Quick portrait query

mattchewone

mattchewone

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Matt
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I'm Going to be buying a mk2 nifty fifty this week hopefully, I was wondering of you was filling the frame with the upper body of a subject what aperture would you use to get a crisp photo? Would it be lower than that of my 17-85mm is kit lens?

I think what I'm getting at is do you think for portraiture that the nifty would be better than my kit lens because it has wider aperture (I think that's the right wording)?

Regards
Matt
 
I have a very similar lens selection to you and the same body.. if I was filling the frame with an upper body shot I'd choose the 17-85mm over the 50mm. Whilst the 17-85mm can underwhelm in natural light, it's not a bad lens at all when you throw some flash into the mix and the focal length gives a more natural portrait (to me, other opinions exist).

If you want a crisp photo you'll need some depth of field, opening up with something like the nifty fifty will reduce the depth of field and reduce the overall crispness. Unless I'm misinterpreting your use of "crispness".
 
That's fair enough I think I'll keep with the kit lens and see how I get on after my background arrives. I don't think with flash there will be any need to open up the aperture wide enough to warrant the need for the nifty fifty.

Although I think it maybe handy at a later date for natural light shots.
 
The 50 1.8 is often recommended for portraits on a crop camera as the focal length is about right (perhaps a tad shorter than ideal) and the low f/number allows you to throw the background out of focus and make the subject stand out more.

In a studio situation though, backgrounds are usually plain anyway so no point in blurring them, and you may struggle to get the flash power down low enough to shoot at f/1.8.

Depth of field will be the same, f/number for f/number, as your 17-85 when set at 50mm. Calculate your exact DoF here http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html
 
Nifty fifty 50mm 1.8 as mentioned be beautiful lens either on dx with crop factor giving you 75mm

There pretty cheap to buy also if it's Nikon you shoot they brought out a new g lens few months back under 200 pounds good reviews
 
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