what lens?

amberleann10

New member
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.
 

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
Welcome to the site. What mode and camera are you using? What is the subject of your shots and how close do you want to be? Posting a sample with exif data would be helpful. The aperture along with the distance from the subject too the background control the background blur.

Here is a quick primer on depth of field.
Understanding Depth of Field for Beginners
 
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nickt

Senior Member
A 35 is a better choice on your camera for indoor ranges. To see what the view will be with a 35mm lens, just use your 18-55 lens set at 35mm. Your 18-55 will not blur the background as much though. You need to use as low an aperture as possible to maximize the effect. The 50 and the 35 are both f1.8 minimum and very good at blurring the background. The 18-55 varies between f3.5 and f5.6 minimum, so it will not blur a s much. You can certainly use the 18-55 though to see if you like the 35mm range before buying it.
 

8toes

Senior Member
If I may, I am not exactly sure why your 50 is not working for you. It is a marvelous lens. Having said that, I have used the 85mm f1.8 and if you are doing some sort of portrait shooting, this lens is wonderful and will give you a beautiful creamy bokeh (background blur) when set correctly. I have never had an issue getting nice bokeh with my 50. Good luck in your search. There are a ot of optioins out there.

Cheers,

Brian J
 

jay_dean

Senior Member
If I may, I am not exactly sure why your 50 is not working for you. It is a marvelous lens. Having said that, I have used the 85mm f1.8 and if you are doing some sort of portrait shooting, this lens is wonderful and will give you a beautiful creamy bokeh (background blur) when set correctly. I have never had an issue getting nice bokeh with my 50. Good luck in your search. There are a ot of optioins out there.

Cheers,

Brian J
This threads well over a year old mate, looks like the OP never came back
 

8toes

Senior Member
LOL...no worries. I joined this group 3 years ago and made my first post a few days ago. I forgot I joined....old age and all that.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
No activity from the OP since this thread was created so I would guess they have moved on. There have been a rash of new posters of late with strange problems who post and you never hear from them again.
 
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