My Nikkor 50mm f/1.8d Experience

[david.elliott]

I thought I would share with you my recent experience with the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8d. I

should start out by saying that I am a true beginner.

 

While I have had my Nikon d70 with 18-70mm kit lens for a few years now, I had only

really used it for basic family events - bbqs, birthday parties, and the like. And I had

only used it in auto mode!

 

Side note: I recently purchased Understanding Exposure (another recommendation

from the forums) and found it to be very very useful - particularly for a beginner like

me.

 

Based upon recommendations from this superb forum I purchased the 50mm f/1.8d.

 

Fooling around with the lens in my house, it really seemed like I could exert more

control over the photographs than I could with my slower kit lens, i.e. isolating the

subject. And for the first time, I found I could do more than take mere family

snapshots. (Of course I could with the kit lens too, it just never dawned on me...)

 

Lens in hand, I went out to Washington DC. This was the first time I had taken a trip

with the sole purpose of taking photographs. It was awesome.

 

I spent the entire day in the city, taking just shy of 300 photographs. I have put

together a gallery of (keeper) photos from the Botanic Gardens and Butterfly Exhibit

from the Natural History Museum. (Link below) Note: post processing was done in

Lightroom.

 

Things I learned on the trip:

 

(1) I was able to get many shots that would have been impossible on my slower kit lens.

(2) I need to remember to adjust my ISO as the lighting changes.

(3) I am absolutely unable to manually focus on butterflies.

(4) Being unable to zoom does not bother me in the least. In the past, I would simply

zoom to compose the photograph and having to take steps toward or away from the

subject forced me to interact with it more. I really enjoyed using a prime. I was able to

better focus on getting the basics down.

(5) Photography is very rewarding.

(6) My attempts at panning a carousel all resulted in failure...did look cool though.

(7) People dont mind strangers photographing them so long as you are polite and

introduce yourself first.

(8) When you carry a camera in the city, you notice everybody else carrying one.

There were dozens and dozens of tourists and locals alike out photographing.

 

I am sure I learned more, but my lunch break is just about over, so I will cut short my

ramblings.

 

--------------------

 

Thanks for being such a great community, helping out and talking to beginners like me

as well as pros. I have learned a lot from this forum and I only wish I had found it

years ago.

 

Here is the gallery for those that are interested:

http://home.comcast.net/~david.elliott/WDCGardenButterflies/index.html

 

I hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

[michael_hahn]

David,

 

I really enjoyed your list of "things I learned". I will check your shots out later. Good job, keep up the photography!

 

michael.

[samoksner]

We need more people like you, that use photo.net as a resource as opposed to a place to complain.. You're on the way to really having fun with photography, you've taken a good path, just trying to stick to the basics, keeping it simple.

 

Have fun with the 50, this prime could turn you into an LBA (lens buying addict).

[mkelton]

I am glad you enjoyed your new 50mm 1.8 so much. I love mine too. If you every want

a second prime, I would suggest an 85mm f1.8. It is a super sharp lens and the longer

focal length allows you to further separate subject from background (It is my favorite

lens).

[vrankin]

David: I looked at your photos. They're beautiful! I'm also a D70 user, with only the

18-70 so far. Your comments tempt me to try a prime! Howard

[carl_becker2]

It seems that you had lots of fun and some very nice shots. You have found out why some of us still use primes. Keep up the good work!

[dan park]

Welcome to the lens that stays on my camera 80% of the time. Mine is of the AI flavor and is easily the smallest best performing lens I own.

 

Enjoy

[eric_arnold]

nice use of the 50! i'd say you're all 'primed' and ready to go!

 

i really like the inobtrusiveness of the 50/1.8, it's like a snubnose pistol with more oomph than one might think. it's great for candids, low-light stuff, and portraits.

 

it has fairly good close-up performance and decent, but not great OOF elements (aka bokeh), but if more butterfly and bug pics are in your future, you may want to think about a longer macro lens, which improves bokeh and close-up range. since you have a d70, you can use almost any of the excellent 3rd party macro lenses, such as the tokina 100, sigma 105, tamron 90, or even the older nikon 105.

good luck and happy shooting.

