Suitable lenses

abhi_t30

Heya!
I am kind of confused when it comes to getting new lenses for my Nikon D3200 (apart from the regular kit lens). I need to get a versatile lens for portrait and trip photography (monuments, lakes, buildings etc). I was thinking of getting the 50mm f/1.8g, but one of my friends told me to get 40mm f/2.8g. He says it's a more versatile lens than 50mm. It also has the macro capability (taking pics of flowers, insects etc).
So now I am totally confused which one to get. I can afford only one at the moment. I know 50mm has more depth of field and works better in low light whereas 40mm struggles in low light but is an all occasions lens.
Please advise.

Moose

Hey @abhi_t30 - My advice would be to use your 18-55mm for monuments, lakes and buildings since you can zoom all the way back to 18mm and fit more of the scene within the frame. You'll be hard pressed to so with the 40mm and 50mm prime lenses.

For travel photography, the Tamron 18-270mm, Nikon 18-200mm and Nikon 18-300mm are popular choices. These all-in-one lenses allow you to capture everything from wide-angle (architecture/landscape) to distant subjects/scenes. However, these lenses aren't great in low light and not ideal for hand-held portrait photography.

If you're more interested in taking portraits, the 35mm f/1.8G, 40mm f/2.8G or the 50mm f/1.8G would be a smarter choice.

As you pointed out, the 40mm f/2.8G doubles as a macro lens, however, you're loosing quite a bit of light and depth of field when compared to the 35mm and 50mm lenses which can get down to an aperture of f/1.8.

Between the 35mm and 50mm, I'd go for the 35mm if the majority of your shots will be taken indoors and the 50mm if most of your shots will be taken outdoors.

Hopefully, that provides you with some clarity. All the best!

Citiz3nKane

Hello @Moose,
First of all, thank you for the cheat cards! They are a real life saver for newbies such as myself. I wanted to ask this question without creating a new thread so I thought this section best. What is the benefit of purchasing a different lens for certain situations? Does the 35mm f/1.8G lens take a better looking picture than the kit lens set to 35mm?

Moose

Hey @Citiz3nKane - Glad you like the cheat cards! The biggest difference between the kit lens at 35mm and the 35mm f/1.8G lens, is the lowest available aperture f/#.

The lowest aperture at 35mm on the kit lens is f/5. When you compare a shot taken at f/5 vs f/1.8, the difference is quite noticeable.

At f/1.8, you'll be able to keep the subject in sharp focus will blurring out the background, which makes the subject "pop" off the image. At f/5 you won't be able to blur the background as much.

In addition to the shallower depth of field, lower aperture f/#'s let in more light, giving you cleaner looking images in low light situations. All the best!

onlyme111

I have your cheat cards, and they're fantastic! I just purchased a Nikon AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6G and don't seem to get many good photos. Any suggestions would be fantastic. :)

Moose

Hey @onlyme111 - Thanks! I'm actually getting ready to release a set of cheat cards for the 55-300mm lens, which will also work with the 70-300mm. What are you trying to shoot?

onlyme111

Interested in shooting landscape, wildlife and maybe some moon shots. Thank you for your reply. :)

Moose

@onlyme111 - You can use the "Landscape" or "HDR" cheat cards for shooting landscapes with your 70-300mm lens.

For wildlife, shoot in Shutter priority, set the shutter speed to 1/1000, set the focus mode to AF-C, the AF-area mode to 3D, the release mode to continuous and the ISO to Auto. Half press the shutter button to continuously focus on the subject and fully press/hold the shutter to rattle off a burst of shots in quick succession.

For the moon, mount your camera to a tripod, enable Aperture priority, set the aperture to the lowest aperture f/#, set the ISO to 100, set the focus mode to AF-S, the AF-area mode to single point AF, the metering to spot and the release mode to self-timer. Aim the center focus point at the moon and fully press the shutter to start the self-timer which will count down and take the shot.

All the best!

onlyme111

Thank you so much Moose, I'm excited to try these settings. Keep up the great work, I know everyone appreciates the work you have been doing.
Thank you :)