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Prime Lens - need help 
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Hello all

I am looking for a prime lens for my 400d. I have narrowed it down to 2

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00005K47X/r ... YP75&psc=1

or

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0089SWZDU/r ... JE2JCD4K1S

It is mainly for portraits.

Question is which do you think is better for the job given the different focal lengths, apertures etc

Thank you

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Wed Dec 10, 2014 8:43 am
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I'd go for the 50mm.

It is interesting. When I learnt photography the common wisdom was 90mm or 110mm for portraits.

Good, 50mm is no longer the same as 50mm on a film camera, but it is interesting that the size has come down.

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Wed Dec 10, 2014 9:21 am
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The 50mm.
The 40mm is nice, but the 50mm is great.
The 85mm on a full frame is great.

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Wed Dec 10, 2014 8:40 pm
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big_D wrote:
Good, 50mm is no longer the same as 50mm on a film camera,
What? (8+\

Mark

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All I know so far is that Mark, Jimmy Olsen and Peter Parker use Nikon and everybody else seems to use Canon.
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Wed Dec 10, 2014 10:48 pm
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James, you could up the focal length and the aperture as well, I have a 120mm f/4 lens that takes beautiful portraits.
Of the ones you picked, I'd probably go for the 50mm over the 40mm.

Mark

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okenobi wrote:
All I know so far is that Mark, Jimmy Olsen and Peter Parker use Nikon and everybody else seems to use Canon.
ShockWaffle wrote:
Well you obviously. You're a one man vortex of despair.


Wed Dec 10, 2014 10:53 pm
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I have ordered the 50mm. Reviews I have read say it gives really good pics for the price.

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Thu Dec 11, 2014 8:35 am
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I've been reading up about this and it boils down to the issue around APS-C and FF. The angle of view is different and you can get differences in things like bokeh. Eg f/2 on that lens would be f/3.2

In the end, it got so confusing. The best advice was just to use what you need eg portraits -use 80mm or 100mm macro.

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Thu Dec 11, 2014 9:22 am
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This lens will give me 80mm on my camera. None of the reviews ever mention the aperture changes. Will see how it goes.

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Thu Dec 11, 2014 10:11 am
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timark_uk wrote:
big_D wrote:
Good, 50mm is no longer the same as 50mm on a film camera,
What? (8+\

Mark
look up 35mm equivalent focal length. Because the sensor on a digital camera is not the same as a 35mm film frame, the amount of cropping on the frame is different. So 50mm on a Nikon APS-C sensor is equivalent to something in the region of 70-75mm on a 35mm film body.

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Thu Dec 11, 2014 2:53 pm
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It's a canon so crop factor is 1.6, not nikon's 1.5.

James, from what I recall reading about this, crop factor didn't matter too much. If you wanted the effects of 80mm lens, you used it irrespective of FF/APSC.

I have the plastic-fantastic nifty-fifty and whilst it's great fun, I wonder what the f/1.4 would have been like.

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Thu Dec 11, 2014 5:43 pm
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big_D wrote:
timark_uk wrote:
big_D wrote:
Good, 50mm is no longer the same as 50mm on a film camera,
What? (8+\
look up 35mm equivalent focal length. Because the sensor on a digital camera is not the same as a 35mm film frame, the amount of cropping on the frame is different. So 50mm on a Nikon APS-C sensor is equivalent to something in the region of 70-75mm on a 35mm film body.
Yeah, I know all that, but your post made no mention of crop sensors.
Also, you are misleading when you say "Because the sensor on a digital camera is not the same as a 35mm film frame" because my digital camera has a full-frame sensor, so there's no crop factor involved.
There's increasingly more and more full-frame sensor cameras on the market these days.

Mark

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okenobi wrote:
All I know so far is that Mark, Jimmy Olsen and Peter Parker use Nikon and everybody else seems to use Canon.
ShockWaffle wrote:
Well you obviously. You're a one man vortex of despair.


Fri Dec 12, 2014 12:02 am
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I must have missed something,Mark... what model have you got now?

Back on topic, I was always told that the 50mm forces you to frame your shots more carefully. Mine certainly did, and I still say it's my favourite lens on the NIkon D90.

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Fri Dec 12, 2014 7:01 pm
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The 50mm got delivered today. Shall try it out later on

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Mon Dec 15, 2014 2:01 pm
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james016 wrote:
The 50mm got delivered today. Shall try it out later on


Good choice. I'll expect your entry for the photo comp soon then ;)

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