Looking for my first prime, not sure which

W

weebee

Senior Member
I want to get a prime lenses. But I'm not sure which to get. I want something that can do portrait, urban shooting (buildings and such), museums, and some landscape. I'm thinking the 85mm Nikon might do the trick. Thoughts?
 
E

Eyelight

Senior Member
Look back thru your images and/or others and check the focal length you used for the subjects you have in mind. Then pick a prime that will cover the best.
 
R

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
The 85mm is probably good for portraits, but I've struggled getting buildings framed with my 35mm prime which is what drove me to look for an UWA lens.

I agree with @Eyelight, check to see what focal length you use most now for an idea of how much you use around 85mm today.
 
W

weebee

Senior Member
I've been doing that. But I'm all over the range. I keep hearing how sharp prime glass is. So I thought I'd give it a shot.
 
R

RocketCowboy

Senior Member
I hear ya. I'm really pleased with my 35mm prime, but it just has left me wanting for something wider when I've tried to use it as my only lens when traveling for work and walking urban areas around dinner time looking for architecture. I realize though that I'm trying to capture the entire building facade though, where in the past I would go after more of the up close detail and potentially be able to use a longer lens than what works for me right now.

Not trying to talk you out of it, just hoping to help. ;)
 
O

oldhippy

Senior Member
I have 3 prime lenses. 28. 50. 85. The 85 is the best rated by a long shot.
on practicality, the 85 is tough on close pictures. The. 28 is broad and crisp.
My suggestion would be the 50 aka nifty fifty. Great all around and priced about 200.00. Just my take on this. Ed
 
Woodyg3

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
The sharpness and speed of any of the 50mm primes are very useful. I use mine a lot, but I do need wider field of view a fair amount of time. I might break the wallet open for the 35mm f/1.8 one of these days.
 
W

WayneF

Senior Member
weebee said:
I want to get a prime lenses. But I'm not sure which to get. I want something that can do portrait, urban shooting (buildings and such), museums, and some landscape. I'm thinking the 85mm Nikon might do the trick. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Head and shoulders portrait suggest mild (2x) telephoto (but full length portrait needs wide angle). Museum maybe needs intermediate (depends on what). Landscapes probably wide angle (again, depends on what). You may need more than one. :) Back in the day, before zooms (except maybe a few in Hollywood), we carried an arsenal of various prime lenses.

I don't mean to be a spoilsport, but that day is gone now, and a zoom does come to mind, ready for anything. :) The zoom won't do f/1.8, but f/1.8 is only a small niche of the overall uses, and normally impractical.
 
Last edited:
C

Chito

Senior Member
I have the 35, 50 and the 85. I use the 35 most. You could do probably most of the things on your list that you want to do. And it's great for indoor shooting when you can't use flash. The 85 is for me the best one, but I only use it for taking solo/portrait shots.
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Chito said:
I have the 35, 50 and the 85. I use the 35 most. You could do probably most of the things on your list that you want to do. And it's great for indoor shooting when you can't use flash. The 85 is for me the best one, but I only use it for taking solo/portrait shots.
Click to expand...
Came here to say, well, pretty much this ... ^^^^

I too have a 35mm, a 50mm and an 85mm. The 35mm sees the most use, followed by the 85mm. There's nothing I don't like about the 50mm it's just that it's sort of "in the middle" and I wind up grabbing something else. My girlfriend shoots almost exclusively using a Nikon 35mm f/1.8G and I recently picked up a Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG that I'm very happy with. I'm currently doing a self-assignment until the end of this month using only the Sigma 35mm, shooting in full Manual and with an emphasis on black and white. I'm finding the 35mm prime is a lot (and I do mean a LOT) more flexible than I was giving it credit for.

The Nikon 85mm f/1.8G is one of, if not THE, cleanest shooting lenses I have. By clean I mean a combination of sharpness, and a lack of distortion and chromatic aberration. The 85mm is insanely sharp and distortion free.

...
 
S

Scott Ramsey

Senior Member
For landscape work you should consider a 24mm. The Nikon version will set you back two grand however I just purchased a Rokinon for about $600 and it is great.
 
F

FLIGHTO

Senior Member
I second the 28 1.8G. I used one a couple weeks ago. It is my next purchase. I find the 35 a bit too narrow FOV for a walk around lens - for me at least. The 24mm would be ideal but the price is outrageous. I wish nikon would develop a ED version.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Z

zutty

Senior Member
Here's a thought. I have the 58mm 2.8 micro which I use on my D7100 a lot. That translates to 87mm on a dx camera. It is incredibly sharp and can focus down to 1:1. I also have the 85mm 1.8 but I use the 58 more often. They're both great lenses.
 
R

Rick M

Senior Member
Since you are shooting Dx, I'd definitely get the 28mm 1.8g. The 35mm dx is going to give you about a 50mm FoV, the 50mm a 75mm FoV. Given that, I'd want the 28 and 85 in primes. I think 50mm ( Fx FoV) is the most boring focal length ever made.
 
Top