£300 Which Lens - Portaits, Gigs, General

Steven001

Steven001

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Steven
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I thought about upgrading form the D40 to something like the D90, but instead I'm thinking of just getting decent lens. Right now I have standard 18-55mm and a 55-200mm. I'm looking for something which will be good for Portraits, gigs and general usage. Something ~f/2.8?

Thanks,
Steven
 
Portraits are not really my thing, but as i've been looking into Macro lenses a lot of people seem to also use them as portrait lenses eg Tamron 90mm, Canon 100m. Not sure about AF speed of them or gig usage, maybe others can help.
 
50mm f1.4

Primes deliver exceptional quality and this 50mm f1.4 is a real DIAMOND of a lens, you have the other focal lenghs covered for general use, I would recommend you get the 50mm f1.4 because it is a lens that you will never want to sell and you can start to build up from there maybe the 85mm f1.8 next or if you want wider you can try 35mm f2.0.

If you want a mid range zoom that you will 'maybe' replace with a better one in a couple of years then I would recommend the TAMRON 28-75 f2.8 it is a fantastic lens that fits right into your budget as does the 50mm f1.4

Happy hunting
 
akr said:
Portraits are not really my thing, but as i've been looking into Macro lenses a lot of people seem to also use them as portrait lenses eg Tamron 90mm, Canon 100m. Not sure about AF speed of them or gig usage, maybe others can help.
Click to expand...

I have considered this length, just concerned that it might be too long?

Marac said:
50mm f1.4

Primes deliver exceptional quality and this 50mm f1.4 is a real DIAMOND of a lens, you have the other focal lenghs covered for general use, I would recommend you get the 50mm f1.4 because it is a lens that you will never want to sell and you can start to build up from there maybe the 85mm f1.8 next or if you want wider you can try 35mm f2.0.

If you want a mid range zoom that you will 'maybe' replace with a better one in a couple of years then I would recommend the TAMRON 28-75 f2.8 it is a fantastic lens that fits right into your budget as does the 50mm f1.4

Happy hunting
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice. The 50mm 1.4 does seem to be a great lens, I just need to decide if I could get the use of it. I think if I wanted to get into portraits seriously that it might not be long enough? And for gig still too shot? I'm not to sure tbh as I have no experience using one.

I actually thought about the Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 it seems to fit my needs quite well. It would probably replace my kit lens for most uses; it's fast and has various uses.

50mm 1.4, Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 or Tamron 90mm macro :thinking:
 
second hand sigma 17-50 2.8 (WITH HSM version), great fast wide to normal zoom lens, and an old (think 1980s) nikon 50mm 1.8 (seeing as even the new one won't af with your d40)..... a great combo :)
 
Bearing in mind you actually have every focal length covered from 18-55mm go through your better photographs and see what focal length you are generally using most. Decide if you would benefit at that length or not from faster. The 28-70 is a good lens, as is the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 which I have grown to love, or the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8. I have the 35mm f2 which is excellent. Of course most lenses perform best when stopped down one or two stops and the 50mm at f1.4 might not be much use if you also need some depth of field. It's not really clear what you want to achieve.

Edit: oops just realised you have a D40 which restricts your choice a little, but principles above still apply.
 
digital rev are generally well thought of :) as are onestopdigital, if your thinking of buying from HK, - as for the lens, 50mm 1.4 is lovely, :) sharp, resonable focusing, much better made then the nifty, quite a nice length - if your in the pit for a gig, its a reasonable length for an upper body shot, however you may need more reach for a portrait/less reach for a full length shot... I end up having to change lenses alot :(
 
tamron 17-50 f2.8 is a great gig lens

I'd also recomend a sigma 30 f1.4 on crop as a 50 is quite long for gigs/more than one person
 
Steven001 said:
I thought about upgrading form the D40 to something like the D90, but instead I'm thinking of just getting decent lens. Right now I have standard 18-55mm and a 55-200mm. I'm looking for something which will be good for Portraits, gigs and general usage. Something ~f/2.8?

Thanks,
Steven
Click to expand...

Hi Steven,

You already have two "decent lenses".

I would encourage you to ask yourself why you need f/2.8 or a new lens. Have you pushed your current lenses to the limit? By which I mean, at a gig, ISO 1600, shutter 1/60, max aperture. If you have, are you unhappy with the results? If so, why are you unhappy? I could think of a few possible reasons - slow shutter speed = motion blur & camera shake, high ISO = noise. But it's quite feasible to get good results with the kit you have with good technique and a bit of thought. Have you tried experimenting with flash techniques? I'd like to see some photos you've taken illustrating the problems you're having with the current kit before recommending you purchase further kit. I've had a look at your blog but there's not much there to help me advise you.

Good photos are really made by good photographers rather than fast lenses.
 
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