Question // Noob to lenses // Automotive photography

eurolicious

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Hello everyone I have been at this quest for the past two week and I cannot seem to figure out which lens to go with when I buy my D5200.

I started learning to take pictures of my car with a D40 using both an 18-55mm Nikkor VR and a 55-200 Nikkor VR.

Now I am not a fan of the pictures I take with the 18-55mm as I feel like it does not give me the bokeh/blurred effect on the background I like to see.

Below is the way are a few of my favorite pictures of my previous and then my current car.

Here are two photos of my previous car using the D40 and the 55-200mm lens (not edited):

9812185966_fd11177fe8_b.jpg


9812086066_213a8a451c_b.jpg


So not too long ago I borrowed a D5100 and used my 55-200mm lens to take these photos (not edited):

9665558412_f8a4a1456e_b.jpg


9662324559_b9eb6449c8_b.jpg


9665561760_6ab29d161f_b.jpg


9662332955_acc9030f94_b.jpg


I have come across the following options, mind you that I already have the 18-55mm (is not autofocusing as well as it should be) and the 55-200mm lens (both lenses were purchased with my D40 many years ago:


  1. D5200 with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens
  2. D5200 with 50mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Nikkor
  3. D5200 with 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Nikkor
  4. D5200 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens

Thank you very much in advance for everyone's help,

Thiago
 
You definitely want a quicker aperture. The 18-105mm is a convenience lens: It will replace your 18-55, it will provide you with sharper images, but it won't do much more for you than that. Basically anything your 55-200mm does at 55mm, the 18-105mm will do too. The 18-55mm VR isn't worth looking at, at all; it's a waste of money if you already currently have an 18-55 non-VR that you are graduating from.

The 35mm 1.8G is a good lens. It equates on a DX body to 52.5mm, which is a great focal length. You can definitely take good photos of cars with the lens.

The 50mm 1.8G is also a good lens, and likely is what you want: You seem to prefer your shots that are taking at 55mm and up.

The 85mm 1.8G is also worth looking at if you can extend your budget that way. It's $500-ish, but the performance is reflected in the price.

Finally, and alternate option is something like a 17-50mm f2.8 lens from Sigma or Tamron. I have heard many positive and negative things about going one way or another, but the high and low of it all is that you'll end up with a 35mm and 50mm lens (because it's a zoom) that can do f2.8.
 
You definitely want a quicker aperture. The 18-105mm is a convenience lens: It will replace your 18-55, it will provide you with sharper images, but it won't do much more for you than that. Basically anything your 55-200mm does at 55mm, the 18-105mm will do too. The 18-55mm VR isn't worth looking at, at all; it's a waste of money if you already currently have an 18-55 non-VR that you are graduating from.

The 35mm 1.8G is a good lens. It equates on a DX body to 52.5mm, which is a great focal length. You can definitely take good photos of cars with the lens.

The 50mm 1.8G is also a good lens, and likely is what you want: You seem to prefer your shots that are taking at 55mm and up.

The 85mm 1.8G is also worth looking at if you can extend your budget that way. It's $500-ish, but the performance is reflected in the price.

Finally, and alternate option is something like a 17-50mm f2.8 lens from Sigma or Tamron. I have heard many positive and negative things about going one way or another, but the high and low of it all is that you'll end up with a 35mm and 50mm lens (because it's a zoom) that can do f2.8.

Thank you very much for the clarification.

I heard many great things about the 85mm 1.8G now the pre wedding budget is not allowing it being that I will be purchasing the new D5200 body.

I think you pretty much pointed me in the direction I thought about going already only was hesitant due to thinking the 18-105mm would be better; now that that is out of the question the 50mm 1.8g it is :D

Once again I really appreciate your help very much.
 
with budget i would get the 50mm 1.8g its a great lens, and one you will probably keep and still use later on if you really get deep into photography. the 35mm isn't bad as well, but i would go 50mm 1.8
 
With most of these photos I was distracted by something else other than the car, so:
1. Stop down the aperture of the lens (you are on the right track by liking the blur/bokeh as you said)
2. Learn about composition - I'd suggest using Google Image Search and just put any car brand name + photography there and you'll get plenty of examples of professional automotive photography - aim to emulate these - composition-wise.
 
