My new 50mm 1.8 prime - Nikon

BuZzZeRkEr · May 13, 2008

Hey guys...

Just got my 50mm in from B&H via brown truck today....YES!!! Anyway a couple things.....

I'm sticking this little guy on a Nikdon D200. When I was attaching the lens to the body it was very difficult to mount...which is strange because all of the other Nikor lenses I have go on butter smooth. I almost had to strain to put it on and off....is this typical of a prime lens? Or the lens might be defective?

Another thing is, once it was mounted took some pretty good pictures, but seemed like I was getting some motion blur even with the ISO kicked up to 800 @ 1.8. It almost seemed that my 17-55 @ 2.8 did a better job (although I have not extensively tested).

I also tried shooting outside on a sunny day @ 1.8 and even at my max shutter speed my photo was WAY over exposed! Any one able to shoot @ 1.8 on a sunny day outside?

kundalini · May 13, 2008

I had similar concerns with my 50mm when mounting to my camera body. Don't fret the snug fit. At last I didn't after a while. it was just tight as a tick.

Shooting outside wide open on a sunny day = (very) fast shutter speeds. I finally figured out that the motion blur I was getting was due to operator error. You'll get use to the 50.

BuZzZeRkEr · May 13, 2008

kundalini said:
I had similar concerns with my 50mm when mounting to my camera body. Don't fret the snug fit. At last I didn't after a while. it was just tight as a tick.

Shooting outside wide open on a sunny day = (very) fast shutter speeds. I finally figured out that the motion blur I was getting was due to operator error. You'll get use to the 50.

Yeah I had to bump the aperture to F3-4 'cuz my shutter wasn't fast enough on my D200 at 1.8...think it's 8000

Bevel Heaven · May 14, 2008

When I got my 1.4 50mm I had to leterally relearn how to shoot, or at least, think DIFFERENTLY when using it outside expecially.

hint

just because you get a fast lens doesn;t mean you should shoot it wide open to be able to take advantage of it.

Remember fast glass lets in more light than a slower lens does throughout its range. Meaning at f22 you still have more light coming in - so you get to use a faster shutter speed, and lower ISO........ and you get better pix

Don;t get sucked into the "I just got my new 1.8 so I am going to shoot it at 1.8 all the time just because........."

seriously simplistic explanation but I hope you get my point ?

Rhubarb · May 14, 2008

Bevel Heaven said:
Remember fast glass lets in more light than a slower lens does throughout its range. Meaning at f22 you still have more light coming in - so you get to use a faster shutter speed, and lower ISO........ and you get better pix

Ummm.. no. f22 is f22 regardless if your lens opens up to f0.8, f1.0, f1.2, f3.5, f5.6, f8.0.

An exposure made at f22, 1/200, ISO 100 would be the same on all 'those' lenses. The f0.8 at f22 wouldn't be brighter than the f8.0 at f22.

To the OP, it is very possible that what you're experiencing is not motion blur but simply a very shallow DOF, especially if your subject is close to you. Your shot is looking blurred but it is actually out of focus.

It always helps to solve these problems if you post some examples of your pics.

Oh, forgot to mention that 50mm f1.8 is also very 'tight' to put on my d200 as well. I also wasn't to sure when I got it if that was how it was meant to be. But I have just gotten use to it, I don't really notice anymore and it has never caused any problems.

Senor Hound · May 14, 2008

As a noob answer, I will ask if you still had the camera on the high ISO settings outside as you did inside. That's pretty kindergarten stuff, though, and I'm sure you know that if you're experienced enough to need a D200.

f-stops are f-stops, though. Give yourself a constant source of light and use the same light meter for all of the cameras, every camera should need to use the same shutter speed at the same aperture and ISO. In other words, the physics doesn't change. I'm not sure about 1.8 letting in too much light (I could see it being a problem), but in ranges like f/4 and above, it will need the exact same settings to produce a balanced photo as your zoom lenses will.

Sark · May 15, 2008

One of the main benefits of a fast lens is the brightness of the image, which aids both manual and auto focusing. You don't have to shoot at f1.8 to benefit from the wider aperture.

Sark

JimmyO · May 15, 2008

Hmm, my nifty fifty is snug also.

Anyways i was like you when i first got mine. I would just use it at f/1.8 all the time. Now i use a wider range. Also as you go to smaller apertures your shots will get a little sharper and the DOF is more forgiving, lol.

Mav · May 15, 2008

To shoot at full aperture during the day you'll typically need a 2 stop neutral density filter at least. But seriously, as good as this lens performs at f/1.8, it does even better at f/2.8 and f/4 or so. Just stop down a little.