Nifty Fifty (Nikon 50/1.8D) portrait

[Major Nikon]

The discussion thread on the nifty fifty inspired me to break out my Nikkor 50/1.8D to show what it can do. This shot was taken wide open at f/1.8 and 1/30s on the shutter. The lighting setup was pretty simple. As you can see there are two catchlights. A bare flash (SB-700) was placed camera left from above and the on camera flash was used as fill. The image was saved in raw format and very little post processing was applied. Just a touch of sharpening was added and a slight tone adjustment was made. You can pick one of these lenses up for about $70 on the used market or new for about twice that. This lens is excellent wide open, but reaches maximum sharpness at about f/4. As you can see from this picture, depth of field is quite narrow. The focus point is on the eyeball or perhaps slightly behind and his nose is already starting to go out of focus.

Edited to add: The Nikkor 50/1.8D version of the lens will not autofocus on D3000/D5000 series and certain older Nikon DSLRs. For these cameras you will need the 50mm f/1.8G version.



http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/Camera-Lenses/2137/AF-Nikkor-50mm-f%252F1.8D.html

[Major Nikon]

1. For comparison, this is my Nikkor 135/2 DC

This isn't really a fair comparison because this lens is set to f/4 which is at its maximum sharpness. Had I set the 50/1.8 to f/4 it would have been sharper, although perhaps not as sharp as this lens. Keep in mind also that this lens costs almost 10 times more than the 50/1.8.

[ohheckyeah]

2. Thanks for the comparison.

Pretty dog.

[Major Nikon]

7. Here's a little better comparison

I took another shot with the 50/1.8D at f/4 which is going to be optimum aperture setting as far as sharpness goes. These are 100% crops. The first pic is the 50/1.8 @ f/4. The second pic is the 135/2 DC @ f/4. Both pictures have the exact same (100/.8/5) sharpening settings applied in camera raw.

As expected the 135/2 is sharper, but this is a lens that costs about 10 times more than the 50/1.8D and this is kinda venturing into pixel peeping territory. There's still a very high degree of detail available with the 50/1.8D. Another thing is I haven't calibrated the 50/1.8 and I have the 135/2. So I could probably eek out a bit more sharpness out of the 50 if I were to do so.

[ohheckyeah]

10. Yep...

that makes the difference in sharpness very apparent.

[BuddhaGirl]

3. I love my nifty fitfy - I use it most of the time

Last edited Thu Jan 16, 2014, 07:38 PM - Edit history (1)

Great shot of your dog!

This is my neighbor's cat - he's extremely photogenic Taken with my 50mm 1.8 on my Canon T3i...I don't remember what the aperture setting was:

[Major Nikon]

4. It's quite nice

This is another great example of the 50mm used for a portrait on a crop sensor camera. IMO it's a great use for the lens. For both the Canon and the Nikon version you don't really get great bokeh, but that's really a minor consideration for a lens that's dirt cheap, takes sharp photos, and can be used wide open with no worries.

[BuddhaGirl]

5. Thanks!

I think I paid around $90 for it new, on Amazon.

It's a great lens!

[ohheckyeah]

6. Nice....

I like it.

[hunter]

8. Like the old 70mm "portrait" lens of 35mm film photography, right?

... as I recall from my 'seventies high school and college photography classes...

None of my dogs tolerate cameras. They will wake up from a sound sleep even, turning their faces away if they sense (telepathically maybe...) I have a camera in my hand.

Your pup looks like a sweet one.

[Major Nikon]

9. For the Nikon it translates to 76mm focal length for the 35mm equivalent

Last edited Sat Jan 18, 2014, 04:40 PM - Edit history (1)

Out of 4 border collies I've owned, he is the most easily trainable. He loves to fetch a ball and I've trained him to hold still while he's waiting for me to toss it. I can also direct his eyes by moving the ball.

This dog is not bothered by the camera at all. On another thread I posted some tips on how to photograph pets. For pets that are camera shy, the thing to do is to photograph without a flash and to disable the autofocus assist light.

For training you'll need to teach the dog how to stay. Using a training mat helps. Then slowly introduce the camera keeping it hidden underneath a jacket and slowly producing it while not taking any pictures at first and treating as the dog relaxes. Practice in short training sessions about 1-2 minutes max once or twice per day.

I had one dog that was very camera shy, but she eventually came around after I worked with her for a while.