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11/19/2011 02:49:25 PM · #1 |
Haha, I made a surprising discovery last night that the 50mm portrait lens is actually quite a nifty sports lens too!
I am a photographer for my college's newspaper and last night I was assigned to take pictures of a Basketball game (Davis v Stanford) for the first time. So I grabbed the newspapers 70-200mm 2.8L, and then grabbed my own 50mm as an after thought, and headed out.
Well I was sitting right underneath the basket, and quickly discovered that 70mm was not nearly wide enough, and ended up shooting the entire night with just my 50mm! I was shocked with how decent the pictures came out! It was so funny sitting next to all these other professional photographers with their massive lenses, and there I was not even using my massive lens and using a tiny one instead.
I didn't get any super amazing shots, because we kinda got stomped by Stanford and didn't have any great plays. But I am still happy with the results.
    
These are completely unedited by the way.
Message edited by author 2011-11-19 14:49:53. |
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11/19/2011 03:32:56 PM · #2 |
Good job  Fiora! That'll show them L-series lenses that they're not all that and a bag of chips! :-) But then it was the fastest lens in your arsenal, so why not use it?
It is fun, and a good idea imnsho, to experiment with your lenses and use them for the *wrong* reasons. I shot a recent 5th place image with my 300mm f4, a shot which is essentially a macro, and handheld no less. I've also shot wildlife with my 50mm f1.8. I've shot snowbarders and skaters with the wide-angle lens. And the 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 has shot all of the above, and is my event lens. |
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11/19/2011 06:11:09 PM · #3 |
| Those look great, Kristina! I use my 50 1.4 for most indoor games too, especially when the refs let me on the floor and there's a lot of action (too slow to move around a bulky 200mm). Nice work : ) |
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11/19/2011 09:00:43 PM · #4 |
That's very nice shooting. W/B is good in those too . Sometimes that's tricky with indoor lighting.
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11/20/2011 02:56:10 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by MelonMusketeer:
That's very nice shooting. W/B is good in those too . Sometimes that's tricky with indoor lighting. |
+1 |
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11/20/2011 04:35:30 AM · #6 |
| What's the crop on your rebel? 1.6x so your 50 is like an 85mm on a full frame, I love my 85 1.8 so sharp and fast but think the 70-200 2.8 on a full frame would have given you that width you wanted, but the nifty 50 and the 1.4 are cracking lenses. My mates got the 50 L and that's lovely but very thin dof at 1.2 |
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11/20/2011 06:49:14 AM · #7 |
Good shooting fiora that 50mm lens is a bomb :)
I,m looking at getting a 35mm soon
Message edited by author 2011-11-20 06:51:00. |
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11/20/2011 03:34:01 PM · #8 |
How did I miss this thread?
When I do my indoor photography photos, my 50mm 1.8 is all I use.
I think it works absolutely brilliantly. Only issue that I have is that my 50mm is not an AF-S model so I don't have auto focus with my D40. Other than that, the photos come out tack sharp.
Wonderful images you have here. What is your white balance set up as? I would love to know because my white balance is always the roughest part for me. |
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11/22/2011 03:09:25 AM · #9 |
Originally posted by Aperture_Ready:
Good shooting fiora that 50mm lens is a bomb :)
I,m looking at getting a 35mm soon |
If you're not looking to go FF soon, you might consider the Sigma 30 1.4. I'm loving mine. If I remember correctly it creates a vignette that is just too impractical to use on a FF, but I haven't mounted it to my F100 for double exposures in awhile, so I might be wrong.
In a similar vein, I really like my 85 1.8 for moderate tele stuff and sports. AF is plenty fast and accurate, sharpness is great.
Message edited by author 2011-11-22 03:10:14. |
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11/22/2011 04:51:50 AM · #10 |
Originally posted by spiritualspatula:
Originally posted by Aperture_Ready:
Good shooting fiora that 50mm lens is a bomb :)
I,m looking at getting a 35mm soon |
If you're not looking to go FF soon, you might consider the Sigma 30 1.4. I'm loving mine. If I remember correctly it creates a vignette that is just too impractical to use on a FF, but I haven't mounted it to my F100 for double exposures in awhile, so I might be wrong.
In a similar vein, I really like my 85 1.8 for moderate tele stuff and sports. AF is plenty fast and accurate, sharpness is great. |
I am going FF but not sure when money is tight and d700 arent cheap right now i think i,ll stick too my d300 for the time been
Message edited by author 2011-11-22 04:52:38. |
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11/22/2011 05:45:06 AM · #11 |
| My canon mount sigma 30mm 1.4 s for aps-c sized sensors only won't it ona full frame body it's like the equivelant of ef-s in the canon range |
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11/22/2011 06:32:15 AM · #12 |
Originally posted by Giles_uk:
My canon mount sigma 30mm 1.4 s for aps-c sized sensors only won't it ona full frame body it's like the equivelant of ef-s in the canon range |
I'm not sure if it's true of all Nikon, but most allow you to mount, (edit to clarify- you can mount all dx lenses to an FX body... what I meant by "some" is that some FX bodies automatically select the image circle and disable the rest of the sensor... not sure which all do this though) just you have a severe vignette (typically.. not always) and you can actually limit the camera so it only takes smaller resolution pics that only use the image circle. With EFS vs EF the lens protrudes into the body and will actually damage internals unless you modify the lens, but this is not true of Nikons, which allow you to mount most anything from way back way, though you may lose metering and AF on some bodies. For the Sigma 30 1.4 on Nikon, you can mount it on a FF fine. Just verified on my F100- I tried to take photos through the viewfinder but that proved a bit difficult. Wide open, it vignettes a bit but not horrible. I only have film examples of what it looks like though and I'm not going to burn a roll just for this-
These aren't wide open, but relatively close. I'm pretty sure the dog was shot around f2.2 as was my girlfriend in the other, and the vignette isn't prohibitively strong. You'll have to disregard the second exposures in the photos, I don't recall what they were shot at.... (btw, these are straight from camera)
 
Message edited by author 2011-11-22 06:38:33. |
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11/22/2011 10:00:41 AM · #13 |
Originally posted by mbrutus2009:
How did I miss this thread?
