The late Galen Rowell made a career and a handsome living with the ridiculous $50 plastic fantastic AF Nikkor 28-80/3.5~5.6D.
Rowell's site:
Mountain Light Photography | Galen and Barbara Rowell |*Fine Art Prints, Photo Workshops, Stock Photography
Get the lens:
Nikon AF Nikkor 28 80mm 1 3 5 5 6d with Nikon Cap NR | eBay
If you're good, you can make any lens do what you want.
ANY lens is great stopped down.
One phrase comes to mind, it's not the size of the lens but the magic it creates....couldn't resist.
It's not hardware that's for sure, it's the operator.
Almost completely true. the gear will hold back a great photographer. I take crap photos with a smartphone. but give me an 85mm and a low light camera like D3s and Ill do some killer images.
I'm a newbie to photography (on a level beyond setting it to AUTO and just clicking away, anyway) but even I know that a long telephoto lens is the wrong choice for taking photos of things that are within a few feet fo you. What's WRONG with people? OK, granted, my Tamzooka lens will focus in amazingly close, all things considered, but that doesn't make it the right lens for photographing what I'm standing on!
I honestly think some people just like to show off their biggest and most expensive lenses. Making great photographs is not what they're there for. I'm perfectly happy to use my tiny 35mm f/1.8 prime lens if it's the right lens for the photo. And if it's for a portrait at "in this room" distance, it probably IS the right lens to use.
that would be incorrect. an 85/105/135/70-200 would be the choice of pros for sniping people at the reception at weddings candid style. anything below 85mm and you stand too close to frame, which alerts them that youre there. but step 10 feet away and use an 85 and capture fantastic images w/o them knoowing. better isolation, better compression, better aesthetics.
I am a newbie that has been bitten by the Rockwell bug.
I was warned early off.
Ken Rockwell is the Haynes manual for Seventies era airhead BMW motorcycles.
Don't forget your supersize order on that grain of salt.
These forums are a much better source of information.
not true. ken gives a lot of great technical info. he gives crap info about photography though. I dont agree with what he says regarding jpeg but im against photogs who use raw because they suck at getting it right in camera. like WB. those who say, ill shoot in raw and fix it later and shoot awb instead of manually adjusting when you know the lighting is very problematic yet trust the camera to decide for you and it wont get it right and will make all your indoor images really yellow. if you shoot it well in jpeg in camera then thats photography skill.
I will agree 1000% with @
[COLOR=lime ]SkvLTD[/COLOR] if you dont know how to use flash, you can never be a great photographer. not because youre great at using the flash but knowing how to use flash teaches how to see light. when youre experienced enough to see the flash hitting your subject, then youve been shooting quite a while. its like learning to use primes and getting your composition by walking around and learning to frame properly. understanding perspective and compression. those who stand int he same spot right in front of the person and goes WA can never be great. I shoot family formals with my 85mm prime. I go back and forth for every shot. full body/half body/face..even full body group shots.
@
boofhead I see many relatives and friends who shoot with the cheap kit lenses and lower end bodies in weddings all the time. ive also seen amateurs who have money and buy high end. if one is a decent photog the higher end gear will help get better shots. its better AF, better low light, better optics, brighter VF with fast lenses. I dont say anything to amateurs who shoot with kit lenses (18-55/55-200-300) but usually people who are looking to advance their photography skills do want better gear and buy it.
my partners daughter has the kit lens. shes learning photography at school. shes 17 now. after a year she realized what crap her lenses are and wants to advance her skills and realizes te glass holds her back. I let her use my different lenses in the past and she saw what she was missing.
it happened to me as well. when I started I shot all sigma EX 2.8 "pro" zooms glass. I didnt think it was reasonable to pay so much for nikon 2.8 zooms. it was really expensive. a year later or so I received an offer to buy a used beater 85 1.4 AIS lens. after mounting and shooting with it and seeing a few test prints I did, it was a day I remember WELL. it was years back and it made a huge impact on what I thought was good. I realized all my sigma 2.8 "pro" glass is just CRAP! its crap, its garbage. when you start you think your images are good. people give compliments to encourage. I had that as well. then I shot with the lens and realized that my images can never be great. I also saw other pros portfolios and I was sad depressed and my ego deflated completely and had to rebuild myself. then my expensive battle began. I converted to all nikon glass. I dont know what gear you have used, but if you have never used pro gear before, dont try it. it will leave your pocket very light, get you in debt, get you in quarrels with your partner and possible hardships because of it. and im not kidding.
once you own and shoot with pro gear (assuming your skill levels are good enought to take advantage of it. and I mean this by holding it well and focusing well, because it isnt a given. they are heavy and have a learning curve) you will realize why others look down upon those cheap lenses. I laugh at her POS kit lens which ive repaired the plastic POS mount for her-TWICE! last time was saturday this past weekend. I bought the mount off ebay. I actually bought 3 of them so I wouldnt wait on one to come in fast. if you have 3 coming, 1 will come in faster than the others.
now I dont know if your photos were better than the hired pro but photography is a matter of taste and truthfully tell I see to decide, its hearsay to me. and I dont judge on style. I just on technical and creative angles. but if hes a somewhat talented photog, and he knows how to use them to his advantage like bokeh compressing then his images will be better. but again, till I dont see, I cant say. but you do seem to take it personally and you shouldnt.