Now I am not a fan of the pictures I take with the 18-55mm as I feel like it does not give me the bokeh/blurred effect on the background I like to see.

What were you expecting in the first picture as far as bokeh/blurred? Honestly, in that one the car is too close to the building to give it much bokeh. Move the car away from the building another car length or two and shoot with a wide open appeture (This I know you probably already know.)
 
with budget i would get the 50mm 1.8g its a great lens, and one you will probably keep and still use later on if you really get deep into photography. the 35mm isn't bad as well, but i would go 50mm 1.8

I agree with Matthewo,

On a crop sensor that 50mm is priceless...it will give you more like a standard 85mm shot on a full frame... the quality you will get for the money is unmatched. And at 1.8 speed, you can easily get the better bokeh backgrounds you want... you just need to change your perspective from time to time (i.e. shooting the car against a wall won't give you that bokeh...but pulling the car away from objects will).

I just bought 50mm f/1.8 brand new for ~$200.

Your 2nd shot above would give you the bokeh you are looking for if you had a faster lens like the 50mm 1.8... I would just change that perspective a little to dump the building... you have half trees and half building... the light color of your car should pop nicely off the green trees...

Enjoy..!
 
Unfortunately, the only way bokeh is adjustable/controllable is by changing to a different make or model of lens.

Depth-of-field (DoF) is adjustable and when controlled so it is shallow is what makes a background blurry.
Depth-of-field and bokeh are not the same thing, though they are related.

Cars are quite a bit bigger than people, so the photographer has to be further from a car than they would be from a person. Add to that shot composition that has the car occupying well less than 50% of the frame, as in several of the posted images, and the point-of-focus (PoF) distance is even further from the subject.

Without changing the lens aperture, as PoF distance increase the DoF gets deeper.

All the lenses being considered are consumer grade lenses. The fast, f/1.8 lens will need to be stopped down a couple of stops to reach the start of the lens aperture range (f/3.5 to f/11 or so) that delivers sharp focus.

Look at the f/1.8 and f/4 sharpness in the test shots in this 85 mm f/1.8G lens review. The f/4 shot is much sharper than the f/1.8 shot - Nikon Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.8G review | Cameralabs
Here is the review for the 50 mm f/1.8G, and by comparing the 2 you can see the 85 mm f/1.8 delivers somewhat sharper focus than the 50 mm f/1.8 - Nikon Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G review | Cameralabs

A further consideration regarding DoF is - How much of the car do you want in focus?
The car in the posted images looks to be about 15 feet long. If you want the full length of the car in focus with the car at somewhat of an angle to the camera, and you focus on that part of the car closest to the camera you would need something like 8 to 15 feet of DoF behind the PoF.
Dof is always split in front of and behind the PoF, so you would need a total DoF that is even deeper, and in the 12 foot to 20 foot range.

If the PoF distance is 20 feet and you use a 50 mm lens on a crop body camera you will need to use f/5.6 to f/9. Plug the numbers into a DoF calculator - Online Depth of Field Calculator
With an 85 mm lens you will need to be about 60% further away (33 feet) to have the same subject scale in the image frame, and would use about the same lens aperture range of f/5.6 to f/9.
 
A further consideration regarding DoF is - How much of the car do you want in focus?
The car in the posted images looks to be about 15 feet long. If you want the full length of the car in focus with the car at somewhat of an angle to the camera, and you focus on that part of the car closest to the camera you would need something like 8 to 15 feet of DoF behind the PoF.
Dof is always split in front of and behind the PoF, so you would need a total DoF that is even deeper, and in the 12 foot to 20 foot range.

