Lens for Nikon D3300

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yogyog0

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I am looking to purchase a 50mm lens for a Nikon D3300. However, I am getting contrasting information. Some sources say that the Nikon D3300 is not a full frame camera so if I buy a 50mm it will act like a 75mm, and that I should buy a 35mm, as it will act as a 50mm.

Could someone please clear this up for me.

Thanks in advance!
 
The sensor on the D3300 is 1.5x smaller than a full frame so the field of view will be about the same as the figures you have quoted. Choose the lens you want based on the angle of view you want in your camera.
What do you want to photograph with the lens and how much space have you got to play with?
 
If you had a full frame camera with a 50mm lens on, and your APS-C sensor D3300 with a 35mm lens on side by side, you will get a very similar field of view.

If you then put the 50mm lens on your D3300, you would need to put a 75mm lens on the full frame camera to get a similar view of view.

This is all well and good if you're used to using a full frame camera with a 50mm lens on, but if you aren't then it doesn't mean an awful lot to you. The good news is that it doesn't necessarily have to, do you currently have any lenses, perhaps an 18-55mm kit lens? If so try zooming to 35 and take a picture, then zoom to 50 and take a picture. Compare the 2 and see if you'd prefer the 35 or the 50. There's not really an awful lot more to it than that.

If you don't mind me asking, what is it that originally made you want a 50mm lens? If its because 50mm is often referred to as close to the human eye, this tends to harp back to the days of 135 film which is the same size as having a full frame sensor now (and therefore still rings true if you have a full frame camera). If you're using a smaller sensor, a wider angle is required for the same view, hence the 35mm lens being popular among people with crop sensor cameras.

The good news is that Nikon make a great little 35mm 1.8 lens for not a great amount of money. You'll only need the cheaper DX version for your camera. If you still want the 50mm lens, you need to make sure you get an AF-S version and not the AF-D version. The AF-D version will take photographs on your camera but will be manual focus only.
 
Karl.t1965 said:
The sensor on the D3300 is 1.5x smaller than a full frame so the field of view will be about the same as the figures you have quoted. Choose the lens you want based on the angle of view you want in your camera.
What do you want to photograph with the lens and how much space have you got to play with?
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Nitpicking i know but the apsc sensor is actually about half the size of the 24x36 sensor or 2x smaller in your words ;)
 
andy1868 said:
If you had a full frame camera with a 50mm lens on, and your APS-C sensor D3300 with a 35mm lens on side by side, you will get a very similar field of view.

If you then put the 50mm lens on your D3300, you would need to put a 75mm lens on the full frame camera to get a similar view of view.

This is all well and good if you're used to using a full frame camera with a 50mm lens on, but if you aren't then it doesn't mean an awful lot to you. The good news is that it doesn't necessarily have to, do you currently have any lenses, perhaps an 18-55mm kit lens? If so try zooming to 35 and take a picture, then zoom to 50 and take a picture. Compare the 2 and see if you'd prefer the 35 or the 50. There's not really an awful lot more to it than that.

If you don't mind me asking, what is it that originally made you want a 50mm lens? If its because 50mm is often referred to as close to the human eye, this tends to harp back to the days of 135 film which is the same size as having a full frame sensor now (and therefore still rings true if you have a full frame camera). If you're using a smaller sensor, a wider angle is required for the same view, hence the 35mm lens being popular among people with crop sensor cameras.

The good news is that Nikon make a great little 35mm 1.8 lens for not a great amount of money. You'll only need the cheaper DX version for your camera. If you still want the 50mm lens, you need to make sure you get an AF-S version and not the AF-D version. The AF-D version will take photographs on your camera but will be manual focus only.
Click to expand...
:agree::plus1:
 
@Karl.t1965 I'm new to photography and live in London, so to practice I'v been looking to start with street photography, a 50mm lens was suggested to me.
@andy1868 I have the 18-55mm kit lens, and I'v compared them both and prefer the photos at 50mm as they are a lot clearer, but 35mm gets more into the photo. What would you suggest. Or would you suggest I stick with the kit lens, or something else entirely.
 
yogyog0 said:
@Karl.t1965 I'm new to photography and live in London, so to practice I'v been looking to start with street photography, a 50mm lens was suggested to me.
@andy1868 I have the 18-55mm kit lens, and I'v compared them both and prefer the photos at 50mm as they are a lot clearer, but 35mm gets more into the photo. What would you suggest. Or would you suggest I stick with the kit lens, or something else entirely.
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If in doubt dont buy. Wait till you get a more clear idea of what you like to shoot, how and with which focal lenght. 18-55 is a great range for streets.
 
