Nikon D850 - Help for a present

Hi Everyone, hope you are all keeping positive and testing negative!

 

Now that I've got the cheesy pleasantaries out the way, I was hoping the Nikon community could help me out.

 

First of all, I am a complete amateur with camera's and don't know what I'm talking about, which is why I need you guys.

 

My girlfriend on the other hand, she is a wedding photographer and has her own business in the NW of England. As Christmas is coming up, I would like to do something special for her.

She has often said before, when shooting weddings in the winter time, that she gets nervous about the amount of lighting she is able to capture when taking the pictures throughout the event.

I have asked around a few people already (who recommended me to come here) and they said that she may require a specific lens to capture more lighting when taking shots around winter time.

 

Is there any lens recommendations anyone can give me for this specific requirement on the Nikon D850? If you could also give me advice on where to find these lenses and how much they cost (I'm aware its a lot, not that much of an amateur so you won't shock me haha).  

 

Thankyou in advance everyone! 

Hi,

You plan to make a nice and expensive Christmas gift to your girlfriend.

If low light is an issue then you should pay attention to two factors:
1/ have a lens which offers a wide aperture to leave a maximum of light on (pay attention that aperture is expressed as 1/x, therefore a max aperture of 2.8 lets more light in than a max aperture of 4 f.i.)
2/ have a lens with Vibration Reduction (VR in the name for Nikon lenses, VC in the name of Tamron lenses, etc.)


Possibly she/you are looking for a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR lens ( https://www.bhphotov...0mm_f_2_8e.html ) which is quite versatile

But maybe she prefers to use prime lenses (lenses that do not zoom, but have a fixed focal length), which may have wider max apertures.

Therefore in order to give you good advice, we need to know
- what lense(s) she already has
- (if she has multiple lenses, which are her preferred ones)
- whether she prefers zoom lenses over lenses with fixed focal length

Maybe you want to have an « innocent » discussion with her about photography to learn what she is looking for.

Maybe an other avenue to explore would be better light support
with a proper flash? 

… just an idea.

As I read the original post, I was thinking lens or flash...during your innocent conversation you could find out what flash gear she has in addition to lenses...

I would lean toward a ''beauty dish reflector'' than a flash.  Of course if she doesn't have one, how about a Nikkor 135mm f2 D lens, also available in 105mm f2 D.

I would lean toward a ''beauty dish reflector'' than a flash.

… and what will light up the BD if not a flash, krag?

If she already has a good speedlight, a reasonably fast normal zoom (24-70/2.8) and a fast telezoom (70-200/2.8), a flash bracket might be the most useful thing you can get her. The problems with fast primes for weddings are that they are fixed in focal length, so one needs to move around to get the framing one wants and the depth of field is tiny when using wide apertures, so one usually has to close down to the f/2.8 region anyway.

 

Krag, the DC lenses are very specialised tools and the D850 tends to reveal some CA as soon as the DC ring is moved from the idle position. They suit more controlled environments better than the constantly changing conditions during a wedding.

Thanks for your advice mate, appreciate it! Next mission is to have this conversation with her so will be reporting back to you!  

I would lean toward a ''beauty dish reflector'' than a flash.  Of course if she doesn't have one, how about a Nikkor 135mm f2 D lens, also available in 105mm f2 D.

 

Thankyou! I'll look into this. Appreciate it

If she already has a good speedlight, a reasonably fast normal zoom (24-70/2.8) and a fast telecom (70-200/2.8), a flash bracket might be the most useful thing you can get her. The problems with fast primes for weddings are that they are fixed in focal length, so one needs to move around to get the framing one wants and the depth of field is tiny when using wide apertures, so one usually has to close down to the f/2.8 region anyway.

 

Krag, the DC lenses are very specialised tools and the D850 tends to reveal some CA as soon as the DC ring is moved from the idle position. They suit more controlled environments better than the constantly changing conditions during a wedding.

 

Thanks Merco! Will look into this

… and what will light up the BD if not a flash, krag?

The beauty dish can be on all the time, not dependent on flash.

If she already has a good speedlight, a reasonably fast normal zoom (24-70/2.8) and a fast telecom (70-200/2.8), a flash bracket might be the most useful thing you can get her. The problems with fast primes for weddings are that they are fixed in focal length, so one needs to move around to get the framing one wants and the depth of field is tiny when using wide apertures, so one usually has to close down to the f/2.8 region anyway.

 

Krag, the DC lenses are very specialised tools and the D850 tends to reveal some CA as soon as the DC ring is moved from the idle position. They suit more controlled environments better than the constantly changing conditions during a wedding.

Yes, they're a portrait lens. Very suitable for the pre and after ceremony portraits.  I figure she already has good zoom lenses, but maybe not a good portrait lens.

 

Yes, they're a portrait lens. Very suitable for the pre and after ceremony portraits.  I figure she already has good zoom lenses, but maybe not a good portrait lens.

They were very suitable in the D700 days. Using the defocus control on a high resolution body means lots of retouching work on every frame as the fringing will be noticeable at any aperture. In a studio setting it is possible to keep away from high contrast lighting, but wedding portraits are very often shot in less than ideal light. 

The beauty dish can be on all the time, not dependent on flash.

The interest of the BD — flash or continuous — is limited by its
distance to the subject, over that distance it is just an other re-
flector.

They were very suitable in the D700 days. Using the defocus control on a high resolution body means lots of retouching work on every frame as the fringing will be noticeable at any aperture. In a studio setting it is possible to keep away from high contrast lighting, but wedding portraits are very often shot in less than ideal light. 

High tech is ruining all the best of the old stuff!  I guess I won't even mention my 80-200 f2.8 D then as a viable option...

 

 

The interest of the BD — flash or continuous — is limited by its
distance to the subject, over that distance it is just an other re-
flector.

They do work very well to fill in a soft glow up close.  In a pinch once I made one out of a white pop-corn bowel, foil, tape, cardboard, and a flashlight.  It worked out very well for what it was.