If the PoF distance is 20 feet and you use a 50 mm lens on a crop body camera you will need to use f/5.6 to f/9. Plug the numbers into a DoF calculator - Online Depth of Field Calculator
With an 85 mm lens you will need to be about 60% further away (33 feet) to have the same subject scale in the image frame, and would use about the same lens aperture range of f/5.6 to f/9.

For my own learning... using an f-stop of 5.6 to 9 would put the car in focus at that distance... but would he be able to achieve the nice "bokeh" he was asking for given that f-stop range? I am a hobbyist and don't shoot large objects that that often... so I am curious.
 
Plug numbers into the DoF calculator I linked to and decide for yourself what needs to be done.
Note how far behind the PoF the DoF extends. Also note the in front of and behind the PoF the distances the DoF is distributed.

Bokeh is not blur.

Basically the car has to be kept sufficiently far away from the background so the background is well beyond the far limit of the DoF. that is what makes a background blurry.

In a studio making images of a person, I keep the person 8 to 10 feet from the background.
Since a car is much wider and longer than a person that distance to the background has to be further by an equivalent ratio on the order or 4 or 5 times further from the background.
 
Last edited:
First of all thank you everyone for being so welcoming and easy on me :D :hail:


with budget i would get the 50mm 1.8g its a great lens, and one you will probably keep and still use later on if you really get deep into photography. the 35mm isn't bad as well, but i would go 50mm 1.8

Awesome thank you, my plan as of now is to get the 50mm 1.8G and then later get myself an 85mm 1.8G.

With most of these photos I was distracted by something else other than the car, so:
1. Stop down the aperture of the lens (you are on the right track by liking the blur/bokeh as you said)
2. Learn about composition - I'd suggest using Google Image Search and just put any car brand name + photography there and you'll get plenty of examples of professional automotive photography - aim to emulate these - composition-wise.

Thank you, I will work on that.

I started taking pictures by just looking at other people's photos and trying to get a similar shot.

Now I am not a fan of the pictures I take with the 18-55mm as I feel like it does not give me the bokeh/blurred effect on the background I like to see.

What were you expecting in the first picture as far as bokeh/blurred? Honestly, in that one the car is too close to the building to give it much bokeh. Move the car away from the building another car length or two and shoot with a wide open appeture (This I know you probably already know.)

I do realize that the car is indeed way too close to the building (it was maybe 8 feet away).

I will start moving it further away from the backgrounds now.

with budget i would get the 50mm 1.8g its a great lens, and one you will probably keep and still use later on if you really get deep into photography. the 35mm isn't bad as well, but i would go 50mm 1.8

I agree with Matthewo,

On a crop sensor that 50mm is priceless...it will give you more like a standard 85mm shot on a full frame... the quality you will get for the money is unmatched. And at 1.8 speed, you can easily get the better bokeh backgrounds you want... you just need to change your perspective from time to time (i.e. shooting the car against a wall won't give you that bokeh...but pulling the car away from objects will).

I just bought 50mm f/1.8 brand new for ~$200.

Your 2nd shot above would give you the bokeh you are looking for if you had a faster lens like the 50mm 1.8... I would just change that perspective a little to dump the building... you have half trees and half building... the light color of your car should pop nicely off the green trees...

Enjoy..!

Thank you very much for the tips, I believe that the 50mm 1.8G will end up being my favorite lens since I tend to walk all over the place regardless to get the angle I want for the shots.

I did find a new one with warranty here for $216.95: Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor Lens - Nikon USA Warranty 2199

Unfortunately, the only way bokeh is adjustable/controllable is by changing to a different make or model of lens.

Depth-of-field (DoF) is adjustable and when controlled so it is shallow is what makes a background blurry.
Depth-of-field and bokeh are not the same thing, though they are related.

Cars are quite a bit bigger than people, so the photographer has to be further from a car than they would be from a person. Add to that shot composition that has the car occupying well less than 50% of the frame, as in several of the posted images, and the point-of-focus (PoF) distance is even further from the subject.

Without changing the lens aperture, as PoF distance increase the DoF gets deeper.