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Agree with Soeren, you are just starting out, the kit 18-55 would be a great place to start for street work, buy a used one, use it for a while and then you can have a look back through the shots you have taken and get a good idea of the focal lengths you have shot at most, then maybe consider a suitable prime or an upgrade zoom lens
 
yogyog0 said:
@Karl.t1965 I'm new to photography and live in London, so to practice I'v been looking to start with street photography, a 50mm lens was suggested to me.
@andy1868 I have the 18-55mm kit lens, and I'v compared them both and prefer the photos at 50mm as they are a lot clearer, but 35mm gets more into the photo. What would you suggest. Or would you suggest I stick with the kit lens, or something else entirely.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately there's no right or wrong answer on that one, as its down to a personal preference. As Soeren said above, i wouldn't necessarily buy anything until you were certain or at least more sure of what you'd like.

If you're new and you're a little more anxious about shooting on the street, especially people, being further away may be more beneficial as you can be physically further away. There are upsides and downsides to that are as you say, a 50 is more zoomed in so you get less in the photograph, but if you're trying to highlight one thing that's great. You do get a certain look from being further away from people though, which may or may not be to your tastes. Its less intrusive to your subject which is beneficial, but there can be a distance not just physically but subjectively between you and the subject.

If you're after some background or context of the surroundings then something wider is beneficial so the 35 would be better. If you're shooting people with a 35 on the street you're going to need to be closer which means you're more likely to get some interaction from your subject for better or for worse.

If you're shooting in daylight i would recommend having a crack with the zoom lens more, even maybe going to far as to go out on a photography outing and keep the lens to 35mm for the whole day, then do the same with 50mm and see which you like the most. You also have the luxury of trying wider if you'd like too, I personally really like 23mm on crop but granted I don't do an awful lot of street, my genre on the street would probably fall more under holiday snaps or tourism which means i'm less likely to get a smack for shoving a camera in somebodies face :D

I don't shoot as much street as I'd like, so i don't profess to be an expert on that subject (or any subject for that matter :LOL: ) so please take my advice with a bunch of salt. I daresay somebody will be along in a minute with a wildly different, but equally valid say on the subject :D
 
yogyog0 said:
@andy1868
@soeren
@Karl.t1965

I went out on Saturday following your advise, using the kit lens. I seemed to always be zooming into 55 to take my photos, so I got the subject and little distractions.

Will keep with the kit lens for a while longer till I get a better understanding.
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Sounds like you're gaining a preference then, which is great news as you know a little more about what you like :cool:

Just to confuse things a little more then, do you ever feel like you could do with a little more zoom past the 55mm? It may be that you like to be really zoomed in and may enjoy a telephoto lens in addition to your current 18-55. I haven't used any of the Nikon telephotos but they seem to enjoy decent reputations without breaking the bank too badly. There's the 55-200mm VR and a few different versions of the 70-300mm VR, as well as the 55-300 VR. Tamron also do a nice stabilised 70-300 which is the VC version. While most of these lenses will work with your camera, its worth just being a little careful when looking as some of the older 70-210/70-300 lenses won't autofocus :)
 
I thought of that as well, may be I need above 55mm. Sometimes you see something to photograph at the right moment but aren't close enough for the lens to capture.

I still think I need to spend a bit longer at it, with this lens and see if I make any other observations of how i'm taking photos. Going to push myself to get a bit closer too.

Will report after a few more outings.

Thanks guys! :)
 
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