NEW LENS! Need help.

Mo. · Mar 11, 2012

Hey guys, so my 17th birthday is coming up next Wednesday (14th of march) and my dad said he would gladly buy me a new lens for my D3100. However the budget us quite tight, as it being around £150 - £170 MAX. So I've already got a decent 70-300mm f.4-5.6 zoom lens but now I'm looking to get a wide angle lens.

So I don't know what lens to get :s I'll be using the wide angle lens for mostly portraits and self-portraits. So help me out guys and show me a few lenses I could get with my budget. Many thanks.

cgipson1 · Mar 11, 2012

Hey Mo... generally you do not want to use a wide angle for portraiture, as it can cause some serious perspective distortion (such as seriously enlarged noses! lol!) Usually you want to use the "normal" short to medium telephoto ranges for portraiture. Usually 50mmm to 135mm or so. That is just a general guidline though. Many pro's really like the 85mm range, that FL on a DX body is closer to a 127mm crop.

I would recommend a good 50mm... preferably one in the 1.4 range. The 1.8's are less expensive, but the build quality is not the same. If you buy used, you might be able to find a Sigma 50mm 1.4.. very popular as a short portrait lens (about a 75mm crop on a DX sensor). I have the Sigma, and highly recommend it. Nikon did just release a 85mm 1.8G that might be nice also... not sure of the pricing there though (and that would be very tight indoors for more than upper body shots).

I just checked on the pounds / dollars conversion.. and your limit is around $260 US or so. That is going to limit you somewhat... you could easily get a new 50mm 1.8, or you could get the Nikon 50mm 1.4D (but that would only Manual Focus on your body.) I would say the Nikon 50mm 1.8 would be your best bet.. if you are wanting it for portraiture. Don't know anything about any of the third party lenses.. other than the Sigma.

If you do want a wide angle...the Nikon 35mm 1.8G would be a good bet (although on a DX.. it is more like a 52mm)

Overread · Mar 11, 2012

I'd say (excluding older glass which I have no idea on for Nikon) the 50mm f1.8 at around £100 would fit your budget ideally.
Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8 Lens from £105.50, UK Specialist Price Comparison Site, Camera Price Buster

With the spare money sink it into a cheapish tripod* and lean to pan and then stitch shots in editing if you want to do wider angle shots for things like landscapes. Otherwise for portrait work cgipson1 has already summed up the points regarding distortion of features and the typical focal lengths people tend to use.

There is a G edition though I've no idea what that means in Nikon talk nor if its worth considering:
Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8 G Lens from £174.95, UK Specialist Price Comparison Site, Camera Price Buster
That one would, however, require you to put some money into the pot as well since it is somewhat breaching your upper limit.

*or better start a lens/tripod fund and save it up toward a more expensive, but quality purchase. Lower end gear can work, but its often a big compromise for the cheap cost.

Mo. · Mar 11, 2012

Yeah, I wouldn't want a wide angle lens. I already do have a tripod although I can only place my camera in a landscape form, and I will be investing in a remote too but that wouldn't be too expensive.

I have heard good things about the 50mm lens's, there seems to be quite a difference between the 50mm 1.8 and the 1.4, do you think I should save up and get the 1.4 instead of the 1.8?

EDIT: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-50mm-...2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1331482014&sr=1-2

This lens is tempting.

gsgary · Mar 11, 2012

Have a look here Nikon Auto Focus - Aperture Photographic Tel. 020 7242 8681, i have bought lots from them with no problems

cgipson1 · Mar 11, 2012

Overread said:
I'd say (excluding older glass which I have no idea on for Nikon) the 50mm f1.8 at around £100 would fit your budget ideally.
Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8 Lens from £105.50, UK Specialist Price Comparison Site, Camera Price Buster

With the spare money sink it into a cheapish tripod* and lean to pan and then stitch shots in editing if you want to do wider angle shots for things like landscapes. Otherwise for portrait work cgipson1 has already summed up the points regarding distortion of features and the typical focal lengths people tend to use.

There is a G edition though I've no idea what that means in Nikon talk nor if its worth considering:
Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8 G Lens from £174.95, UK Specialist Price Comparison Site, Camera Price Buster
That one would, however, require you to put some money into the pot as well since it is somewhat breaching your upper limit.

*or better start a lens/tripod fund and save it up toward a more expensive, but quality purchase. Lower end gear can work, but its often a big compromise for the cheap cost.

The G series lens have no aperture ring, but do have the built in AF motors, which she would need with her body. The D series lenses from Nikon have no built in AF.. so would be manual focus only.

cgipson1 · Mar 11, 2012

Mo. said:
Yeah, I wouldn't want a wide angle lens. I already do have a tripod although I can only place my camera in a landscape form, and I will be investing in a remote too but that wouldn't be too expensive.

I have heard good things about the 50mm lens's, there seems to be quite a difference between the 50mm 1.8 and the 1.4, do you think I should save up and get the 1.4 instead of the 1.8?

EDIT: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sigma-50mm-...2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1331482014&sr=1-2

This lens is tempting.

I really do like my Sigma 50 1.4! It is a good focal length for indoors shots.. and does excellent outdoors also. The new 85mm 1.8G might be a good option too.. if you have more room to shoot in.

Mo. · Mar 11, 2012

cgipson1 said:
Mo. said:

Yeah, I wouldn't want a wide angle lens. I already do have a tripod although I can only place my camera in a landscape form, and I will be investing in a remote too but that wouldn't be too expensive.

I have heard good things about the 50mm lens's, there seems to be quite a difference between the 50mm 1.8 and the 1.4, do you think I should save up and get the 1.4 instead of the 1.8?

EDIT: Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG Lens For Nikon Digital & Film: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

This lens is tempting.

Click to expand...

I really do like my Sigma 50 1.4! It is a good focal length for indoors shots.. and does excellent outdoors also. The new 85mm 1.8G might be a good option too.. if you have more room to shoot in.

I'll probably save to get sigma 1.4. In the end I never know where or when I'm going to shoot but as long as it performs well indoors and outdoors and it's also good for portraits than it's fine. I might go to Jessops or another shop and try it out.

Overread · Mar 11, 2012

The 50mm f1.8s are typically good optics, but low build quality and are low price because they are mass produced to a very large scale. The f1.4s will have refined optics yet again, though the jump won't be so great and some differences will be less obvious at first to many (Eg better aperture blade setup for a more circular bokeh ring rather than angular). The Sigma f1.4 gets some very good reviews and is newer than Canon's current offering in that focal and aperture range (and I think its also newer than Nikons offering as well).
If you can swing it I'd say go for it - the f1.4 is better built and featured overall - might not be night and day difference, but these differences do help .