When I do my indoor photography photos, my 50mm 1.8 is all I use.
I think it works absolutely brilliantly. Only issue that I have is that my 50mm is not an AF-S model so I don't have auto focus with my D40. Other than that, the photos come out tack sharp.
Wonderful images you have here. What is your white balance set up as? I would love to know because my white balance is always the roughest part for me. |
+1. Besides being fast, it's especially good as the lens length is very short so it's unobtrusive and not intimidating. Some people think there's no way you could be a serious photog with such a teeny li'l lens and hence are more likely to ignore you. Which is great, imho!
re the WB...fwiw, if I'm shooting in mixed lighting with at least 2 different types of light, I usually go to Auto. And if that doesn't work, and colour is not terribly important, I'll shoot in b/w :-) |
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11/22/2011 01:40:02 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by snaffles:
Originally posted by mbrutus2009:
How did I miss this thread?
When I do my indoor photography photos, my 50mm 1.8 is all I use.
I think it works absolutely brilliantly. Only issue that I have is that my 50mm is not an AF-S model so I don't have auto focus with my D40. Other than that, the photos come out tack sharp.
Wonderful images you have here. What is your white balance set up as? I would love to know because my white balance is always the roughest part for me. |
+1. Besides being fast, it's especially good as the lens length is very short so it's unobtrusive and not intimidating. Some people think there's no way you could be a serious photog with such a teeny li'l lens and hence are more likely to ignore you. Which is great, imho!
re the WB...fwiw, if I'm shooting in mixed lighting with at least 2 different types of light, I usually go to Auto. And if that doesn't work, and colour is not terribly important, I'll shoot in b/w :-) |
Yeah my 70-200 2.8 is a beast and sticks out when i,m in the city i,d like too have the small lens as you said its notunobtrustive..Gord plus it can get very heavy after awhile
Message edited by author 2011-11-22 13:40:22. |
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11/22/2011 02:27:30 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by Aperture_Ready:
Originally posted by snaffles:
Originally posted by mbrutus2009:
How did I miss this thread?
When I do my indoor photography photos, my 50mm 1.8 is all I use.
I think it works absolutely brilliantly. Only issue that I have is that my 50mm is not an AF-S model so I don't have auto focus with my D40. Other than that, the photos come out tack sharp.
Wonderful images you have here. What is your white balance set up as? I would love to know because my white balance is always the roughest part for me. |
+1. Besides being fast, it's especially good as the lens length is very short so it's unobtrusive and not intimidating. Some people think there's no way you could be a serious photog with such a teeny li'l lens and hence are more likely to ignore you. Which is great, imho!
re the WB...fwiw, if I'm shooting in mixed lighting with at least 2 different types of light, I usually go to Auto. And if that doesn't work, and colour is not terribly important, I'll shoot in b/w :-) |
Yeah my 70-200 2.8 is a beast and sticks out when i,m in the city i,d like too have the small lens as you said its notunobtrustive..Gord plus it can get very heavy after awhile |
agree 100% with the comments about size and usability of a 50mm 1.4 compared to a big 70-200. But does anyone else find that the 50mm does not focus very fast, or if you use servo mode to try and track a moving subject (I use it in low light concert photography) it cant keep up as well as the 70-200 2.8?? |
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12/08/2011 02:19:05 AM · #16 |
Originally posted by ray_mefarso:
Originally posted by Aperture_Ready:
Originally posted by snaffles:
Originally posted by mbrutus2009:
How did I miss this thread?
When I do my indoor photography photos, my 50mm 1.8 is all I use.
I think it works absolutely brilliantly. Only issue that I have is that my 50mm is not an AF-S model so I don't have auto focus with my D40. Other than that, the photos come out tack sharp.
Wonderful images you have here. What is your white balance set up as? I would love to know because my white balance is always the roughest part for me. |
+1. Besides being fast, it's especially good as the lens length is very short so it's unobtrusive and not intimidating. Some people think there's no way you could be a serious photog with such a teeny li'l lens and hence are more likely to ignore you. Which is great, imho!
re the WB...fwiw, if I'm shooting in mixed lighting with at least 2 different types of light, I usually go to Auto. And if that doesn't work, and colour is not terribly important, I'll shoot in b/w :-) |
Yeah my 70-200 2.8 is a beast and sticks out when i,m in the city i,d like too have the small lens as you said its notunobtrustive..Gord plus it can get very heavy after awhile |
agree 100% with the comments about size and usability of a 50mm 1.4 compared to a big 70-200. But does anyone else find that the 50mm does not focus very fast, or if you use servo mode to try and track a moving subject (I use it in low light concert photography) it cant keep up as well as the 70-200 2.8?? |
Ray,
Agree with your comments on slow AF for moving subjects, particularly coming straight at you. I think the 70-200 would be much better in that regard, I know my 24-70 f/2.8 is much better for AF (for what I paid it better be) than my 50mm f/1.8. On the other hand, some of my very first shots were of a Western Kentucky University (not as a student, but future husband of one) basketball game with my new 50mm f/1.8. I was impressed at the very least. The 50mm lens is the one thing you should never be without.
Message edited by author 2011-12-08 02:21:06. |
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