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what lens?


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3 replies to this topic

#1
bedocoman

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I am new at using a DSLR camera and I am wanting to take pictures of my son and neices mainly. I want a blurred background and clear picture. Any ideas on what lens I need I have the lens that came with it. And then I have the AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1:18G but neither of these are what I'm looking for. I thought the 50mm was the best lenses but after I bought it I don't like it too well. You have to be too far away from the subject. Is there a different 50mm that's better? Thanks for any advice.
 



#2
Oric Man

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Your lens should give you a good bokeh (blurred background). It's a matter of what settings you use. You'll probably need to use the camera in aperture priority mode to ensure you are using the right setting - or manual.

 

Look up 'depth of field' to learn more about this.



#3
Merco_61

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Start by deciding what focal length you like by either looking through the kit zoom at different focal lengths or sorting your existing shots on focal length in Lightroom or similar and see what you prefer. The 35/1.8 DX is an affordable lens that gives acceptable background blur and is a fair bit wider than the 50. A 50 works best for traditional portraits on DX while a 35 gives the same field of view as a 50 on film or FX. If you want something fastish and sort of wide, the Sigma 18-35/1.8 Art might fit your needs.



#4
dcbear78

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I'll echo Peter's advice with a 35mm or 18-35mm. This will allow you to get closer BUT the amount of the blur in the background will be reduced.

 

The amount of out of focus area is affected by lens aperture, lens focal length and distance between subject and background (and sensor size if you want to be picky). So with all things being equal (aperture and subject distance) by reducing the focal length you will also reduce the blurring effect. You can of course offset this by increasing the distance between your subject and what is in the background, but sometimes you can't. Sometimes the environment you have to work in is not so flexible, like inside a house. You could buy a 35mm with a wider aperture like f1.4 but this will increase the price of the lens quite dramatically.