Looking to buy my first prime lens

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by CameraClicker on December 1, 2011 at 5:47am

Prime lenses can be good, or just a pain, depending upon what you want to shoot.  Some magazines publish test results with graphs of resolution against aperture.  Some prime lenses do not appear to be as sharp as some of the better zoom lenses.  Sometimes a lens with a not so wonderful looking graph is declared to be very sharp!  It might be in the eye of the beholder or it might be myth.  A zoom lens is more complex to design and build, but easier to use and your sensor stays cleaner because you are not changing lenses as frequently.

Useful prime lenses are the ones that have a focal length you need and either a very large aperture relative to the zoom lenses of the same length, or an ability to focus at macro distances, or both.

If you just want a prime lens so you can say you have one, the 50 mm f/1.8 is relatively inexpensive and light.  Nikon has a 105 mm macro lens that produces excellent results in the right hands. 

Visit a store, try a lens or two on your camera's body, go home and look at the shots on your computer.  Try a test shot with one of your zoom lenses at the same time for comparison. 

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Permalink Reply by stefan langbøl on December 2, 2011 at 1:02am

Thanks for the great advice

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Permalink Reply by Jim on December 2, 2011 at 9:40pm

Prime lens for D7000. 

I have 50mm F1.8 for D200 and D3s. But I don't satisfied with the output took with D200, because of its Bokeh.

With D3s, I like it, though. I'm going to buy 85mm F1.4 for D3s. It should be great.

So, I recommend you buy 50mm F1.4, or 85mm F1.4.

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Permalink Reply by Jim on December 4, 2011 at 12:06am

Today, I met one of my friends, she has Nikon D7000, as well. And she hasSigma 30mm F1.4, and 18-250mm F3.6 - 6.3.

That was not bad, and it's cheap! If you don't think Manufacture, it also is your alternative.

As Fred mentioned, D7000 is small censer on it. You have to think 1.5 times;

it means if you have 35mm with D7000, it turns 52.5mm. 

Have fun!!

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Leis on December 3, 2011 at 7:51am

Hello Stefan, 

Congrats on your purchase of the D7000! Great camera.  I almost bought it as a back-up as a camera salesman friend of mine almost had me sold, especially after using it! I know you'll get a ton of enjoyment and some exceptional photos from that machine.  Wow...I sound like a Nikon salesman...I'm not!  Though I do speak from experience, I've used several different Nikon bodies and lenses.  So, what I say comes from hands on...

First off, with todays more sophisticated lenses and stronger build quality, prime lenses are slowly getting kicked off the 'be all end all' platform as the 'best'.  I've read many articles on the pros and cons of primes.  At one time, yes they were the be all end all for sharpness and quality.  As I mentioned though, they are beginning to lose that grip on the top spot.  That being said though, lenses that compete with primes come at a high price example...Nikons 24-70 f2.8, in my country (Canada) it retails for roughly 1800$ Many of the pro photogs I've met and spoken with that shoot Nikon as you do, are using two lenses in particular on a regular basis...the 24-70 f2.8 and the 70-200 f2.8.(roughly 2400$ or 13,000 Danish Krone)  That, for the most part covers a vast majority of shooting and from experience, I can say they produce stellar results!!

Secondly, what in particular do you think you'll be shooting the most of that you would want to invest a good deal of cash into a lens?  From the photos in your port, you seem to enjoy shooting smaller objects, so maybe a macro lens might be a great way to start.  Will you be shooting portraits?  Landscapes?  You will need to mirror your lens with your passion, especially if you are going to pick up a prime lens.  

A personal favourite of mine...the Nikon AF-S 105mm.  I primarily use it for portraits, as I rarely shoot macro, however, it does have that option as well and handles it in a spectacular fashion also.  One of my shots done with the 105...

http://www.picturesocial.com/photo/blueveilmm-1?context=user

Keep in mind, I have resized that file for the web, but even still you can see the quality of the glass.  The detail it brings out is breath-taking! When using that lens I hardly do any post-processing at all.  That shot is pretty much straight from the camera.  Just to give you an idea, the settings I used were... (shooting from a D200 at the time)... Shutter speed- 1/500 sec. Mode was Aperture priority set at F3.0, at ISO 100.  I focused on her eyes, and shot hand held with a friend holding a disc reflector outside in available light.