[tri-x1]

I believe using a prime makes the photographer think more about composition and background--a good thing.Most of the most remembered photos of the past 100 years were shot with primes, not zooms.

[BrettPrucha]

David,

<p>

Glad you had so much fun on your photo trip. Looks like you made good use of the 50mm.

<p>

I made almost the same trip as you not to long ago visiting the bufferfly exhibit and botanic gardens. I was there with kids in tow so I only took a couple of photos. I was also using the 50mm because it is so portable and makes a pretty good portrait lens which is what I like to focus on when photographing my kids. For a beginner I would say you have a really good eye for correct white balance. Did you set the white balance in camera or post? When I was at the bufferfly exhibit the lights inside created a really strong yellow cast.

<p>

My favorites shots of yours are <a href="http://home.comcast.net/~david.elliott/WDCGardenButterflies/content/DSC_0092_large.html">this one</a> and <a href="http://home.comcast.net/~david.elliott/WDCGardenButterflies/content/DSC_0223_large.html">this one</a>.

[Peter_in_PA]

I also loved the list of stuff you learned!

 

nice photos,too! Keep at it!

[diane_madura]

Nice photos, David. Thanks for sharing!

[bruce_margolis]

David, thanks for sharing this. While it is pretty common with other forums to share photo experiences, it is a bit more rare here and all too often received with a <yawn>.

 

I hope your work will inspire others to share their progress as well. Keep on posting.

[Two23]

Fast glass costs more but it does allow you to do more things. It allows you to get more use out of your camera too! Over the past couple of years I've been getting rid of my slower lenses and replacing them with f2.8 zooms. Those give the ultimate in flexibility and image quality I think. As for "Most remembered shots of past 100 years" being made with a fixed lens, that is true. They were also made with film cameras. Technology has changed and we now have even more advanced equipment to choose from. My bet is the most memorable shots from the next 100 years will come 95% from quality zooms.

 

 

Kent in SD

[david.elliott]

It is really nice to return home from work to read such kind and encouraging comments.

Thank you all.

 

Michael: I will absolutely be out and about taking more photographs. Please feel free to let

me know what you think of the photos.

 

Sam: Thanks. I am going to put the lens buying on hold for a bit. I want to get used to this

lens first and enjoy it thoroughly. Next on the purchase list is a monitor calibration system.

... After that I will return to lens buying. Good thing you wrote out what LBA stands for - I

would never have guessed. :)

 

Matt: I will definitely check it out. Maybe there is a local camera store with one in stock so

I can take some test shots.

 

Howard: Thank you. I am really enjoying this prime so far. I'd recommend giving this

prime a go. It is not too expensive and it is a ton of fun. If it turns out that it just isnt for you,

well then there is always ebay. :D Compared to the 18-70, this lens is MUCH smaller and

lighter. The auto focus is a bit louder than on my kit lens, but it is very quick. Manual

focus is smooth and easy on both. The viewfinder seems brighter with the prime. I have

zero complaints.

 

Carl: Thanks. I really enjoy the prime. I may just have to try out some others in future.

 

Dan: The lens really is small! I was absolutely surprised when I took it out of the

packaging. Tiny compared to my 18-70mm! Still, no problems handling it at all despite its

small size.

 

Eric: Absolutely. It is a very low key lens - not an attention grabber. Packs a wallop

though! I do have the Tamron 90mm macro in my sights for an eventual purchase. In the

meantime, I purchased a set of kenko extension tubes to use with this lens. I like to take

photos of my watches and it has worked great in that respect! Thank you for the

recommendations.

 

Wayne: I agree (at least with respect to myself). With the zoom I just stood in one place

and zoomed to crop. This is much more interactive; walking back and forth to get the

photo how i want it. Still, I did have to do some cropping in Lightroom. I think that I will try

turning on the gridlines in my viewfinder and see if that helps.

 

Brett: Thanks. It really was a lot of fun. The compactness of the 50mm made it easier to

take photos in the butterfly exhibit. It is fairly small in there and can get a bit crowded.

The tickets were, if i remember right, $6. In my opinion they could charge several times

that and it would still be worth every penny. It is pretty hot and humid in there though.

~88% or so was the readout on the thermostat. It was great though. The butterflies are all

around you.

