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Who all uses the 50 1.4 or the 85 1.2 or 135 2 for sports.....
- Thread starter Rob L
- Start date
Scott Bourne
Active member
Well you know what they say, opinions are like a.... well you get the point. Here is my opinion. The 50mm f1.4 is the PERFECT lens to keep on your D30. It makes an 80mm lens with the 1.6 x magnification that the D30 offers and is perfect for portraits, landscapes where you want to isolate a section of the image,indoor sports and general photojournalism. The 1.4 aperture delivers plenty of light. My buddy says that with this lens you can shoot a black cat in a poorly lit barn at night and get plenty of detail! Sure it could focus quicker (and quieter) but for the money I think it is an absolute sin NOT to own this lens. I have had mine for six weeks and find myself using it at least as often as any of my other lenses which include the 300 f/4 "L", the 70-200 f/4 "L" and the Sigma 15-30 f/3.5. Good luck.
Scott Bourne
http://www.earthportraits.com
Scott Bourne
http://www.earthportraits.com
Greg Wilder
Well-known member
I too agree it's a great lens, especially when you need the low light. I shot a wedding (my first) over the weekend. It was in a very dimly light clubhouse. At night, white walls, with black ceilings, tungsten lights. A photographers nightmare!
I didn't want to use flash during the ceremony. Setup my tripod at the back. Used the 50mm set at 1.4, ISO 400 on a tripod. Worked great.
For the after ceremony "restaged shots", I used my 28-70L with 2 studio lights. However, the 50 1.4 is almost a much have and the cost is around $320 for a grey market at B&H.
Other lens owned:
Canon 28-70L
Canon 28-135 IS
Canon 200 F2
Canon 100 Macro
Canon 100-300L (bought used at B&H for
Greg W.
I didn't want to use flash during the ceremony. Setup my tripod at the back. Used the 50mm set at 1.4, ISO 400 on a tripod. Worked great.
For the after ceremony "restaged shots", I used my 28-70L with 2 studio lights. However, the 50 1.4 is almost a much have and the cost is around $320 for a grey market at B&H.
Other lens owned:
Canon 28-70L
Canon 28-135 IS
Canon 200 F2
Canon 100 Macro
Canon 100-300L (bought used at B&H for
Greg W.
Karl Guttag
Veteran Member
Did you mean the 85F1.2 or the 85F1.8? The 85F1.8 is very similar to the 50F1.4 (I have to look carefully when I pick the lens out of my bag to see which is which -- they have differen lens hoods which helps a lot) where the 85F1.2 is more of a "specialty lens" like the 50F1.0 with a very wide aperture but results in a lot glass which moves slower. I don't think the 85F1.2 is considered a good "sports" lens.
I just got the 85F1.8, primarily for shooting basketball. The 1 and 1/3 more F-stop over F2.8 of my 70-200F2.8L seems to help a lot with autofocus on a D30 in low light, but that is just an impression as I have not had a chance to do a more serious comparison. The better focus ends up being a bigger feature than even the faster speed which lets me shoot at a faster shutter speed and/or lower ISO.
The 135F2L is suppose to be an great lens but costs more than the 50F1.4 and 85F1.8 combined.
The other lens to consider is the 100F2 which is more in the 50F1.4 and 85F1.8 class (in quality and price). These lenses seem very comparible in terms of quality and performance, the question is what focal length you want. I decided that 100mm was too big a step from 50mm and based on the EXIF data showing the focal length of previous shots with the 70-200F2.8L.
Karl
I just got the 85F1.8, primarily for shooting basketball. The 1 and 1/3 more F-stop over F2.8 of my 70-200F2.8L seems to help a lot with autofocus on a D30 in low light, but that is just an impression as I have not had a chance to do a more serious comparison. The better focus ends up being a bigger feature than even the faster speed which lets me shoot at a faster shutter speed and/or lower ISO.
The 135F2L is suppose to be an great lens but costs more than the 50F1.4 and 85F1.8 combined.
The other lens to consider is the 100F2 which is more in the 50F1.4 and 85F1.8 class (in quality and price). These lenses seem very comparible in terms of quality and performance, the question is what focal length you want. I decided that 100mm was too big a step from 50mm and based on the EXIF data showing the focal length of previous shots with the 70-200F2.8L.
Karl
--Karl
Thanks for all the responses. Any more out there?
L
Lee Rothman
Guest
Of those three you mentioned only the 50mm 1.4 is a MUST HAVE in every bag. The others are nice add ons but not essential (espeically if you have say a 70-200 2.8 or IS.
