I Solemnly Swear...

[sm4him]

I finally got the check I've been waiting weeks for, and just ordered my new 50mm f/1.8 and Kenko extension tubes for my D5100. And I just needed to share that...
Still looking for a good deal on a flash, and deciding on a tripod. That will be all my buying for a while, so I want to choose well.

So, what's the "solemnly swear" part?? I PROMISE, promise, promise...the first photos I post with my new lens will NOT be taken wide open.

 

[Mello]

Lemme know what you think about that 50. Been wantin' to git me one em.

 

[tirediron]

:thumbup:

 

[cgipson1]

Hmm.. where did you here about not shooting "wide open"? Surely it is wasn't here... right? lol! Congrats!

 

[KmH]

Which Nikon 50 mm f/1.8?

 

[Jeremy Z]

Well, congrats on the incoming lens.

Shooting wide open is not always ideal, but it is not the end of the world either. You don't buy an f/1.8 lens just so you can NEVER shoot it at f/1.8, right?

 

[12sndsgood]

i remember when i got my 35mm 1.8. i went out and shot it wide open for half the day lol. its always fun getting new toys. have fun.

 

[sm4him]

Which Nikon 50 mm f/1.8?

The AF-S G lens.

Well, congrats on the incoming lens.

Shooting wide open is not always ideal, but it is not the end of the world either. You don't buy an f/1.8 lens just so you can NEVER shoot it at f/1.8, right?

Oh, I intend to also LEARN how and when to shoot at 1.8, but I just think that doing that FIRST almost NEVER ends well and then you just post pictures that get flamed.
When you've been using a kit lens, and "wide open" meets something like 3.5 to 6, depending on your focal length, you just don't really GET how teeny-tiny your DOF is gonna be, and how very critical getting your focus spot-on is going to be. I'm sure it's been done, but I have yet to see anyone who hasn't done it before post GOOD photos the first time at that aperture.

My plan is to to first start at the "sweet spot" (between about f/4 and f/8???), and spend a week shooting in that range, as far as taking photos I might actually want to keep. I do also plan to do some experimenting, using a "controlled" setting, to really get a feel for how the wider apertures affect the DOF, and for how focal length plays into that as well. But, I feel pretty confident that I can do experimenting like that without having to post up photos of the blurry, uninteresting results.

Once I think I'm starting to get the hang of shooting at the wider apertures, THEN I'll post a photo and let ya'll rip me to shreds...