What size len should i use?

porcelaindoll · Mar 26, 2008

Well i want to shoot people, and the len that came with my camera(Nikon D70s) is a wide angle(18-70mm). I bought a lens in october, it was a 70-300 mm F4-F5.6 AF NIKKOR but it was too long when i shot a few people i had to be so far away. I want a good portrait/fashion lens that doesn't require me to a mile away from the subject, I've looked online but i can seemed to find anything that gives me a full explanation of the distance between.

can anyone help me?? :scratch:

JIP · Mar 26, 2008

Budget???

Big Mike · Mar 26, 2008

Well, you have a wide range....from 18mm to 300mm. 90% of photo are probably taken somewhere in that range...so you will have to find what works for you.

John_Olexa · Mar 26, 2008

I know a ton of portrait photographers who say that 105mm is the perfect portrait lens.

Mike_E · Mar 26, 2008

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The 18-70mm should do fine for now. The 50mm to 70mm range is the equiv. of 75mm-105mm which is just right for most apps. At 35mm you are in the 50mm range (52mm).

It's not a f/2.8 or below lens so the bokeh isn't to write home about but a simple background will take care of that.

The thing that will help you most though is lighting. So to get your feet wet in that try this link... http://strobist.blogspot.com/

Here are a few links to get you going in portraiture...

http://www.msnusers.com/Asktheoleproaboutphotography/joezeltsman.msnw
(this is dated but is still relevant today)

http://tips.romanzolin.com/articles.php?cat=3

http://www.software-cinema.com/page/tinkertubes
(if you are a DIY type, you will LOVE this)

http://photocamel.com/forum/tutorials/
(some helpful tuts here too)

I listed the strobist site first because that is really the most important- at least the learning light part. When you are studying other peoples work and are wondering how they pulled it off it helps to know how the photo was lit.

Best of luck

mike

Garbz · Mar 26, 2008

John_Olexa said:
I know a ton of portrait photographers who say that 105mm is the perfect portrait lens.

I have done this. Works well providing you can stand about 6m away from your subject. I use my 80mm and 50mm more for portraiture. But again it depends. On a full frame camera the 105mm would be perfect.

porcelaindoll · Mar 27, 2008

well i dont have a full frame camera, so i guess the 105mm is out.
I'm not looking to spend ALOT of money for a lens, more like a realistic price although i do believe alot of lens are very much overpriced.

Anyrate, i dont like 18-70 for my portrait stuff, i creates distortion and its not SHARP as much as i would like. When i get in closer to a person to do close ups, the focus goes way too soft for my liking and not to mention if i go landscape close up might as well forget about taking that shot. For most of my portraits i sharpen them in photoshop but its been unsatifying for me, as i want a nice crisp shot before editting.

im so picky! lol

example one: http://porc3laindoll.deviantart.com/art/Dreamer-59072753
you can see that his elbow is larger then his head - distortion.

example two:
http://porc3laindoll.deviantart.com/art/Spaghetti-57155830
shes so soft and i had a tripod too, i even sharpened it in PS.

Christie Photo · Mar 27, 2008

porcelaindoll said:
well i dont have a full frame camera, so i guess the 105mm is out.

The rule of thumb is "twice normal." That's where 105mm comes from... it's twice the normal focal length for 35mm film cameras, which is about 52mm.

The normal focal length for your camera is about 41mm, so you should consider an 85mm lens.

JIP · Mar 27, 2008

Unless you are going into a 17-55 2.8 or something like that you might want to just stick with what you have. Another option though might be something like the 24-120VR.

17-55

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/300490-USA/Nikon_2147_17_55mm_f_2_8G_ED_IF_AF_S.html

24-120

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/277219-USA/Nikon_2145_24_120mm_f_3_5_5_6G_ED_IF_AF_S.html

porcelaindoll · Mar 27, 2008

what about a 18-55mm?

i went to college for this, and i was always yelled at for using wide angle lens on people because of the distortion created.

i just want a lens were i can shoot a person in a small confined area without loosing sharpness and creating distortion.

this part in my training i just cant seem to understand is lens.

Christie Photo · Mar 27, 2008

porcelaindoll said:
what about a 18-55mm?

i went to college for this, and i was always yelled at for using wide angle lens on people because of the distortion created.

i just want a lens were i can shoot a person in a small confined area without loosing sharpness and creating distortion.

this part in my training i just cant seem to understand is lens.

The rule of thumb is "twice normal." That's where 105mm comes from... it's twice the normal focal length for 35mm film cameras, which is about 52mm.

The normal focal length for your camera is about 41mm, so you should consider an 85mm lens.

porcelaindoll · Mar 27, 2008

Christie Photo said:
The rule of thumb is "twice normal." That's where 105mm comes from... it's twice the normal focal length for 35mm film cameras, which is about 52mm.

The normal focal length for your camera is about 41mm, so you should consider an 85mm lens.

thank you.

Trenton Romulox · Mar 27, 2008

I'd look at the 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.8. They are both great lenses. I personally use the f/1.4 version and I use it for portraits a lot. I also use my 70-200 f/2.8 for portraits when I have the room to. The 85mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 are also great options, the f/1.4 85mm is quite expensive though, compared to the f/1.8 version.

Mike_E · Mar 27, 2008

You might want to take a look at you 18-70mm to see if it's ok. It should be plenty sharp enough for anything but diagnosing skin diseases.

Most people really don't want their pores, moles and/or other blemishes to show on a portrait anyway. There are even portrait filters to soften the lens.

BTW, unless I'm greatly mistaken )happens a lot- but anyway( your camera has a Crop factor of 1.5 which would put the normal focal length for your camera at 34.666...7mm. So 34.66 (call it 35mm so I don't have to go get a calculator) times two equals 70mm.

dipstick · Mar 28, 2008

Like Big Mike said, you have the range from 18 to 300 mm to play with. Use those two lenses for now and find out what focal lengths you like. You can always read the Exif data from your images to look back at what focal lengths you use the most. Then you can consider getting some better lenses in that range.

No one in here can tell you what to get, you have to make your own decisions based on your use, and for now you have two great lenses to develop your own style.