Ooo LaLaa 85mm 1.4f

[newPerspective]

We are going on a 4 day family cruise next week (family reunion) and so badly wanted to get a Nikon 85mm 1.8f lens. But the kitty-bank not yet. So I decided to rent one. Called the local store to make the reservation, they did not have the 1.8f one available, so they are going to give me the 1.4 for the same price. Yipeee!!

I'm all excited. I'm looking forward to the cruise and to take some good portraits since they have all those pretty backgrounds set-up and I can expect everyone in the group do to be dressed well at least for dinners.

I'm a little nervous too. I've never used the 85mm before. I have the 18-200mm and the 50mm Prime.

Do you guys have advice for me? Tips? Suggestions? Which lens should I be using mostly? Anything you tell me will be appreciated. Thank you.

[Chip]

Fun for you!

My only suggestions are:

1. You don't have to shoot wide open all the time. Stopping down a bit will make focusing easier and may give you some much needed DOF; and

2. If you do shoot wide open or close to wide open, try as best you can to get all of your subject(s) the same distance from the camera. At f/1.8 and 14 feet, the DOF on an 85mm is only 0.58 feet - so, if you're photographing a group of people, getting all of their eyes within that 0.58 will be both difficult and critical.

Experiment, have fun and post some photos when you get back!

[inkista]

Don't forget the 1/focal_length rule. To eliminate camera shake blur while handholding with an 85mm lens, you need your shutter speed to be faster than 1/85s. I'd say try and be at or above 1/100-1/120s. With a VR lens or a 50, it's not as much of a restriction, but when you start hitting those telephoto lengths, you have to keep an eye on it.

[newPerspective]

Originally Posted by Chip

Fun for you!

My only suggestions are:

1. You don't have to shoot wide open all the time. ....
2. .. try as best you can to get all of your subject(s) the same distance from the camera.

Experiment, have fun and post some photos when you get back!

Chip, Thank you for the wonderful and detailed advice. Will definitely keep that in mind.

Originally Posted by inkista

Don't forget the 1/focal_length rule. To eliminate camera shake blur while handholding with an 85mm lens, you need your shutter speed to be faster than 1/85s. I'd say try and be at or above 1/100-1/120s. With a VR lens or a 50, it's not as much of a restriction, but when you start hitting those telephoto lengths, you have to keep an eye on it.

inkista, thank you for the wonderful advice as well. Thats what I was afraid of, my limited knowledge and being used to shooting only with the 50 and 18-200 tele lens. I will pay close attention to the shutter speed and camera shake.

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by newPerspective

Called the local store to make the reservation, they did not have the 1.8f one available, so they are going to give me the 1.4 for the same price. Yipeee!!

Lucky you! The Nikon 85 f/1.4 is known as the 'Cream machine'. You can get some great looking photos with this lens and prepare to lust for one afterward.

You should check the focus of your first few f/1.4 images (lens at its best) if you don't have much experience with fast lenses (shallow DOF).

[newPerspective]

Originally Posted by LoveDSLR

Lucky you! The Nikon 85 f/1.4 is known as the 'Cream machine'. You can get some great looking photos with this lens and prepare to lust for one afterward.

hehehe! yup! I'm excited about it.

Originally Posted by LoveDSLR

You should check the focus of your first few f/1.4 images (lens at its best) if you don't have much experience with fast lenses (shallow DOF).

You know I do shoot with the 50mm 1.8 wide open (Shot this for the Plants assingment)
But for portraits I've been mainly setting it 5.4 and narrower. On the ship I dont think low light will be that much of an issue and since they have some pretty backgrounds setup specifically for portraits on the ship, I dont have to worry about blurring out unwanted background.

I'm a little confused though, my gurus here on DPS tell me shoot at apertures 5 and narrower for portraits, the couple of books I've read also suggest smaller apertures for portraits. But the 85mm is called the 'Portrait Lens' or even more so the 'Cream Machine' for its extreme DoF. So can anyone tell me if I should be shooting wide and why? Beacuse I wasnt really planning on.

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by newPerspective

hehehe! yup! I'm excited about it.
I'm a little confused though, my gurus here on DPS tell me shoot at apertures 5 and narrower for portraits, the couple of books I've read also suggest smaller apertures for portraits. But the 85mm is called the 'Portrait Lens' or even more so the 'Cream Machine' for its extreme DoF. So can anyone tell me if I should be shooting wide and why? Beacuse I wasnt really planning on.

Traditionally, a portrait with great out-of-focus bokeh is highly desirable. That is easily achieved by fast lenses.

In some people photography, we may have to stop down to get the proper DOF. However I often shoot wide open (85mm @ f/1.2) for single person portraits. Do you know many Nikon 200mm f/2 owners only shoot at f/2 to get that awesome bokeh?

[Chip]

Originally Posted by LoveDSLR

Traditionally, a portrait with great out-of-focus bokeh is highly desirable. That is easily achieved by fast lenses.

In some people photography, we may have to stop down to get the proper DOF. However I often shoot wide open (85mm @ f/1.2) for single person portraits. Do you know many Nikon 200mm f/2 owners only shoot at f/2 to get that awesome bokeh?

Now I have much gear envy.

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by Chip

Now I have much gear envy.

Hell, I shoot Canon, and I have gear envy over this thread. LOL!!!!

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by Chip

Now I have much gear envy.

Me too! I was drooling when I first view the Nikon 200 f/2 thread (over 447 pages) at Nikon cafe http://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=61674. Now it is on top of my lust list.

BTW, I see you have a F2 Photomic on your gear list. The Nikon F2A was my first SLR.