Disney trip lens question

I got a d5100 with 18 200 lens as my walk aroung lens for disney. We are doing like 5 different charater meals with princesses for my 3 year old. Do you think my best option for those indoor meals and characters coming to our table would be nikon35mm f/1.8 af-s? Thanks

A normal field of view will be good enough for general group shots with the characters. Add a speed light to illuminate the area and reduce your ISO.

Of course, sometimes you might need a wider lens if you don't have much room to move back.

newbie can you explain? so is that the lens that i posted a normal field view lens? sorry for dumb questions i have a few classes lined up before trip to get me started with this new camera and new to dslr.

rymahoney said:

newbie can you explain? so is that the lens that i posted a normal field view lens? sorry for dumb questions i have a few classes lined up before trip to get me started with this new camera and new to dslr.

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50mm on a full frame camera is considered a normal lens. 35mm lens on a DX camera will give you a 50mm equivalent field of view. A full frame (FX) camera provides a wider field of view compared to the DX cameras.

18-200mm with a Nikon SB 600 will provide more flexibility. If you watch a parade and you have people behind you, there is no room to adjust to get the right composition when you use a fix prime lens (35mm in your case). The zoom lens will provide you this versatility that you might need.

i guess im way over my head and need the class and owners manuel before i purchase anything else. I have the 18 200 with sb400 for parades and such. im looking for a lens for indoors at the character meals.
Again sorry for being so oblivious iv got alot of reading a learning to do to understand how all this works.

Just set it to P mode, Auto ISO to 400, Standard picture control. I'm a little conservative but you can go to Auto ISO up to 3200. P mode will figure out the proper exposure that you'll need.

SB 400 is a little weak and it is mostly for close-up shots. The Nikon SB 700 provides more and better illumination.

At night, you need a wider lens if you watch the electrical parade.

man thats awsome what set up lens and flash was that taken with?

rymahoney said:

man thats awsome what set up lens and flash was that taken with?

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It was taken with my ex-D700, 24-70mm f2.8 @ f4, 1/60, ISO 2000, no flash.

That's a great shot. I would like to try that with my 35mm f/1.8 lens.

Difficult one that - at first I was gonna say, why not stick with the 18-200 for the entire trip and get use to your camera via the one lens.

But then, if you really want to learn, then the 35mm will be of good use too especially if you're willing to swap to it indoors.
However, I have the SB400 and have soon learned it's really only good for indoor flash use up closer. Wish I could afford a better flash unit though.
You probably don't want to use a flash for the parade(s) as you want to capture the raw colours so to speak.