everyday shooting on crop
 
Thanks, was looking at that little beauty. Is it possible to shot macro shots?
 
Hello all.

This was just the question i was going to ask as i could not make my mind up between the 50 and the 35mm.:)
 
Personally I found that i have shot a my kids pics indoors at 55mm when using my 17-55mm lens. I use a crop body (1.6x). I don't think 50mm is way too long at all. I prefer to be as far away as possible to avoid sticky fingers on the lens :)

There are some examples at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/therealamir/sets/72157627060376044/

It's horses for courses really.

If I had to chose one lens out of the two focal lengths I would go for the 50mm - but that's just me. I think it's totally subjective.
 
Hmm, I think you have a few choices. You can get a 50mm f1.8, it's a pretty good portrait lens on DX. But make sure you are looking at the more recent AF-S version which will autofocus on your D3100. Unfortunately the 50mm is not know for it's close focusing ability. (macro)

Another option is the afs nikon 60mm f2.8 macro. It's a slightly slower lens, and a bit more expensive, but that should make a great portrait lens, aswell as being a dedicated macro lens, so you will get proper close up with it too.

Between the two, I think the price difference is about £100ish. I guess it depends if you really want thaat macro ability.
 
Definitely 35mm f1.8, a great lens and very cheap.
 
The 35 isn't a macro lens, but it focuses prett close (about 9") and I think it does about 1:3.5 instead of 1:1. If you are using a fast shutter speed (1/150 or faster) or on a tripod, you can crop in to get a pretty reasonable close focus. It won't do insect leg hairs type close, but still pretty good.

And, the 35 is a good length on the crop body for indoor and baby shooting. Every time we go home I spend some time with my nephew (first at 3 wks, then at 6 months) with just the D90+35/1.8. Sometimes I find it a little long like when he is crawling/running at me, but overall it is just about right. 50 (nikon AF-s) would be way too long. 30 (Sigma HSM) would be basically the same.

Thanks,
Rick
 
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2nd hand 35mm will set you back about £120, so there should still be some cash in the kitty to get a Raynox for macro?
 
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