Which prime? 35 f2, 50 f1.8 or 85 f1.8

[achuang]

Hi all,

I've been reading dcrp forums for quite a while and decided to join the community. I have a nikon D70S with the kit 18-70 lens, 60mm macro lens, and a cheap 70-300 tamron lens. I am looking for a fast lens (both focusing and aperture) for general no flash indoor shooting, indoor sports, and portaiture. I have tried shooting indoor basketball with my 60mm lens because being f2.8 it's the fastest lens i own, but it is very slow focusing as it's a macro lens. I planned to buy the 50 f1.8 but am having second thoughts because it seems like too much overlap with the 60mm macro. What do you guys think would be best for my usage? Another thought was instead of buying the 85 f1.8, buy the 50 f1.8 and save the rest of the money for a fast telephoto zoom. I don't have any fast telephotos.

Thanks in advance,

Andrew

[RichNY]

You can shoot all three focal lengths with the lenses you have now. Either set them to each of the lengths and shoot for a day or look at your Exif data for the shots you've been taking to find out what your own shooting habits are.

[jcon]

For portrait and indoor basketball(depending how close you can get), I would suggest the 85mm. Either that or save for the 70-200 2.8.

[achuang]

That's true about the focal lengths, but the apertures are very small in comparison to those primes. The lenses are at least at f/4 by the time it's zoomed to 35mm. Is it pointless to buy a 50mm if i already have a 60mm.

[ryan112ryan]

You can shoot all three focal lengths with the lenses you have now. Either set them to each of the lengths and shoot for a day or look at your Exif data for the shots you've been taking to find out what your own shooting habits are.

wow thats a smart idea, just makes too much sense

I like the 50mm f/1.8 amazing quality and amazing price

[achuang]

Thanks for the help guys. I think I might just get the 50 f/1.8 and save the rest of the money for a 70-200 f/2.8.

[rawpaw18]

I took my 70-200 to my sons basketball practice and found it a little long. We have a small gym, bleachers are only 6 rows high, and for the shots where the length was fine, the lighting so poor that at 1600iso and 2.8 I was still sometimes only getting 1/200 shutter speed, other parts of the gym around 1/400. I never put the SB800 flash on, that would definitely help, but it could cause some distractions to the players. I ended up shooting with my 50mm with some success. His first game is Friday, I'll try it all over again at game speed.

[cincyimages]

I just attended a Xavier Musketeers basketball game two nights ago and while I was leaning toward purchasing the 85mm prime, I found that when I set my 18-135mm lens to 50mm, it was zoomed in more than I needed. Now I was in row "J" and had really good seats but if you are in a High School gym, I can't imagine needing more than a 50mm prime.