Silly question #1 Lenses

[alltaken]

As I may have mentioned in my intro post, I'm a complete noob to anything beyond point and shoot though I'm starting to grasp some of the basics from experimenting (exposure triangle etc).

I plan to stick to the 18-55mm lens that came with my camera for now and just enjoy taking pictures and experimenting with all the settings.

In future though, I know I'll need to add some lenses to my kit (and learn how to use them) if I hope to take the kind of pictures that I want, which will mainly be portraits of my family, scenery and nature.

Am I right in thinking that I'll need a wide aperture lens (for indoors and to soften background), a narrower aperture lens (to keep the entire landscape in focus) and a telephoto lens?

If so, could any of the kind members suggest lenses that will fit the bill, bearing in mind that I will have to work on a budget? I go to a lot of car boot sales, and do sometimes see lenses that look to be in good nick.

Will be grateful for any advice from someone who knows more than I do, which is everyone.

 

[TCR4x4]

The first part is right, but all lenses are capable of narrow apertures, so you don't necessarily need two different lenses.
Something like a 35mm f/1.8 will be perfect for portraits, but can double up as a good landscape lens.

I doubt you'd find much at a car boot, with your camera, unless you want to be restricted to manual focus only, you need AF-S lenses, and the chances of any of those turning up at a car boot is pretty slim.

You might find an odd one or two classic f mount lenses, but TBH unless you know what you are looking for, it could be a big waste of money.

 

[ACW]

Am I right in thinking that I'll need a wide aperture lens (for indoors and to soften background)

^ Yes correct, it's called having a narrow DOF (Depth of field)

a narrower aperture lens (to keep the entire landscape in focus)

^ Correct theory, but basically all lenses will narrow the aperture to an extremely small size. The thing that distinguishes them is how wide they will go. Even the widest of lenses can then go back down to a small opening. So you don't specifically need a lens with a small aperture.

telephoto lens?

^ If you've only got a mid range lens then a telephoto would be useful if you basically need more zoom.

What do you like to shoot? That will answer whether you need a long lens.

You can also get telephoto lenses that have wide apertures as well, but these tend to be very expensive!

For a starter lens, especially as you like portraits I would recommend a 50mm lens with an aperture of 1.8. (Known as a 50mm f/1.8 or nifty fifty).

This will give you this kind of background blur.


Juliet by ACW#, on Flickr
^Note that this was taken at an aperture of 2.2, being at 1.8 would effectively make the background even more blurred.

Welcome to TP and hope this helps!

Look forwards to seeing some of your images soon.

I'd recommend you setting yourself up a Flickr account if you don't already have one

edit- be careful buying second hand lenses at this kind of fairs. on the off chance you find one with AF for your DSLR, I'd make sure you know what to look out for to spot a dodgy lens from a good one.

 

[alltaken]

Thanks for info ACW, just what I was looking for.

I didn't consider that a lens will close to a small aperture anyway (where's the embarrassed smiley). The nifty fifty sounds like it should be the first one I look for.

Agree, I will need to be careful at the car boot, as after reading a thread on the forum, it seems even a boxed as new looking lens can have a fault you won't see until you try it on the camera. Perhaps better to buy new or from a reliable source until I know better.

Thanks again.

PS: Lovely pic.

 

[ACW]

Thanks for info ACW, just what I was looking for.

I didn't consider that a lens will close to a small aperture anyway (where's the embarrassed smiley). The nifty fifty sounds like it should be the first one I look for.

Agree, I will need to be careful at the car boot, as after reading a thread on the forum, it seems even a boxed as new looking lens can have a fault you won't see until you try it on the camera. Perhaps better to buy new or from a reliable source until I know better.

Thanks again.

PS: Lovely pic.

No problem, happy to help

and as lens prices go, a second hand 50mm 1.8 can be had for around the £50/60 pound mark and new are about £75 from a dealer on here I think? (Maybe Kerso in the advertising section?) Might just be Canon though, you'd have to check. The image quality per £ makes this lens very cheap and very good. A great introduction into wide apertures.

When reading bad reviews just bear in mind you don't hear about all the good purchases of second hand lenses that get made every day!

 

[Bambi72]

Your 18-55 will go down to f3.5 (assuming its much like the canon kit lens) which will still give you some nice background blur if you get a little distance between your subject and the background.
You are starting off on the right foot by saying you want to experiment with all the settings, you will be surprised how many excellent and different photo's you can take with just one basic kit lens. The 18-55 goes wide enough to take some nice landscape shots and at the other end its pretty good for portraits.

Personally I find a 50mm on a crop sensor camera to be a bit close for indoor parties/family events but on a budget they are one of the cheapest primes you can get.

My advise, use your kit lens until you find out what it cant to what you want it to, then get something that can. You will be surprised what you can get from them.

RE Car booties, take your camera and try them out, if the seller wont let you you know its a duff.

 

[TCR4x4]

No problem, happy to help

and as lens prices go, a second hand 50mm 1.8 can be had for around the £50/60 pound mark and new are about £75 from a dealer on here I think? (Maybe Kerso in the advertising section?) Might just be Canon though, you'd have to check. The image quality per £ makes this lens very cheap and very good. A great introduction into wide apertures.

When reading bad reviews just bear in mind you don't hear about all the good purchases of second hand lenses that get made every day!

A second hand Nikon 50mm f/1.8 can be bought for about £70, but it won't autofocus on the OP'S camera. As I said in my original post, they will need AF-S lenses to retain autofocus. The AF-S 50mm is considerably more. The 35mm f/1.8 I recommended in my first post would be much more suitable for your camera, is cheaper and will overal be more usefull than a 50mm which is usually to long for indoor shooting. N

 

[wontolla]

RE Car booties, take your camera and try them out, if the seller wont let you you know its a duff.

Not really a good idea taking a nice shiny new camera to a car boot sale!
Unless you take someone rather large along too!

 

[ACW]

A second hand Nikon 50mm f/1.8 can be bought for about £70, but it won't autofocus on the OP'S camera. As I said in my original post, they will need AF-S lenses to retain autofocus. The AF-S 50mm is considerably more. The 35mm f/1.8 I recommended in my first post would be much more suitable for your camera, is cheaper and will overal be more usefull than a 50mm which is usually to long for indoor shooting. N

Thanks TCR4X4 totally forgot about the nikon AF motor in camera thing, was generalizing from my experience with Canon. I presumed they both had a relatively cheap nifty fifty.

 

[alltaken]

Whoops, I completely missed your reply earlier TCR4X4, very rude of me. Thank you everyone for the info. Something to chew over.