Which lens to go for?

[westy79]

Been busy lately exploring my D40 but i really want to buy a new lens, especially with a trip to NY and Vegas fast approaching. I took the advice from you guys on this forum about seeing what type of shots i take in order to see what lens woulds suit my needs. I love taking pics of my dog either in action or when she is just lying around. My focal length always seems to be between 35 and 55mm, the latter my prefered choice to really blur the background. However using the kit lens does restrict me to capturing her when she moves alot so i have to crank up the iso to get a fast shutter, this is where i have been looking at the 35mm and 50mm afs primes. Im swayed towards the 50mm but sometimes it can be too close, i also take indoor shots and again 50mm may be too close when in smaller rooms. Are there any fast mid zooms which match the quality of the primes. To be honest i cant see me needing anything longer than 70mm.

Any suggestions

[K1W1]

My focal length always seems to be between 35 and 55mm, the latter my prefered choice to really blur the background.

Blurred background (brokeh) is a result of using a large aperture it has nothing really to do with focal length.

You haven't mentioned budget but in Nikon unless you want to go for a pro type lens the only real choice for a zoom you would be the 16-85VR.

For non Nikon a lot of people like the Sigma 17-70 lens.

For a prime I think a 35mm would be more useful overall than a 50mm from what you have described.

[Rooz]

Are there any fast mid zooms which match the quality of the primes.

no, not really. you;re safest bet is the 35/1.8 but the 50/1.4 will give you a more blurred background cos the field of view is narrower and its a 1/3 of a stop wider.

for zooms, you probably could look at a 2.8 zoom lens like the tamron 17-50 or sigma 18-50.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Or Nikon 24-70 F/2.8 or 28-70 F/2.8 if cash isn't an object

[Thronsen]

One of the best pieces of advice I have gotten on these boards is to get a flash for indoor shooting. Especially if its something that is unlikely to be disturbed by a flash. Would solve alot of your problems with needing to crank up the ISO and aperture, and you could use the lens you have.

A bought flash is alot different then the one that comes on your camera. Its more powerful, and you can bounce it off the ceiling for a more natural lighting angle.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Good point

[westy79]

Its a very difficult decision as im still learning and although i do take alot of shallow dof shots of my dog or action shots of her, im still inclined to take landscape shots too. The whole external flash thing is a whole new world to me, especially when i see Rooz's super shots with all the extra DIY gadgets. If i have to think about that along with everything else i may lose the plot!!!!!! I recently stayed in a cottage at The Lake district but all the internal shots of me and the wife looked dreadful. Soon as i used the cameras flash they looked horrible. At least if i can source a fast lens it may help my indoor shots before i think about an external flash.

[jcon]

If you have a large budget, get the Nikon 17-55 F2.8 and be happy.

[tim11]

Have you considered Sigma 18-50 F/2.8, Tamron 17-50 F/2.8? There is a new Tamron F/2.8 with VC just released as well.
You can shoot at 50 mm at wide and keep shallow DoF.

[westy79]

I read another post from a user on here who was really getting out of line. They were asking all sorts of questions about new lenses and cameras to replace his D40 just because they will get sharper shots. The sensible reply was "if you dont know what lens you need, you dont need one at all". Thats kind of how im feeling. After my first attempt with a tripod it has opened up new avenues and i am still learning with my D40 with kit lens. Although indoor shots with the kit lens is not great its a super lens/camera for starting out. I have taken note of all the lenses recommended and will wait till my limitations with the kit lens runs out.

[RichNY]

To be honest i cant see me needing anything longer than 70mm.


In NYC you want wide lenses for street shots and long lenses for people and buildings. You are not going to capture architectural detail on tall buildings with a 70mm lens. If you go up the Empire State building you will certainly want the longest lens possible to take shots.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Soon as i used the cameras flash they looked horrible. At least if i can source a fast lens it may help my indoor shots before i think about an external flash.

Thronsons advice is sound, a decent flash (eg SB600) will make much more difference to an indoor shot than a new lens. It's not difficult to do either, at it's simplest just mount it on the camera and the results will still be 200% better, even without then starting to think.