Even in the smaller version here you can still see the details of her skin and the veil she is wearing.

Just google around a bit for images, there are several posted full size on the web to give you an idea.

Bottom line, you need to look at what you want to shoot, and what your budget is.  My personal preference is only getting the best when you want to specialize in something like that.  If you compromise in build quality, you will also be compromising your image quality.  So if you are truly in the market for a lens to take as you stated, 'high quality photos', be prepared for a high price tag.  It does make a difference.  Another lens you might consider...the 85mm 1.4.  Don't bother with the 1.8, I've used both and while the 1.8 financially looks great, the images do not!

I'm not going to get into a discussion on image size here, I'm sure someone will eventually...just keep in mind everything looks stellar on the screen on your camera...once you enlarge it, thats where quality kicks in to play.

Take a read through this article from a neighbour of yours (sort of) to the north...

http://www.pixel-peeper.com/articles/lens-quality.php

And for one review on the 105mm start here...

http://bythom.com/105AFSlens.htm

Happy Shopping!  Let me know what you end up deciding on....

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Permalink Reply by Chad Berryhill on December 3, 2011 at 3:18pm

I use the Nikon Nikkor 35mm f/1.8. Here is my third shot with it.

Bombardment 

Amazon has them on sale for $229 the last time I looked.

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Permalink Reply by Sajid Fakir on January 9, 2012 at 10:31am

Amazon has it for $199 now.

It is my favorite lens. I keep it attached to my D7000 80% of the time.

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Permalink Reply by Fred on December 3, 2011 at 11:36pm

With the Nikon D7000 you have a crop factor of 1.5 so if you have a 50mm lens, with the crop factor, it turns into a 75mm lens. This is normal for any DX camera, so take that into account when you purchase a lens.

What length of lens you want will entirely depend on what you want to photograph, for example:

Landscapes 16mm to 30mm or maybe a 300mm lens

Portraits 50mm to 100mm

Streets 28mm

Abstracts depends on what you are taking.

Indoors 16mm to 30mm

Nature 300mm

Follow CameraClicker's advice and go to an outlet and try the lenses out, take a few pictures and then look at them on a computer screen, look at the quality.

Most people want to use the camera for a portrait session, for a beginner I would suggest the 50mmf/1.8 (whether you have a Nikon or Canon), it is cheap but the quality is great, experiment with it get to know its limitations, then you will see why a prime lens can be a pain but it will improve you photography as you learn to move around the problems.

Let us know on what you decide to get and post some results

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Permalink Reply by Jalexa Photography on December 6, 2011 at 8:39am

Personally, I think photo quality is just one of the reason to get a prime, but like others have mentioned, the zooms are quickly catching up...with a price.

 

Another reason to consider a prime is that it forces you to think about your composition. You zoom with your feet and as you move around, you discover other angles that you wouldn't think about while taken a zoom for granted. So if you are getting a prime to improve your comp, go for it. I agree that the 50 mm f1.8's are great starter primes.

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Permalink Reply by stefan langbøl on December 7, 2011 at 12:45am

Thanks all for the great responds, I really appreciate it. Think i'm going to try out some in the 16-50mm range.

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Permalink Reply by Richard Segi on December 14, 2011 at 6:26pm

Prime lens are awesome mate but it really depends on what you're shooting and what kind of style you a after. My advice for you is to hire out theses lens try them out and from there you're properly find out which one you like and suits you.  Then you  won't have any problem purchasing one that you know you like.

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Permalink Reply by Sajid Fakir on January 9, 2012 at 10:27am

Well, I am using a D7000 also and for many years, my favorite lens has been the Nikon 35mm 1.8G. Such a sweet, fast. sharp prime. Most of my work is done with this lens. Great to walk around with all day because it's small and light. Wide 1.8 makes it nice and fast and really great in low light situations also. Any prime lens can help improve composition. You'll have to use "sneaker zoom" to get in close and tight to subjects. Such a steal at about 200 dollars. I could sing about this lens forever. 

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