Which lens should I use?

ashcroft999

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Scott
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Good Evening,

I did try and use the search feature but couldn't really find what I needed.....

Basically I have 2 lenses for my camera and a little unsure which one I should use for what occasion/location.

Any help would be much appreciated

The lenses in question are below!

1st Sony DT 3.5-5.6/18-70 (0.38m/1.3ft Macro)
2nd Sigma DG 70-300mm 1:4-5.6
 
Well, what are you shooting? And when are you shooting. In all honesty, there's no real rule as to which lens to use and when.
 
I like landscape photography and would probably do that most.

I am trying to get into portrait, my friends just had a little girl and wouldn't mind taking some photo's for them to get printed etc

thanks for replying :)
 
Look through them!
Different lens lengths are to give different subject magnification; ie how much you fill the frame with something at any given distance.
If you cant get everything in the frame... move backwards or use a wider angle (shorter focal length) lens.
If you want to make your subject bigger in the frame, walk closer, or use a longer focal length lens, (Narrower angle of view)

Depth of Focus changes with camera to subject distance though; shorter, wider angle lenses tend to focus at or near infinity at mush shorter camera to subject distances, so if you were to fill the frame with a person standing, with a wide angle lens, chances are you would be far enough away that you'd be at or near infinity focus and get a large depth of focus in front and behind them. (fore ground, and back-ground would be 'sharp' in the picture)

If you wanted to get a shallower depth of focus, to dissasociate them from the back-ground, (Subject sharp, back-ground and foreground blurry) you would have to get a lot closer to use a near-focus setting that brought the far focus of your DoF closer to your subject.

Alternatively, you'd back up and use a longer focal length lens, that has a much longer near-focus range, so you could fill the frame from further away, and still keep a shallower DoF around your subject....

BUT all subject to aparture settings. Wider appertures give shallow Depth of Focus, small apertures give deep DoF; and your 70-300 has a much wider, hence shallower DoF maximum aperture than your 18-70.

Look through the lenses. Play with the aperture settings, see for yourself how it works, really. Use what you reckon gives best effect.
 
Look through them!
Different lens lengths are to give different subject magnification; ie how much you fill the frame with something at any given distance.
If you cant get everything in the frame... move backwards or use a wider angle (shorter focal length) lens.
If you want to make your subject bigger in the frame, walk closer, or use a longer focal length lens, (Narrower angle of view)

Depth of Focus changes with camera to subject distance though; shorter, wider angle lenses tend to focus at or near infinity at mush shorter camera to subject distances, so if you were to fill the frame with a person standing, with a wide angle lens, chances are you would be far enough away that you'd be at or near infinity focus and get a large depth of focus in front and behind them. (fore ground, and back-ground would be 'sharp' in the picture)

If you wanted to get a shallower depth of focus, to dissasociate them from the back-ground, (Subject sharp, back-ground and foreground blurry) you would have to get a lot closer to use a near-focus setting that brought the far focus of your DoF closer to your subject.

Alternatively, you'd back up and use a longer focal length lens, that has a much longer near-focus range, so you could fill the frame from further away, and still keep a shallower DoF around your subject....

BUT all subject to aparture settings. Wider appertures give shallow Depth of Focus, small apertures give deep DoF; and your 70-300 has a much wider, hence shallower DoF maximum aperture than your 18-70.

Look through the lenses. Play with the aperture settings, see for yourself how it works, really. Use what you reckon gives best effect.

Thank you for the reply. It's all about trial and error then really.
 
Generally you'd use the wide 18-70 for landscapes and the 70-300 for items you can't get close too. For portraits you'd want to use the long end of the short lens or the short end of the long lens to prevent distortion and produce a more flattering portrait.
 
Hi Scott

As above really, have a look through the body with a lens on and if it's not near enough, put the telephoto on and visa versa. As you get more experience, you'll have an idea of which lens to use...

Don't worry about it, just enjoy your photography and see what results you get...
 
Thanks guys,

I carry around both lenses but just thought i'd try and reduce the amount I carry.

I'm climbing Ben Nevis in June so wanted to take the least amount of equipment up with me to save weight.
 
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