Need your thoughts on Nikon prime lenses

Nikonite1222

Senior Member
Hi There Everybody-

I am in the market for my first prime lens and was wondering what kind you have and your thoughts and experiences you have had with it. I'm looking for a lens for portrait and general outdoor/landscape photography. I see that there are different focal lenghts to chose from (i.e. 18mm, 35mm, 50mm 80mm, etc). and was wondering what your thoughs and experiences have been.

Thanks for any and all suggestions you can provide.

Sincerely- Doug
 

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
If you're going to be taking a lot of landscape I would go for something wider, like the 18mm. If more portraits, then the 35 or 50.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

ohkphoto

Snow White
I keep the 60mm 2.8 micro lens on one of my cameras almost 95% of the time when I am shooting because it allow me to do macro shots and does pretty well for portraits and candids. My other "most favorite" is not a prime but the 35-70mm 2.8 zoom.

Like jdeg said, it depends on what you want to photograph. It sounds like you might like the 35mm focal length as an all-around prime lens. I'm guessing you have a DX format. So using a 35 mm lens would be the approximate equivalent of using the standard 50mm on our film cameras.

Best Regards
 

Eduard

Super Mod
Staff member
Super Mod
As Helene said, are you shooting DX or FX? If you're DX, you can usually find a used 28mm/f2.8 or 35/f2.0 for a good price. The 35/f1.8 is a great performer, too.

On the FX side, any of the 50mm's would be a great start. If you are planning on portraits, you would probably want to look at an 85mm.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Joseph Bautsch

New member
Doug, you can help us help you and give you a more definitive answer to your question if you will complete your profile. We need some information about yourself and what style of photography you have a preference for. We need what camera, lens(s), and any other equipment you are using. Let us know how you will be using the prime lens and someone here can help you.
 

Nikonite1222

Senior Member
Hi There-

Thanks for your thoughts. I will update my profile, but for the sake of this post I can tell you that I shoot outdoor nature photography, outdoor portraits and weddings and other general types of photography (i.e. birthdays, Christmas, school plays and concerts)

I shoot with a Nikon D200 with battery grip, 18-70mm 3.5 - 4.5, Sigma 70-300mm 4.5 - 5.6. I also use a Benro tripod with a BH-2 ball-head.

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions.

Thanks- Doug
 
Last edited by a moderator:

fotojack

Senior Member
Doug.......looks like you have everything pretty much covered. Use the 18 for landscape shots, and anywhere upward from there for the portraits and nature shots. However, if you really want a prime lens, there is no one prime lens that will do both landscape AND portraits. My suggestion would be to get an 18 for the landscapes and a 35 or a 50 for portraits.
I use the D200, too, and just love it! Another young fella in here uses it, too. That would be Curt. :) I believe Helene uses one also as her backup camera.
 

Nikonite1222

Senior Member
Hi There Fotojack-

Thanks for your thoughts, I have noticed that you have always offered assistance and your advice here with my posts,,,so THANK YOU !!! I have to say,,I always like to read what you write.

And I LOVE my D200.,I upgraded from a D40 that I first learned on. The D200 is fabulous, Thanks again and I'm sure I'll talk to you soon.

Sincerely- Doug
 
Last edited by a moderator:

fotojack

Senior Member
Well thank you, Doug, for the kind words. :) I just try to help where I can. By the way...did you update your firmware to version 2.01? I can't remember if you said you did or not. I'm feeling a bit under the weather here at the moment, so not thinking too clearly today. :(
And let me know what lenses you chose for your preferences in landscape and portrait.
 

Nikonite1222

Senior Member
Hi fotojack-

Yea, I did update the firmware just fine, and so far the shutter has not stuck at all, which is pretty good news, I was getting worried there thinking the camera was falling apart. so ,,,,so far so good. I will let you know what lens I decide on. After checking the different prices among the 18, 35 and 55,,I think I'll go with the 50mm. The others have a pretty good jump in price.

I hope you feel better soon. I'm not sure if a bug is spreading around Alberta, but there is one going around here in Columbus, Ohio.

Take care !!!

Doug
 

fotojack

Senior Member
Thanks, bud....I'm into the chicken soup now. :) Cures everything! :)

Speaking of updating........Doug, if you would be so kind as to update your profile so that it shows under your name on the left column. It really does help us answering questions. We can't always remember what camera everyone has unless we can quickly spot it in the left column. :)
 

Nikonite1222

Senior Member
Hi fotojack-

Your so right,,,Chicken soup has the ability to cures what ails ya !!!!

As for the update,,,I have tried many times to add equipment, name and other information in the hopes of providing others info that can let them help me better,,,but (for the lack of sounding stupid) I can't figure out the profile area to add such info. I really don't want to sound stupid because right now,,,I'm feeling it. (LOL). If you could pass some suggestions to get me on my way,,I would love to add my name, location, equip, etc.

Thanks buddy !!!

Have a great day !!!

Sincerely- Doug

P.S. ,I went and looked at your photos,,and loved them. I want to invite you to my photography club website where you can see some of my work, It can be found at Hotshots Photo Club and look under Doug Ward in the member area.
 

fotojack

Senior Member
Hey Doug, went to see your pics at your website. Nice stuff, bud! You have a good eye for composition and subject. Nice! :)
As for updating your profile, it's easy. Go to the top of the page here......right hand side.....see where it says Settings......click on that. It will bring you to the Settings page, then look on the left side of the page........look for Profile settings. It's in there, near the bottom. There ya go. :)
 

Nikonite1222

Senior Member
Hi fotojack !!!

Thanks for the nice compliments. I find it funny that you compliment me on my composition, not that I mean that in a bad way,,,but because composition and the artistic part of photography is one of the biggest challenges that I have when I'm shooting, I'm always second guessing myself and asking myself "is this good", "would this be a good shot in others eyes" etc. So it is very refreshing to see that somebody can see that in my photos. It lets me know that I must be doing something right.

As for the profile info, I will definitely give it a shot. I at least was able to figure out how to add a profile pic. Not sure if you can enlarge it or not, but it's of my family that I took with my D200 for our Christmas Card this year.

Hope you are having a great day and staying warm. It's -3 here in Columbus. BRRRR !!!!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

fotojack

Senior Member
Oh you're definitely doing something right! And don't second guess yourself. Go with your gut.........it's usually the right thing to do. :)
For the profile pic, make it 640x480 before you upload it.

And -3 is a heatwave where I live! :)
 

Nikonite1222

Senior Member
Ha Ha !!!! that's funny. -3 considered a heat wave !!! Thanks for the advice. I am going to go through my photos and find ones to upload and create my gallery, I will be sure to re-size them to 640 x 480.

Talk to you soon.

Doug
 
Last edited by a moderator:

fotojack

Senior Member
No no!! Don't resize your gallery shots to that size! Make the gallery shots about 600x800. I was talking about your photo for your avatar. Make THAT one small! :)
 

Jaynometry

Senior Member
Did you say you shot weddings and portraits? For your first prime, I'd look no further than a used 85mm 1.8. Superb for portraits and won't break the bank. I'll reckon that the first primes people always get is the 50mm 1.8 - and for good reason. I have one too and I love it for portraits. Both are sharp as heck.
 
Top