D80 DOF Lens

[greybeard35 8]

For shallow DoF look for a 50mm f1.8
Amazon.com : Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras : Digital Slr Camera Lenses : Camera & Photo

For your price range I think the 50/1.8 AF-D might be the only option.
Can you get shipping such as if you bought one from eBay ?

From eBay yes, but what if someone fools me ?

Look at the ratings. If a seller has 100 ratings and they are all good, there will be little risk.

 

[SCraig]

What are you trying to photograph? Virtually ANY lens will give a shallow depth of field when used properly (or improperly depending on the situation). Wider apertures (f/1.8, etc.) make it easier however they are normally going to be short focal length. If you are trying to shoot birds or wildlife then short focal length lenses are useless.

The bottom line: Learn to use what you have since it will probably do what you want without spending anything at all.

 

[Dušan]

What are you trying to photograph? Virtually ANY lens will give a shallow depth of field when used properly (or improperly depending on the situation). Wider apertures (f/1.8, etc.) make it easier however they are normally going to be short focal length. If you are trying to shoot birds or wildlife then short focal length lenses are useless.

The bottom line: Learn to use what you have since it will probably do what you want without spending anything at all.

I already have 18-55mm so I think I won't lose anything

 

[Dušan]

For shallow DoF look for a 50mm f1.8
Amazon.com : Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras : Digital Slr Camera Lenses : Camera & Photo

I heard that on my camera it acts as 75mm because it''s not FX. Is that true ?

 

[Designer]

For shallow DoF look for a 50mm f1.8
Amazon.com : Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras : Digital Slr Camera Lenses : Camera & Photo

I heard that on my camera it acts as 75mm because it''s not FX. Is that true ?

Apparently this is a difficult concept. I'm going to try to explain it once again.

A "crop sensor" (APS-C size) is a little bit smaller than the so-called "full frame" sized sensor.

Given that the lens doesn't actually change, the only thing that is different between the two cameras is that the smaller sensor is recording mainly the central portion of the image that comes through the lens. The lens is still projecting the same size image, but your D80 sensor is only capturing the middle of it.

If you wish to think of a 50mm lens "acting like a 75mm", then so be it, but the lens does not change. It will still have the exact same optics on either camera.

 

[480sparky41 41]

I heard that on my camera it acts as 75mm because it''s not FX. Is that true ?

It's still a 50mm. It only has the field of view of a 75mm on a full-frame body. Everything else will be the same.

To show this, here's my D600 ("Full Frame/FX") and my D7000 ("Crop Sensor/DX"), side-by-side, with both in Mirror Up for Cleaning mode.

The blue-green rectangles are the actual sensors. Notice how the FX sensor on the left is larger (Nikon specs are 24m x 35.9mm) than the DX sensor on the right (Nikon: 23.6mm x 15.6mm)

I put a 50mm FX lens on the D600, it sees this:

When I put a 50mm DX on the D600, it sees this:

This is exactly what you would see in the viewfinder as well. These images are merely reduced in scale for posting here. No other editing was done. Notice how everything in the scene is rendered the same size?


The only difference between the two is the DX lens is not designed to cover the entire FX sensor.... it only needs to cover the smaller DX sensor. That's why the DX lens shows the black areas... both in the VF and on the sensor.

If I put either the FX OR the DX lens on the D7000 (crop sensor) , or on the D600 and shoot in DX mode, they will both record this:

When I enlarge the DX image to match the same dimension of the FX image, it appears I'm using a longer lens. I'm not. They're both 50mm. What changes is the field of view caused by the 'crop factor' of the smaller sensor.


An analogy would be like putting a film negative into an enlarger and running it up to make an 11x14. Then replace the 11x14 with a sheet of 8x10...... without changing anything else. The subjects in the 8x10 will measure the same as they are in the 11x14. There would also be no more detail in one compared to the other. Or, you could take the 11x14 and cut it down with scissors to an 8x10.... there would be no more detail when you're done doing that.

 

[astroNikon]

For shallow DoF look for a 50mm f1.8
Amazon.com : Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras : Digital Slr Camera Lenses : Camera & Photo

I heard that on my camera it acts as 75mm because it''s not FX. Is that true ?

Yeah kinda as explained above.
But with your limiting factor of $120 or 100€ ... it's about the ONLY lens that fits that you can get in really good condition and works completely with your camera.

 

[Dušan]

Thank you all, but if I go a bit higher with a price range what do I get ?

 

[480sparky41 41]

Define 'a bit higher'.

 

[Dušan]

Define 'a bit higher'.

Maybe 150€

 

[480sparky41 41]

That gets you into a used 50/1.8 AF-D, and maybe a used 50/1.8G AF-S if you bide your time.

 

[astroNikon]

The slight price bump also adds used Nikon 35mm/1.8 AF-S DX lens.

more of a price bump you can look at used 24mm/2.8 & 28mm/2.8 AF/AF-D lens,
If you are looking for f/1.8 lens there aren't many offerings overall in a way. If you go up to a usd 85mm/1.8 AF-D lens you are in the $300 USD range. You can look at used offerings from Sigma/ Tamron too. I suggest perusing eBay for used prices, or online camera stores.