 

With regard to white balance, I leave the camera on auto and deal with it in lightroom. I

use the eyedropper (push W) tool in lightroom on a neutral color. Then, if necessary, I

slightly adjust the slider to give a cooler or warmer look to suit my preference.

 

I really like the photos you chose. The first one, I actually have an alternate version of it

up there that is a pale, bluish purple color. That resulted from a sneeze while moving the

white balance slider. :D

 

Peter: Thanks. Always good to learn and share what one learns.

 

Diane: Thank you!

 

Bruce: Sure thing. I actually was not sure if this sort of thread was appropriate. I havent

been here at photo.net long but I dont think I have seen another thread of this nature in

my short time here. So, I emailed Shun last night and asked if I could make a post like

this. Thankfully, he said yes! I hope others share their photographs and experiences here

too. I would love to see that.

 

Kent: Fast lenses sure seem fun. Definitely allows me to do things I couldnt do with my

slower kit lens.

[wchen]

Enough has been said about its so-so built quality, enough has been said about its harsh out-of-focus hightlight, but we never say enough for what a little germ it is.

 

Let it do what it can do and we have so much fun. I would like to join the chorus for the 50mm f1.8D. These days I am playing with it as a manual lens :).

[wchen]

Sorry, it should be "a little gem". But you would be likely to be infected with this little gem if you play with it. :)

[Rene11664880918]

David... Really nice thread! The list of things you learn is great. It would be nice if everyone just starting would pay attention to those little details so the learning process would be shorter.

 

My own experience is that a 50 prime is the best way to learn and its so cheap. I don't understand why some people think they are not.

 

wish you lot of fun! Rene'

[robertbody]

David, nice pictures, good job... you're definately getting your money's worth out of that lens.

<br><br>

Sooner or later you should invest into a 60mm/2.8 macro or a 105mm/2.8 macro (look at www.BhPhotoVideo.com or Adorama for good prices and service). The world of macros is really a special one.

<br>

<img src="http://robertbody.com/ontario/images/2007-09-30-oak-bee-4820.jpg">

<br>

This picture is with Nikkor 105mm/2.8 macro.

More of my <a href="http://robertbody.com/geo/special/flowers/previews.html">Flowers</a>.

You cannot get closer than 18" (1.5ft) with your 50mm/1.8. You need a "macro" lens to get you into a 1:1 and thereabout magnification ratio for closeups.

<br><br>

Portraits are great with the 50mm/1.8....

<br>and then there is nature

<br><br>

<img src="http://robertbody.com/panoramic08/images/2008-05-26-sup-sunset-0156sp.jpg">

[andy_galvez1]

good pictures david

[dennis_oconnor4]

David, good job...

 

Yes, you cannot manually focus on butterflies, etc. up close because they move too often. What I have always done is pick a likely plant where they will land, focus on it and wait... Now usually the critter will land on one side or the other, and usually not exactly where I am focused - and refocusing will likely lose the shot as the critter will flit away before I can rock the focus ring back and forth enough times to satisfy my perfection instincts, so I simply lean forward <or back, as needed> an inch, and shoot without trying to check the focus... 9 times out of 10 the focus will be right on the critter...

 

Just a suggestion.

 

cheers ... denny

[ilkka_nissila]

The 50mm f/1.8 is a really nice lens. The only problem with it is that it can get you hooked on high image quality, and to get that kind of quality at other focal lengths can cost a lot! But it's nice to see people enjoying these classic single focal length lenses.

[keerthi]

Hi!Everybody,

Talking of macro photography,reverse mounting the 50,f/1.8 should give great results.Is there a reverse mounting accessory that facilitates metering available somewhere?I've been doing it with my manual film camera,of course without metering and getting some good pics.

[mike_ferber]

You're well on your way to more fun! I like photography a lot. So many times I will set up for a picture and it comes out crummy, no matter how many shots of the subject. Then some quickie shots that you shoot on impulse come out so much better. The nice thing about digital, the images are free. BTW, here's a shot I took with my 50/1.8D just the other day. It's not a macro, but you can get fairly close... Mike

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

Congratulations David,

 

looks like you had fun discovering the lens on the camera. Lovely shots - -

 

Lil :)