Lens... Fast... Cheapest

[LuckySo-n-So]

You are not going to get a very fast lens for $200 unless you get lucky on eBay or something.

I'm not sure about Pentax, but 2.8 lenses for Nikon and Canon are usually MINIMUM $500, but more often are closer to $1000, with the fisheyes and longer focal lengths/tele-zooms costing much more than that.

sorry.

 

[jong]

Hummm I get what you're saying... That's fast right... I was taking pics of my son in his swing and it all came out blury... As well as pictures of my husband walking... Are you saying that the 50mm f 1.4 lens would work with the wedding and action shots...

i think you just need to increase your shutter speed and try using aprature priority on your mode .

check this site for reference for dof

Online Depth of Field Calculator

 

[Mgw189]

For starters fast and cheap dont really go together other than the lens you already have. Fast lenses are fast because they are high quality for the most part. If you are wide open at 1.4 and still getting motion blur turn the ISO up. If you are up to the point where there is noise and still getting motion blur then invest in a flash it is your only option at that point. Your camera has the ability to go to 3200 and extended at 6400 although I dont know what that last one means. There is no reason you shouldnt be able to get a decent shot with the range of ISO. You may get noise depending but if at 1.4 with an ISO of 3200 or 6400 there is no reason you shouldnt be able to get a shot without blur.

The other thing to remember is that at 1.4 you are going to have a razor thin DOF. At 1.4 I would think that you could focus on the tip of the nose and have the eyes be slightly out of focus.

 

[adamwilliamking]

You are not going to get a very fast lens for $200 unless you get lucky on eBay or something.

I'm not sure about Pentax, but 2.8 lenses for Nikon and Canon are usually MINIMUM $500, but more often are closer to $1000, with the fisheyes and longer focal lengths/tele-zooms costing much more than that.

sorry.

This isnt really true. The fisheye is the most affordable 2.8 at about 500-600 bucks depending on usage. ALL other 2.8 lenses are upwards off a thousand dollars, Closer to 2. Most fall between 1200-1800. Again, I deal in CDN dollars but my rough conversions should be close.

 

[djacobox372]

Hummm I get what you're saying... That's fast right... I was taking pics of my son in his swing and it all came out blury... As well as pictures of my husband walking... Are you saying that the 50mm f 1.4 lens would work with the wedding and action shots...

50mm 1.4 is about as fast as it gets... if you want to take shots in lower light you would have to opt for a camera body with better high-iso performance.

Ps. there's nothing wrong with a flash, especially if it's off camera.

 

[Josh66]

Like everyone else said, you're not going to get much faster than 1.4. If you need more DOF stop the lens down (f/4 or 5.6, something along those lines).

If you're getting motion blur, it's too dark. Increase your ISO, or get more light (flash).

 

[Lynnzora]

50mm 1.4 is about as fast as it gets... if you want to take shots in lower light you would have to opt for a camera body with better high-iso performance.

Ps. there's nothing wrong with a flash, especially if it's off camera.

Ok yeah, I think I'm going to probably have to wait to invest in something better. But yeah I was taking my pictures in low light... maybe that's why it was blurry... So I guess the 50mm might do for the wedding??? Thanks fo rall of your comments.

 

[hankejp]

If you search some of the wedding posts and look at their equipment, most all recommend a 50mm 1.4 or 1.8. You should be fine with a 50mm as a lens.

 

[AlexColeman]

For motion blur in quick moving subjects: you need a faster shutter speed. For DOF issues, you will want to stop down.

 

[NateOntario]

Ok yeah, I think I'm going to probably have to wait to invest in something better. But yeah I was taking my pictures in low light... maybe that's why it was blurry... So I guess the 50mm might do for the wedding??? Thanks fo rall of your comments.

Maybe if you posted some pictures the people here could be more helpful, by looking at the exif data. maybe the one of your son on the swing? because theres not really a good reason for something like that to be blurry at a 1.4 aperture outside.

 

[Eldrich]

I'm no wedding photographer, but from the discussion it kind of seems to me like a solution to this problem for the price range discussed would be an off camera flash and diffuser. You could probably convince some cousins or something to hold the flash for you at different angles to the subject.

anyone with more experience have a though? Because it seems to me that your lenses aren't the limitation, but your lighting is.

 

[Eldrich]

I meant to also mention, because more lighting will allow for a faster shutter and/or lower aperture number, which helps with the DoF and motion blur problems.

 

[Katier]

Hummm I get what you're saying... That's fast right... I was taking pics of my son in his swing and it all came out blury... As well as pictures of my husband walking... Are you saying that the 50mm f 1.4 lens would work with the wedding and action shots...

yes, the 1.4 is VERY fast.. what you need to do is balance shutter speed and aperture.

So to freeze action you need a fast shutter speed ( over 250th is best), to get good depth of field need small aperture..

So it's all about balancing the two ( shutter speed and aperture).

From memory you have a K20D pentax which is more than up to the job and the 50mm will work for a lot of work.

For longer shots which are sometimes needed you might find a 100mm usefull but be aware 50mm are the fastest lenses around pretty much so ANYTHING else (on all cameras) is going to be slower.

 

[Lynnzora]

You guys are all so right... It was the lighting I was using. It was too dark. I did a photoshoot this evening and the photos came out really good to me. I was outside. I'm posting a c&c for it right now. Thank you for all the comments. You guys are grrreat!

 

[Lynnzora]

For longer shots which are sometimes needed you might find a 100mm usefull but be aware 50mm are the fastest lenses around pretty much so ANYTHING else (on all cameras) is going to be slower.

Question: How is the 100mm better than the 50mm... Is it because it can get much closer to the people you're shooting from a farther distance. Better for a wedding?