prime lens for still car photography

[ishootcars]

To all that have experience in shooting cars,

my equipment is right now the nikon D3200 with the kitlens (18-55mm vr1 lens)
I lots some pictures of cars on the street but I just can't get that depth of field , composition, position of the car with background i want, the cars look like stretched out and it doesn't look right.
I think the right prime lens would make the difference, one little problem => low on cash, under 200 euros

anyone an idea ??

 

[robbins.photo]

To all that have experience in shooting cars,

my equipment is right now the nikon D3200 with the kitlens (18-55mm vr1 lens)
I lots some pictures of cars on the street but I just can't get that depth of field , composition, position of the car with background i want, the cars look like stretched out and it doesn't look right.
I think the right prime lens would make the difference, one little problem => low on cash, under 200 euros

anyone an idea ??

Well I guess my first suggestion would be to look through the shots you've already taken at the EXIF data and find out what focal length your generally using the most. If possible you'll want a prime lens as close to that focal length as possible. This might become a bit of an issue in that if your shooting at less than 35 mm a lot those primes get expensive - quick. So maybe take your kit lens and set it to 35 mm and leave it there, take some shots and get a feel for how far back from the car you need to get to get the shots you want. This will help you determine if a 35 mm prime is going to be viable, or if you need something wider.

The other thing I would probably suggest would be to take a look at the post processing software your using, on the kit lens if your shooting at 18 mm or fairly wide the distortion your seeing might be dealt with by using your post processing software. Lightroom and many others have the ability to correct for lens distortion.

 

[Solarflare]

This doesnt sound like you want to photograph still cars, to be honest. Rather you want to still photograph cars.

And prime lenses with a 200€ budget are limited to the AF-S 35mm f1.8 DX and the AF-S 50mm f1.8 [which is FX]. Both might be a bit above 200€, actually. Dont know which one suits you better.

Either way, both will give you a smaller depth of field and, thus, a more strongly blurred background.

 

[ishootcars]

thanks for the advice
,think i'll wait untill i've got some more cash

 

[cheshirecat79]

IMO, you'd be happy with the 50mm 1.8. I personally use the 50mm 1.4 for the majority of my auto photography. the 1.8 is going to give you the depth of field that you're looking for. However, it's important to remember that positioning and light is *very* important for this kind of subject matter. Generally, the lower the angle of your shot and the less harsh the lighting, the better you're going to be able to see the curves of the vehicle.

 

[astroNikon]

Also, the closer you get to a car and the smaller focal length - like 18, the more stretched out something is going to look.
Experiment with your 18-55 and use 50, 35, 28, 24 (see the primes there) and see what works for you.

If you have the other kit lens 55-200 then also try 85 and 105 to get the perspective that you want on the vehicle.

Of course, the longer focal lengths may require you to move further away.

 

[Msteelio91]

50mm or 35mm is great for shooting cars but you're going to need to experiment with the aperture to find what you like

 

[Vince.1551]

35mm (44 degrees on your DX) is your best bet.