Questions about Nikon 50mm 1.8 lense

[yulchick]

So I just got myself the nikon 50 mm 1.8 lense, and its quite different from the kit lense that came with my nikon d90...

I'm really confused about it actually.. When I look throught the viewfinder objects appear a lot closer than they really are, so if I want to get a picture of someone I have to like go to the other side of the room to fit at least half of the body in the frame... is that normal??? It's as if I'm zoomed in, and dont know how to zoom out...

sorry if this is dumb, but I'm totally new to this, and not sure if its suppose to be like that or not..

[jdepould]

Fixed focal length means no zooming. Zoom your kit lens to 50mm and compare the two, they should be nearly identical field of view.

[inkista]

Yes. 50mm is pretty similar to 55mm. This is why lenses are described by focal lengths.

Now open it up to f/1.8 and see the other way it's really different from an 18-55 kit lens.

If you find that the focal length is far too restricting, and you want something wider, you may want to consider returning the 50/1.8 and getting the AF-S 35mm f/1.8 instead. This is what all the comments about how 50mm can be too long on a crop come from.

For me, shooting with primes is probably the only exercise I get.

[yulchick]

hehe well that totally makes sence...I will try it, and see if i can get used to it

thanks for the quick answers

[zona5101]

with a fixed lens your feet do the zooming

[yulchick]

Originally Posted by zona5101

with a fixed lens your feet do the zooming

hehe, now I know exactly what people mean when they say that...didnt really realize it until got one myself...hehe sucks that sometimes you cant walk through walls and furniture..

[phaither]

I'm actually going to scope these out today. i have a D3100 with the 2 kit lenses but i really want a prime. not sure which to go for so i want to test them out live. i mostly do portraits of my kids, family, friends, etc. how mamy people am i likely to fit into the frame?
f

[vandergus]

Originally Posted by phaither

I'm actually going to scope these out today. i have a D3100 with the 2 kit lenses but i really want a prime. not sure which to go for so i want to test them out live. i mostly do portraits of my kids, family, friends, etc. how mamy people am i likely to fit into the frame?
f

With the D3100 you're going to want to look at either the 35mm f1.8 AF-S ($200) or the 50mm f1.4 AF-S ($400) to get autofocus. The 50mm f1.8 AF will work, but you'll be stuck with manual focus. How many people you can fit in the frame just depends on how far away you can stand. Outside, you can just move back until you fit everybody in. You may be at an uncomfortable distance but it will work. Inside, as yulchick has discovered, you'll be running into walls. I've found that, indoors, the 50mm works best as a 1 or 2 person lens (in terms of how many people you can comfortably fit in the frame). The 35mm is a little more flexible in getting the group style shots.

[phaither]

Originally Posted by vandergus

With the D3100 you're going to want to look at either the 35mm f1.8 AF-S ($200) or the 50mm f1.4 AF-S ($400) to get autofocus. The 50mm f1.8 AF will work, but you'll be stuck with manual focus. How many people you can fit in the frame just depends on how far away you can stand. Outside, you can just move back until you fit everybody in. You may be at an uncomfortable distance but it will work. Inside, as yulchick has discovered, you'll be running into walls. I've found that, indoors, the 50mm works best as a 1 or 2 person lens (in terms of how many people you can comfortably fit in the frame). The 35mm is a little more flexible in getting the group style shots.

these are the exact ones i tried out. i actually preferred the wider angle of the 35mm but i'd eventually like to get both