lindsey_reeves Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 Hello. I posted this topic in the Camera Equip. forum and was sent here. I am a very new photographer - just a college student. My name is Lindsey. I have a Canon AE 1 that I have been really enjoying but I don't like my lens at all. I just seem to have outgrown it I suppose. I want a lens that gives my photos a dreamy feeling - sort of disjointed. I am thinking a 28mm. I want to be able to see dirt under fingernails and bobby pins in the palm of someones hands - I have a 150mm but I can't ever focus close enough to get the level of detail that I want. But I don't want to shoot macro shots. I don't want intense detail just . . . a softness and a gritty reality. I bet this makes no sense. Would any of you be willing to make suggestions? I don't even know where to start looking. I have a fair bit of money I am willing to invest in the lens. Any words of advice would be adored. Thank You very much. -Lindsey Marie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_szeto Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 I think the most economic way to experience macro/close-up shots is to use close up lens, like the one here: http://www.tiffen.com/results.html?search_type_no=356&tablename=filters&family=Tiffen+Filters&search_filter_format=Screw-In This is the screw-in type filter to put on your lens. Just find the set that match the diameter of your lens (should be indicated on your lens). Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack_fisher1 Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 Lindsey, You might want to begin by trying a "Soft Filter" on your existing lens. It will maintain sharpness, but still may give a hint of the "dreaminess" you are looking for. It might bring you a step closer to your goal without investing in additinal lenses right now. Keep experimenting and enjoy. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben_hutcherson Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 As I said in the other thread, a 50mm 3.5 Macro would be a good choice. They can focus a lot closer than your standard 50mm lens; up to 9.1 inches away from the film plane(1/2 life siz), but still focus to infinity. Add the FD25U extension tube and you can focus between 1/2 life size and life size. They're also tack sharp, but if you want to decrease the sharpness, there are a variety of ways to do so. You should be able to get a nice one for about $50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_s Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 Rather than try to make a sharp & contrasy Canon lens look soft and "disjointed", how's about a vintage lens A certain Mr. R. Kishimoto in Japan has done lots of experimenting with vintage lenses on Canon EOS cameras, includes some easy DIY adapter advice for hooking up vintage lenses, easily applied to other camera makes: http://www.ksmt.com/ And don't forget about "toy" cameras: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john falkenstine Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 Buy a cheap lens as recommend above, put a UV filter on it and smear some vaseline on the filter. Presto, nice and soft on the cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_szwed Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 It's always nice to see a new film photographer Consider investing in a 100mm f4 macro lens and a 50mm extension tube instead of the 50mm macro. You will have greater flexibility with the 100 mm then with the 50mm. I have one of each focal length FD macro, nFD 50mm f3.5, BL FD 100mm f3.5, and nFD 200mm f4. The 200mm gets used most of the time, the 100mm some of the time and the 50mm hardly ever. I sometimes even put a 2X extension on the 200mm. Great setup for easily spooked critters and insects. As far as the look of your pictures, you can do the vaseline trick. You can also put a layer of nylon stocking material over the lens and hold it in place with a rubber band. Those methods tend to soften the image. There are also contrast filters in various grades. Another idea is to use faster film. The faster the film the coarser the grain structure of the emulsion. Best of luck in your new hobby, Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_waller Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 As Andy said above, buy a supplementary close-up lens which screws on to the front of your existing lens. By far the cheapest option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_evans4 Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 <p>I don't understand your question. I understand all the parts of it, but some seem to contradict others. Anyway, it may be that you want a soft-focus effect, as others have suggested. If you do indeed what that:</p><p><em>Buy a cheap lens as recommend above, put a UV filter on it and smear some vaseline on the filter.</em></p><p>The lens doesn't have to be cheap. You can use a perfectly good and very sharp lens (whose sharpness would come in handy for other purposes). The UV filter can be old, used and cheap (though not utterly wrecked). Smear the vaseline over only part of the area of the filter, not the whole thing: most people suggest leaving the central area clear.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterlyons Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 The way you're describing what you like, I think you may really enjoy... http://www.lensbabies.com They're quite inexpensive as lenses go, they're available in a Canon FD mount, and they can be lots of fun. Check out the galleries! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john falkenstine Posted September 2, 2006 Share Posted September 2, 2006 By shopping carefully you can have a REAL lens for the price of a lensbaby and more flexibility in your photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnashings Posted September 2, 2006 Share Posted September 2, 2006 I don't think the answer to your dilema lies in lenses. Get the focal lengths to cover what you need in terms of reach - after that I think "dreaminess" and all that is more a matter of how you take the photo than the lens you used. If you want to really be "out there", get a Holga. Actually, get a holga anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad reilly Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 The lensbaby looks like a cool gadget Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnashings Posted September 4, 2006 Share Posted September 4, 2006 Lensbabies inexpensive...? Well, in the FD mount, where you can buy an entire, very decent lens outfit with no lens breaching $50... I think a lens baby is ridiculously expensive. Its neat, and sure, I'd try on eif it was handed to me... but paying that much cash for essentially not-a-lens... no thanks. I can buy a fair lot of film for that money... or be halfway to a real lens that can actually do something other than make curiously weird photos (which are neat - don't get me wrong)... Its cheap for the EOS people who have to spend $150 on a 50mm 1.8 lens that falls apart when you look at it funny - but for somone using a system that has so much to offer for so little... I don't know - there just seems to be so many things more worthy of my cash. And yes, I got my Holga for free:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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