Need suggestions on 3 prime lenses

[Josh66]

Yeah, im leaning towards these 2 primes, 50 and 85. Im just checking out how more or less i will see out of these lenses by doing the math for a cropped sensor. At 1.6x, that 50mm will be like an 80mm on my cam, and the 85mm wil be like a 136mm. At those distances, looks like im gonna be shouting at my subjects to pose a certain form! :raisedbrow:

Compare it to the lenses you have already. the 50 will be just like your 18-55 (at the long end) - just better & sharper (and faster).

The 85 will be a little longer than that.

 

[Josh66]

If you really need it, and can wait till tomorrow - I can shoot a comparison series for you. 50 & 85. So you can get a feel for the field of view and all that. I would do it tonight, but Fringe comes on soon, lol.

I'll even do different apertures for you, lol. Wide open, f/4, f/8 - that should be sufficient.

 

[usayit]

Focal length not only impacts the distance to subject (to bring things closer or farther) They impact how space is portrayed in a frame. IMO, 50 and 85mm paired together can be limiting because both compress space to different degrees. That's more important than whether or not you have to shout at your subjects. Opposite to telephotos, Wide angles tend to expand spaces. Furthermore, you should also know how DOF is impacted by your choice of focal length.

Some journalists/street photogs like to talk in terms of story-telling (expansion of space + deeper DOF) versus subject focal lengths (compression + shallower DOF).

Also remember... you can hand hold a wide angle lens at slower shutter speeds than telephotos.

There's a precise reason why I paired those two sets of focal lengths together.....

 

[CoRNDoG R6]

If you really need it, and can wait till tomorrow - I can shoot a comparison series for you. 50 & 85. So you can get a feel for the field of view and all that. I would do it tonight, but Fringe comes on soon, lol.

I'll even do different apertures for you, lol. Wide open, f/4, f/8 - that should be sufficient.

That would be awesome! I can definetly wait. Im still doing research, so im not pulling the trigger on any of these yet.

 

[Dao]

You know, as for the Field of View. You can try it yourself and see what 50mm and 85mm looks like in the viewfinder. Just use your standard zoom lens and set the lens to 50mm and use the telephoto lens and set it as 85mm.

 

[CoRNDoG R6]

Yeah, i was messing around with that concept awhile ago. Since its dark outside, i might have to try this outside walking around tomorrow to get a better grasp of it.

But am i correct in the fact that with a cropped sensor camera, like my T1i, the lens original mm does not stay true?

 

[Dao]

The focal length will not change. It is that your sensor only use the center portion of the image circle projected by the lens. So the end result is smaller field of view.

And you do not really need to worry about it. Just look at the viewfinder and see if the Field of View is fine with you.

 

[Big Mike]

But am i correct in the fact that with a cropped sensor camera, like my T1i, the lens original mm does not stay true?

You are probably reading a lot about the 'crop factor' etc. As mentioned, the focal length of the lens does not change, the crop factor is simply a comparison from 35mm (or full frame) to cameras like yous. So unless you have a full frame (or 35mm film) camera...don't worry about the crop factor. 50mm will always be 50mm....and it will always look the same through your camera.

 

[CoRNDoG R6]

^^^Thanks for clearing that up!

 

[Josh66]

OK, as promised - comparison shots. Probably not the best, but it should work.
Pay attention to the keyboard and the background clutter.
Focus was on the label for all of them, though it looks like I missed it a little on the 50mm f/1.4 one - the corner of the keyboard looks sharper.

edit
Oh yeah - ZERO PP done on these. Everything was at the Lightroom defaults.

Camera was in the same place for all 6 pictures (on a tripod). Sensor to bottle distance was exactly 60 inches (5 feet).

The speaker is about 2 feet behind the bottle, and the other stuff is about 3 feet behind it.

50mm f/1.4

all sizes

50mm f/4

all sizes

50mm f/8

all sizes

85mm f/1.8

all sizes

85mm f/4

all sizes

85mm f/8

all sizes


Posted small ones for faster loading - go to the link under each picture to see the bigger one.

 

[Dao]

hahaha .. for some reasons, I expect you will have a beer in the photos. LOL

 

[Josh66]

You know me well. :lmao:

 

[CoRNDoG R6]

Awesome! Great shots! Now I have to decide on clicking the links or going to the store to buy a six pack of beer! I think I'm gonna go for these 2 lenses, 50mm and 85mm, and just get a flash instead of a third lens.

Thanks for your time and the samples. Those pics are sharp!

 

[CoRNDoG R6]

What camera did you use?

 

[usayit]

Shooting a small bottle with two mild telephotos are going to be quite different from shooting people... Both are good lenses but just something to consider.

There's a reason why the 24-70 is a popular for wedding photogs. Its not only fast but you have both a 24mm and 70mm in your focal range.