Camera Lens help??

NellahBean

NellahBean

New member
I want a new lens for Christmas! My current lens is the standard 18-55mm that came with my Nikon camera and it now makes an extra click and shift sound after I depress the shutter. My dear, sweet husband dropped it a while back. :( I'm looking at getting a fixed 50mm lens but I don't really know what all the extras mean. What is f stop?And AF vs AF-S? And some have a G after the f stop and others have a D? What do all of these things mean? I'm so lost! I just want a great lens that will give me great photos without breaking the bank. Some of the 50mm lenses are $200 and others are $400. I don't know why the price difference is so large all because of a difference in the f#! Please enlighten me camera literate friends!!
 
I'm a photographer and switched from Canon to Nikon last year so feel free to ask me any questions you might have. BTW, for the money, the 50 is a great little lens. The F stop difference between the 50's is f/1.8, f/1.4 and I think the cheapest one is f/2.8. The build quality is better on the pricier ones and faster AF (autofocus) and f stop of 1.4 vs 2.8 means you can select focal point with a narrower depth of field (more bokeh) but for hobbyist use the cheaper one works just fine at a fraction of the cost of the others and produces a nice bokeh. I sold my canon 50 1.4 and haven't bought the Nikon version yet but am using a sigma 35 and I imagine the 50 is just as nice. That's another option, to buy an off brand like sigma or tamron who both have great products too. most of my lenses are Nikon b/c I am a pro photographer and try to get the best I can afford.
 
first off, what nikon dslr do you have? that will actually help determine what lens you can get. anything below the D7200 (i think) will need the more expensive lenses because the motor is in them and NOT the camera (which is AF vs AF-S). i was frustrated when i found that out. the f-stop means more light will be allowed (the smaller the number, like 1.4 or 1.8) and also give you more of the blur/bokeh. i didn't get any "photographer talk" of that until i moved from auto to manual mode.

also, have you thought of a 35 mm instead? that's the one i have & i love it. i went to get a 50 and someone suggested i just look at the 35. i was sold. we have a small space though so the 35 is perfect for my needs. i've convinced other friends to go to the 35 & they've sold their 50 lol
 
I personally wasn't really fond of the 50mm :( this last spring I went ahead and got a 18-135mm and I LOVE it!! It's great for close ups and for far away. I use it daily.
 
I love my prime lenses, I by far use the 35mm the most, but the 50mm is nice for when we're outside with more space! I want a zoom next when I have the funds. :-)
 
If you plan on using it inside, get a Sigma 30 mm 1.4 if you have a Canon. I kind of regret getting rid of mine. I sold it when I got a 24-70mm 2.8. I use that lens most often, but I also have a 50 mm 1.4 and an 85 mm 1.8, I got the 50 last year for Christmas and it's pretty much the only lens I use outside anymore.

I also had the 50 mm 1.8 that was around $100, It sucked. LOL! Slow, the focus crapped, I didn't like it.
 
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I use my 50 mm 1.4 the most but I really want a 35 mm too and a 70-200. But really if you're just looking for a great prime lens, the 50 1.8 is great. the 1.4 IS better, but but the 1.8 is great for those just wanting to take nice pics of their kids.
 
I have a 35 mm lens, and this is what I don't like about it: It takes terrible photos of 2+ people on auto. If you know how to use it on manual, it would probably be a great lens, but since I don't, I have hundreds of group photos where everyone is blurry except for one person.
 
I have the portrait lenses I need (for my biz) but what I really want now (but unfortunately it'll probably be on my wish list for quite awhile still) is a Sigma 50-500 for wildlife photography which is a big hobby of mine. I'd love the Nikon 400 but it's out of my price range.
 
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