Posted: 2/23/2007 4:02:15 PM EDT
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Would it be possible for one of you pro photographers to post a thread with info on the various lenses available for dslr's? Kind of a users guide. Things like what each one is best suited for. I have a 1:2 / 50mm, 1:3-5:6 /18-55mm and a 1:4-5:6 / 70-210mm. I've only been using the 18-55mm one that came with my camera but would like to know when / where using one of the other ones would be better. 
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I am definately not a pro, but I am learning all the time and getting better at getting what I want. I can use my f/1.8 50mm lens for almost anything except wide angle shots. It does much better indoors than my other lenses because of the large aperature. Your 50mm would be my first choice from your arsenal for portraits and indoor photography where you need speed. Your 70-210mm tele would be mostly used when you have lots of light to work with. f/4 and above restricts your light, and you need faster shutter speeds to take good shots at the long end. Outdoor daytime photos would be it's primary use. The 18-55mm would make a decent all around lens. It is plenty wide enough for group shots and other applications where you want to photograph something that covers 70 degrees or so. f/3 isn't terribly fast, but at the 18mm end, you can make up for the somewhat restricted aperature by using a low shutter speed. Wider angles don't require blazing shutter speeds. I get sharp pictures at 1/10th almost everytime when I shoot at 12mm. At 50mm I have to keep my shutter speed around 1/40th to ensure reasonably sharp results. In effect, the wide angle gains me 2 stops of exposure on the wide lens, so I can get away with a maximum aperature of only f/4. Honestly, I would recommend ditching the zoom lenses for now, and shooting for awhile with only the 50mm lens. It is a great lens to learn with. I did, and I find myself valuing it much more, even with more expensive zooms in my bag, I still appreciate the capabilities of a good fast fixed lens. |
I'm not sure if you inadvertently stumbled across this rule of thumb, but generally speaking, your shutter speed needs to be 1/(focal length) to get shake-free shots when handholding your camera. So for example, with a 300mm lens, you need to be getting a shutter speed around 1/300 sec in order to avoid blur. Of course, this is just a rule of thumb....some people are rock solid, and can shoot at slower speeds without blur. |
That is right, no mistake about it. I can usually get down to about 1/.75(focallength) as long as I am in continuous drive mode. If I shoot 3-4 quick shots at say 1/30th with a 50mm lens I get at least one acceptable shot out of the bunch. That is why I really like the 18-200mm VR lens! The VR calms down my hand shake, and I get reasonably good pics at 200mm with 1/8th. More often than not, the subject is the reason for the blur at that point. The 18-200 is my newest lens, and I haven't learned all it's ins and outs yet. |
| Well I ran right over and grabbed my camera to swap the 18-55 lens for the 50mm and..the 50mm doesn't have the A setting. I can use it if I go into the customs settings on my camera and change them but..that is beyond my ability right now so..I'm gonna stick with the other 2 lenses for now and pick up a 50mm that will work with auto focus later on. |
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If you don't already have a fast (large aperature) fixed lens, then you don't need to buy a 50mm specifically. IIRC you have a Pentax K110D? Yeah, I see that you ID'd it on the "fooling your camera" thread. A 50mm lens is somewhat tight, but works well for general purposes and portraits. A fixed focal length range of 24 - 35mm would be much wider if that is your taste. A fixed 85mm is also great if you want more of a telephoto/portrait lens. Generally the wider the aperature, the more expensive the lens. Anything right around f/2 is good. f/1.4 or even f/1.2 are more flexible, but you will have to pay more. Honestly I question the need for a new expensive fixed lens for your camera. If you had a Canon or Nikon, I'd say go for it. You may not want to invest a lot more money into your Pentax system if you are happy with your 18-55mm. It may be a decent lens, and I don't want anyone buying anything on my word that they don't need or like. Get an inexpensive lens if anything, since chances are very good that in a few years, you will be using a Canon or a Nikon. This is just a guy's opinion, and I am not extremely familiar with your camera or assortment of available lenses. |
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I use a 50mm lens for indoors shots and portraits (I do some concert photography every once in a while and it suits this purpose well). For outdoors shots, I usually use either a 18-200mm lens or an 18-55mm. I hardly EVER use wide angle lenses (nothing less than 18mm) and I never go above 200mm. |
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I like wide angle photography. Sometimes it can really give you a sense of a location or scene that a "normal" angle can't. Since your vision is nearly 180 degrees, a wide angle lens is often helpful in capturing your surroundings. Here is an image of a wedding reception hall before any other guests arrived. It was shot at 12mm on a 1.5x crop camera from the back corner of the room.  Here is the same wedding, shot later at 200mm from the back center of the room.  These two pics give an example of the range of zooms you can use. 50mm is approximately 1x lifesize, if you compare your eye to the viewfinder image. These examples are 1/4x and 4x respectively, or a 16x zoom factor. I was NOT the official photographer, as you can probably tell. I wouldn't have shown off the last pic if I was. The flash from the speedlight gave the groom redeye, because I was 40 feet away. Both images are unaltered except for stamp and resizing. |