Nikon AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8G >>> Good for photographing models?

BillGorm

Moose recommends this lens so I'm confident it's a good product overall. My question is whether it would work well for my intended purpose, photographing model ships. Two questions:

1. With an aperture range of f/1.8 - f/22 would this lens provide sufficient control over depth of field to photograph a ship (either viewed in silhouette or stem-to-stern) and keep the entire model in focus?
2. If I want to get in close to photograph details, would this lens be any better than the stock lens that came with it (a D3100)?

Thanks for any help!

BillGorm

And to add to my own question ... am I correct that the aperture range for this lens is f/1.8 - f/22 vs. just f/3.5 - f/5.6 for the D3100's stock lens?

Adelphos

This is not necessarily a Macro lens but I do take those close up pictures that require control over depth of field with it, and it has performed just fine for me. For the money, it's a good lens to have in any case.

To be clear, the range of the kit lens is not f/3.5 to f/5.6, but rather f/3.5 being the maximum when zoomed all the way out and f/5.6 being the maximum when zoomed all the way in. For example, my 18-55mm kit lens will shoot at f/3.5 at 18mm and at f/5.6 zoomed to 55mm. Hope that helps.