Scott Larson
Veteran Member
Well, whenever Karl goes through his sports lenses, I always have to plug the 100mm f2.0 (this seems to be a common question on this forum). All I can say is that using this lens was the first time I really got all the detail I ever wanted from basketball shots. It focuses quickly and I swear f2.0 is just as sharp as f2.8 (f2.0 isn't soft on the other lenses either probably).
This shot was taken with that lens (f2.8, 1/320, ISO 800) from eight rows off the court. It's a direct crop from the original image and hasn't been sharpened or adjusted in any way. Notice the wear on the ball, the wrinkle between her eyebrows and the smooth color transitions in the uniforms.
Scotty B
Senior Member
Scott,
What do you think of the 50mm with either the 1.4x or 2x teleconverter.
I ditched all my Nikon stuff for a D30, ordered the 50mm f1.4 and a 70-200 IS.
I shoot all concert work, mostly "in the pit", and it seems like the combo, at 160mm might give me a light lens that does exactly what I want.
Your thoughts are appreciated.
Scott B.
What do you think of the 50mm with either the 1.4x or 2x teleconverter.
I ditched all my Nikon stuff for a D30, ordered the 50mm f1.4 and a 70-200 IS.
I shoot all concert work, mostly "in the pit", and it seems like the combo, at 160mm might give me a light lens that does exactly what I want.
Your thoughts are appreciated.
Scott B.
Forrest41926
Forum Pro
What do you think of the 15-30? I looked through your galleries ( which are very pleasing ), but I'm not sure which images might have come from this lens.
Scott Larson
Veteran Member
Scott,
Which Scott were you talking to? I've used the 50mm with a Kenko 1.4X TC. It's still very sharp with the lens set at f1.8 but the bokeh sometimes isn't smooth (dark objects have a bands of halos) but the areas in focus are still very sharp. I think the TC slows down and confuses the autofocus somewhat.
Karl Guttag
Veteran Member
Lee,
I really like my 70-200F2.8L, but in the Gyms I am shooting in, I am barely able to use the 70-200F2.8L at ISO 1600 at 1/250th. That extra F-stop plus with the 85F1.8 helps a lot both in terms of getting light in and shooting at ISO800 to reduce noise AND it seem to signficantly help with autofocus. Obviously IS does not help in with freezing the player movement.
I agree that the 50F1.4 is a MUST HAVE for all sorts of reasons, but the 85F1.8 (not the 85F1.2), 100F2 and 135F2 (not yet for me) are very very helpful for indoor action shooting were you don't have enought light.
Karl
I really like my 70-200F2.8L, but in the Gyms I am shooting in, I am barely able to use the 70-200F2.8L at ISO 1600 at 1/250th. That extra F-stop plus with the 85F1.8 helps a lot both in terms of getting light in and shooting at ISO800 to reduce noise AND it seem to signficantly help with autofocus. Obviously IS does not help in with freezing the player movement.
I agree that the 50F1.4 is a MUST HAVE for all sorts of reasons, but the 85F1.8 (not the 85F1.2), 100F2 and 135F2 (not yet for me) are very very helpful for indoor action shooting were you don't have enought light.
Karl
--Karl
L
Lee Rothman
Guest
Oh I am in total agreement with you Karl as I know your application calls for a focal length right in THAT catagory of 85mm or so for what YOU are doing. I was only commenting that given a choice between those 3 lenses I consider the 50mm 1.4 the MOST important for the general public. Heck, when all is said and done (as I know I am deeply afflicted with the L disease lately) that I may well end up with at least the 135mm 2.0L in my stable, just for those difficult situations. I've never actually tried to play with an 85mm so I couldn't say if I personally would ever need to use it much. But clearly for your application it is nearly a MUST.
Scotty B
Senior Member
Thanks, Scott L. (boy, therre's getting to be a lot of us on here)
You gave me exactly what I was looking for....I have an older 80mm f2.0 MF that works fine with the D30, and I'll just leave it on there and go manual.
I just got the 50mm f1.4 and was wondering about the 2x, but looks like I'm better off with what I've got.
Thanx again,
Scotty B.
You gave me exactly what I was looking for....I have an older 80mm f2.0 MF that works fine with the D30, and I'll just leave it on there and go manual.
I just got the 50mm f1.4 and was wondering about the 2x, but looks like I'm better off with what I've got.
Thanx again,
Scotty B.
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