All the lenses being considered are consumer grade lenses. The fast, f/1.8 lens will need to be stopped down a couple of stops to reach the start of the lens aperture range (f/3.5 to f/11 or so) that delivers sharp focus.

Look at the f/1.8 and f/4 sharpness in the test shots in this 85 mm f/1.8G lens review. The f/4 shot is much sharper than the f/1.8 shot - Nikon Nikkor AF-S 85mm f/1.8G review | Cameralabs
Here is the review for the 50 mm f/1.8G, and by comparing the 2 you can see the 85 mm f/1.8 delivers somewhat sharper focus than the 50 mm f/1.8 - Nikon Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.8G review | Cameralabs

A further consideration regarding DoF is - How much of the car do you want in focus?
The car in the posted images looks to be about 15 feet long. If you want the full length of the car in focus with the car at somewhat of an angle to the camera, and you focus on that part of the car closest to the camera you would need something like 8 to 15 feet of DoF behind the PoF.
Dof is always split in front of and behind the PoF, so you would need a total DoF that is even deeper, and in the 12 foot to 20 foot range.

If the PoF distance is 20 feet and you use a 50 mm lens on a crop body camera you will need to use f/5.6 to f/9. Plug the numbers into a DoF calculator - Online Depth of Field Calculator
With an 85 mm lens you will need to be about 60% further away (33 feet) to have the same subject scale in the image frame, and would use about the same lens aperture range of f/5.6 to f/9.

All of this is something I never thought about.

To be honest with you I took all these photos in the Automatic mode on the camera, I guess I was lucky with lighting ad I somewhat had it focused. I never though about DoF and PoF and distances. I did notice that the further away I was from the car (across the street in most of these cases) the "better" the shot came out.

There is a whole lot more than pointing, focusing and pressing the button. I appreciate all your help and I will do some further research using what you have given me as basis.

I appreciate it very much and excuse my ignorance.
 
A good majority of my automotive photography is done with a 70-200 lens for the reasons KMH and Ron Lane hit on. with the shots you posted above the different lens choices wouldn't have changed as much as just a rethinking in how you shot the car itself. pull the car further out and get yourself a lot further away from the car and use your zoom. there are several free DOF calculater apps you can download for free for when your out shooting that will help you as well.
 
Just my experience with car shooting specifically: Cars like it up close.
One of my favorite type shots for most cars, always turns out nice imo.


Also if you want some pretty cool reflection shots, claybar the girl down, give a nice coat of wax, and you can take cool shots off of the reflection of the car. I dont happen to have an example of this.
 
A good majority of my automotive photography is done with a 70-200 lens for the reasons KMH and Ron Lane hit on. with the shots you posted above the different lens choices wouldn't have changed as much as just a rethinking in how you shot the car itself. pull the car further out and get yourself a lot further away from the car and use your zoom. there are several free DOF calculater apps you can download for free for when your out shooting that will help you as well.

I appreciate the tip.

I have been kind of doing that lately I am usually about 20 to 30 ft away from the car using the 55-200mm lens it just seemed to work better (I really did not know I was doing anything right there :mrgreen:) and i used to shoot them "zoomed in a bit" I will try the DOF calculator app next time I go out.

I ended up pulling the trigger on a D3200 and the 50mm f/1.8G (I will use that lens for car shows and such) and will continue to use the 55-200mm for the farther shots.

Just my experience with car shooting specifically: Cars like it up close.
One of my favorite type shots for most cars, always turns out nice imo.


Also if you want some pretty cool reflection shots, claybar the girl down, give a nice coat of wax, and you can take cool shots off of the reflection of the car. I dont happen to have an example of this.

Thank you very much for the tips. I do have a few shots like that but they never turned out nice like that I will have to try it out again.

Thanks for the tip guys.
 
First of all, nice car. I have seen both of those cars around the Kennesaw area many times. Usually around WadeGreen or Barrett.

I would recommend one of the f1.8s as your choice. Just depends if you prefer the closer 35mm or the longer 50mm perspective. Both are great lenses.
 

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