50mm 1.8 G question

Devinhullphoto · Oct 17, 2013

I own the 50mm 1.8 G and I rarely use it wide open. I always see photos on here and in magazines where the photo was shot at 1.8 or something close and it's sharp. I posted this because I just saw a portrait show with an 85mm 1.8 and it looked great. I have a question about taking photos that open. How do you make sure that the photo will be sharp and in focus where you intend? I always seem to be close but never nail it. That's why I usually don't go below 2.8. Help?

jaomul · Oct 17, 2013

That is the trick!- to nail a photo wide open you have to be quick and sure your focus is bang on. Practice helps hers but you also have to remember most lenses are not at their best wide open. its sort of a catch 22. You may find that some will use a lens with a wider aperture to start with (example 50 f1.4, and it may work better stopped to f1.8 than a 50 f1,8 is wide open). If its people shots selective sharpening on the eyes can make a shot seem sharper than it actually is due to our natural inclination to look at the eyes. Also if its portraits the shutter speed has to be fast enough to overcome any shake (camera or subject)

shadowlands · Oct 17, 2013

Change it for the AF 50mm f1.8D, ha!!! I shoot at f1.8 all of the time and works for me.
Hell, I had the 50mm f1.4G and returned it in favor of this $90.00 wonder!

KmH · Oct 17, 2013

Don't forget to account for post process image editing.

Several editing techniques are used to improve the sharpness of an image, from using USM (Un-Sharp Mask) sharpening, luminace sharpening, high pass filter sharpening, to just increasing the mid-tone contrast.

djacobox372 · Oct 18, 2013

shadowlands said:
Change it for the AF 50mm f1.8D, ha!!! I shoot at f1.8 all of the time and works for me.
Hell, I had the 50mm f1.4G and returned it in favor of this $90.00 wonder!

The new "g" version is much sharper wide open than the older d. Heck its even sharper than the 1.4g

goodguy · Oct 18, 2013

shadowlands said:
Change it for the AF 50mm f1.8D, ha!!! I shoot at f1.8 all of the time and works for me.
Hell, I had the 50mm f1.4G and returned it in favor of this $90.00 wonder!

Love these old 50mm D lenses, my 50mm 1.4D is MAGIC!!!

shadowlands · Oct 19, 2013

djacobox372 said:
shadowlands said:

Change it for the AF 50mm f1.8D, ha!!! I shoot at f1.8 all of the time and works for me.
Hell, I had the 50mm f1.4G and returned it in favor of this $90.00 wonder!

Click to expand...

The new "g" version is much sharper wide open than the older d. Heck its even sharper than the 1.4g

I'll take your word for it, but I'm staying put. My "d" version is real sharp wide open, so it's a keeper. Beside, as dumb as it may be.. I love the look/style of the "d" nifty fifty!!! That's why it's my avatar!

JTPhotography · Oct 20, 2013

I use manual focus when shooting at an extremely wide open aperture. It can be very tricky, sometimes I even adjust the focus on that one particular point very slightlyl and snap a few quickly back to back. It is true that lenses like this are usually soft at the edges when shot wide open, but I have never understood why that is an issue. Most of the time if you're shooting that wide, edge sharpness is irrelevant.

ghache · Oct 20, 2013

JTPhotography said:
I use manual focus when shooting at an extremely wide open aperture. It can be very tricky, sometimes I even adjust the focus on that one particular point very slightlyl and snap a few quickly back to back. It is true that lenses like this are usually soft at the edges when shot wide open, but I have never understood why that is an issue. Most of the time if you're shooting that wide, edge sharpness is irrelevant.

its relevant depending on composition. if you put your subject on the hedge, you might have soft result.

JTPhotography · Oct 22, 2013

ghache said:
JTPhotography said:

I use manual focus when shooting at an extremely wide open aperture. It can be very tricky, sometimes I even adjust the focus on that one particular point very slightlyl and snap a few quickly back to back. It is true that lenses like this are usually soft at the edges when shot wide open, but I have never understood why that is an issue. Most of the time if you're shooting that wide, edge sharpness is irrelevant.

Click to expand...

its relevant depending on composition. if you put your subject on the hedge, you might have soft result.

Which is why I said "most" of the time.

Usul · Oct 22, 2013

I haven't seen any problem with sharpness with my 50 f1.8 G even wide open. If an image isn't sharp that happens of course it isn't the lense problem. There are many different factors contribute in it. Most of time it's slow shutter speed and missfocusing.

Lightsped · Oct 22, 2013

I read the Nikon release posted in the original post. Unless I missed it (which is possible) they didn't mention price... Anyone have any ideas what the 58mm will go for?

centauro74 · Oct 22, 2013

$1700

djacobox372 · Oct 23, 2013

I actually have more success manually focusing when shooting below f2.8. The reason is my habit of focus bracketing by hand. Why Nikon doesn't include an automatic focus bracketing feature? Its one of those old features that wasn't worth the cost of film, but would be fantastic with digital.