Studio Lens (Modeling) - Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens

DellFanboy · Feb 4, 2008

Hi,

I was looking to purchase the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for a high quality studio lens. I'm using the d80 as the body. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks

P.S. here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000144I2Q/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Big Mike · Feb 4, 2008

It's a great lens, in the studio or out. It's best feature is the wide aperture of F2.8.

If you want to shoot with a shallow DOF, in the studio, then it would be perfect. It would really shine when used in more natural settings because of the amount of ambient light you could capture.

Personally, I tend to shoot around F8 when 'in the studio'...so a lens with a wide aperture isn't really necessary. Although, a high quality lens, like this one, is still good to have.

DellFanboy · Feb 4, 2008

Thanks Mike. Your pretty loyal here and a big help. Any other lens you'd recommend for me shooting modeling shoots in the studio?
Thanks in advance.

Big Mike · Feb 4, 2008

There is no right or best choice. Your style might be to shoot with a longer lens, someone else might like to shoot with a wider lens.

If you have the room/space...you can use a longer lens, which tends to compress features and may be more flattering to people.

A wide angle lens, on the other hand, can tend to distort features (think fish-eye as an extreme).

Another factor is quality. A high quality lens should give you sharper, crisper images with better color rendition etc. Price is usually a good indicator of quality...you get what you pay for.

fightheheathens · Feb 4, 2008

im about to pick up a nikkor 105mm f2.5 (if my ebay bid holds) because of its reputation as an awesome portrait lens. i have also heard great things about the nikkor 85mm 2.5 lens

Garbz · Feb 5, 2008

In a studio where your shots are perfectly under your control I think a set of primes would serve as more economical.

You could pickup a 35mm, 50mm, and 80mm prime for the cost of a Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 and have money left for business cards. Plus you get wider apertures, and the Nikkor 17-55 is not really all that sharp. Mind you it's build quality is second to none.