Being smart about my lenses..when to use what

[praline3001]

Hi everyone!

Tomorrow morning the hubby and I are leaving the kids at home and going to 2 plantations near us. One has a really fun Farmer's market every Saturday and the other one has pretty gardens and grounds.

While inside, I know I will use my 50mm 1.4 lens. This will help with any lighting issues as the tour guides aren't real keen on allowing a tripod/ flash stand and umbrella on the tour

I only have 4 lenses and my best one is my 50mm. I have viewed flkr pages of those using this lens and all I see are dark, low f stop photos. I understand that is what makes this lens so great but does it work just as well at the higher f stops and brighter conditions? I was thinking of using it for the entire morning outing. These are the lenses I have:

EFA 18-55 mm kit lens
My telephoto lens 75-300mm (it was also a part of the camera kit)
EF-S 60 mm macro lens

I do not have a wide angle lens for landscape/plantation house photos. I am debating using the 18-55 kit lens or my 50mm for outdoor stuff. What would you suggest? The kit lens does have a zoom but its slower to focus.

ETA: It will be around 8-12 in the morning so I will have morning sun.

[dmann]

I don't use my 50mm indoors not because of lighting but because of space. Unless it's very open inside and you can back up to get everything you want in your shot I would use your lens kit. I know it's not the better quality lens but at least you have a little range to play with.

Just my opinion, wait to see what others say too.

[RichardTaylor]

Your 18-55 should be fine for the general purpose shots.

Your 50mm will probably be too long for inside except possibly for head shots.

The 75-300 will be fine outside for head shots

[praline3001]

Ok thanks! I will stick with my kit lens and my speedlite attached to the camera. I do have a diffuser on it but no chance at getting fancy with lighting while inside. The best I will be able to do is diffuse it or bounce it off the ceiling.

I am not planning on doing any head shots. I am still pretty self conscious about my photography and am not brave enough to go up to strangers and ask if I can photograph them

It will just be hubby and I there and I have about a million photos of him already. I was hoping to practice my still shots and outdoor garden stuff. Not having the kids there will make it easier for me to concentrate on practicing!!! I also want to take photos of the old live oak trees that surround the plantations and the houses themselves. I don't have a wide angle lens but I should be able to get some interesting shots with the lenses I have.

This is my first outing that photography is my primary goal. Even though I have been to these places many times (they are only about 10 miles from my house) I have never taken my camera or anything like that so I am pretty excited!

Of course my hunny might not be as thrilled as he will be my lugging assistant but I am not telling him that until we get there LOL "honey, can you hold this for me. Oh and this too please..."

[Tzetsin]

Originally Posted by praline3001

Of course my hunny might not be as thrilled as he will be my lugging assistant but I am not telling him that until we get there LOL "honey, can you hold this for me. Oh and this too please..."

Sheesh, my wife does this to me all the time. I draw the line at her hockey bag... I mean purse, though.


I agree with the others, your 18-55 will give you 24-70ish field of view, which will be acceptable inside. The 50 mm would be a lot sharper, and brighter, but you'll be very limited by the focal length, unless the rooms are quite large. If they're large, or you want to shoot detail, use the 50 over the kit lens. If you swap out lenses inside, dont forget to set your ISO as low as you can get away with with the 50 to preserve the nice sharpness.

[praline3001]

Originally Posted by Tzetsin

Sheesh, my wife does this to me all the time. I draw the line at her hockey bag... I mean purse, though.

The 50 mm would be a lot sharper, and brighter, but you'll be very limited by the focal length, unless the rooms are quite large. If they're large, or you want to shoot detail, use the 50 over the kit lens.

Surprisingly, plantation rooms are really small. Most people expect them to be huge but not so. Most of the family spent their day out on the porch or yard trying to catch a breeze as it was too hot to be indoors. The "Gone with the Wind" Hollywood version is much different then what they really look like.

[praline3001]

Here are the 2 plantations near my home I am going to tomorrow, if anyone is interested in that type of thing. Each has a gallery with photos.


I got married here many many years ago lol
Ormond Plantation - Photo Gallery
The staircase and doll room are both supposed to be haunted on a regular basis. They have done several ghost hunting things about it. I don't really believe in most of that but it is pretty cool place. This is a privately own plantation that has turned into a bed and breakfast. Its one of the oldest (I think its the oldest but not sure on that) plantations in the country.

The other one is a bit more famous:
Destrehan Plantation
It has been the scene of several movies, including "Interview With a Vampire".


As you can see, the rooms are really small and they aren't as glamorous as folks believe them to be.

[praline3001]

We just got back and I had a good time. One of the things I wasn't expecting was really dense fog this morning. I used it to my advantage (I think!) and got some great foggy plantation/live oak photos. I am downloading them from the card as I am posting

I ended up having to use my 50mm 1.4 on the tour inside. They no longer allow flash photography. I couldn't set up a tripod either so had to set my f stop at 1.4-3.0 depending on the room. I think I got some great photos but also a lot of way underexposed ones as well.

The really great thing is the entire trip ~ and 488 pictures taken and I stayed in M the entire time ..WOOT ME!!! I usually chicken out and start using *P* mode. I know several didn't come out very well but I got a lot braver using my M mode!!!!