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85 1.8 is the best value going...worth its weight in gold to me, anyway

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agileimages

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Midlothian, (DFW), TX, US
D200, ISO AUTO 450, 1/50s, f2.0, handlheld during bath time with my son. I love this lens because I can't get this shot with anything else. I can hold the whole rig with one hand and occupy him with the other. I'd lke to thank Uncle Frank for his recommendation of the lens. No its not the 1.4, but for those of us on a budget, its hard to beat.





--
Nikon D200
Nikon D100
Sigma 100-300 f4 HSM
Sigma 120-300 f2.8 HSM
Nikon 80-200 f2.8 ED Push-Pull
Tokina 12-24 f4
Nikon 18-70 AFS DG EX
Nikon 85 f1.8 D

You Pay for What You Get - DMB
 
great photos - the first one looks exactly like my 2.5 month old son (I will try to search his fotos to post if I get time to show you).

abhijit
 
I think this lens gives a very good value for the money. You may (or may not) get "nicer" pictures if you use 85 f/1.4, but it will cost you $600 more! If you are just like me - a hobbyist and not a pro photographer - this lens is more than just good enough.

BTW, what a cute boy you have :-) How old is he? My son is just a bit over 2 months old, and I'm the paparazzi at home, LOL!
 
Such images are very precious. Eye-catching. You would print these out in a photo studio and put it in family album.
agileimages said:
D200, ISO AUTO 450, 1/50s, f2.0, handlheld during bath time with my
son. I love this lens because I can't get this shot with anything
else. I can hold the whole rig with one hand and occupy him with
the other. I'd lke to thank Uncle Frank for his recommendation of
the lens. No its not the 1.4, but for those of us on a budget, its
hard to beat.





--
Nikon D200
Nikon D100
Sigma 100-300 f4 HSM
Sigma 120-300 f2.8 HSM
Nikon 80-200 f2.8 ED Push-Pull
Tokina 12-24 f4
Nikon 18-70 AFS DG EX
Nikon 85 f1.8 D

You Pay for What You Get - DMB
Click to expand...
 
He's 8 weeks old tomorrow. Thank you so much for the comments. If I didn't know this forum existed, I'd say he's the most photographed baby in the world, but I know better. Still, I really enojy having this lens around ready to fire at anytime, in any light. Its fantastic.

--
Nikon D200
Nikon D100
Sigma 100-300 f4 HSM
Sigma 120-300 f2.8 HSM
Nikon 80-200 f2.8 ED Push-Pull
Tokina 12-24 f4
Nikon 18-70 AFS DG EX
Nikon 85 f1.8 D

You Pay for What You Get - DMB
 
Believe me, these are going on the wall. And might make great Christmas gifts for granparents, too ! Thank you for the comments.

--
Nikon D200
Nikon D100
Sigma 100-300 f4 HSM
Sigma 120-300 f2.8 HSM
Nikon 80-200 f2.8 ED Push-Pull
Tokina 12-24 f4
Nikon 18-70 AFS DG EX
Nikon 85 f1.8 D

You Pay for What You Get - DMB
 
Again, wonderful images. On the second picture, the DOP of field is a little thin. See how your son't hands are out of focus. Just in case if don't it already,

DOP is controlled by

Focul length of the lens. the greater is the focal lens, the smaller is DOP
Aperture. Larger opening - smaller DOP

The distance between the subject and the lens. The smaller the distance, the smaller is DOP.

In your case, you wanted to get to your son closer, to compensate thin DOP you would need go a couple of F's up.
 
I had several other shots at 2.8-4.0, but the ISO really cranks up when I'm fixed at 1/50s with no flash and I just didn't like the outcome. I was really focusing on his eyes, and the hands just happened to pop in at the last second. In brighter conditions for candids I like this lens at f5-f11 and the DOF is plenty for this type of shot. But in the low light of our bathroom, I was shooting at f2 just to keep from flashing his eyes out.

--
Nikon D200
Nikon D100
Sigma 100-300 f4 HSM
Sigma 120-300 f2.8 HSM
Nikon 80-200 f2.8 ED Push-Pull
Tokina 12-24 f4
Nikon 18-70 AFS DG EX
Nikon 85 f1.8 D

You Pay for What You Get - DMB
 
I thought it could be the case when no flash is used. In any case, the images are wonderful without any exaggerations.
agileimages said:
I had several other shots at 2.8-4.0, but the ISO really cranks up
when I'm fixed at 1/50s with no flash and I just didn't like the
outcome. I was really focusing on his eyes, and the hands just
happened to pop in at the last second. In brighter conditions for
candids I like this lens at f5-f11 and the DOF is plenty for this
type of shot. But in the low light of our bathroom, I was shooting
at f2 just to keep from flashing his eyes out.

--
Nikon D200
Nikon D100
Sigma 100-300 f4 HSM
Sigma 120-300 f2.8 HSM
Nikon 80-200 f2.8 ED Push-Pull
Tokina 12-24 f4
Nikon 18-70 AFS DG EX
Nikon 85 f1.8 D

You Pay for What You Get - DMB
Click to expand...
 
thanks so much. i've learned alot about photography with this lens. Its so simple, it boils you down to the basics. if you're wrong, it tells you. If you're right, it rewards you.
--
Nikon D200
Nikon D100
Sigma 100-300 f4 HSM
Sigma 120-300 f2.8 HSM
Nikon 80-200 f2.8 ED Push-Pull
Tokina 12-24 f4
Nikon 18-70 AFS DG EX
Nikon 85 f1.8 D

You Pay for What You Get - DMB
 
This lens is a great buy and is one of my favourite too. I purchased it recently. It's sharp, it produces lovely bokeh, it's fast and most importantly it is affordable.

I tool this picture a couple of weeks ago in Adelaide, Australia:


agileimages said:
thanks so much. i've learned alot about photography with this
lens. Its so simple, it boils you down to the basics. if you're
wrong, it tells you. If you're right, it rewards you.
--
Nikon D200
Nikon D100
Sigma 100-300 f4 HSM
Sigma 120-300 f2.8 HSM
Nikon 80-200 f2.8 ED Push-Pull
Tokina 12-24 f4
Nikon 18-70 AFS DG EX
Nikon 85 f1.8 D

You Pay for What You Get - DMB
Click to expand...
 
agileimages said:
I love this lens because I can't get this shot with anything
else. I can hold the whole rig with one hand and occupy him with
the other. I'd lke to thank Uncle Frank for his recommendation of
the lens.
Click to expand...
You're welcome! I'm happy that the 85/1.8 has worked out so well for you! Buying a prime is counter-intuitive when you can cover so many focal lengths with a zoom at the same price, so the credit belongs to you for making a tough call.

Btw, great pics of your son!

--
Warm regards, Uncle Frank
FCAS Founder, Hummingbird Hunter, Egret Stalker
Dilettante Appassionato
Galleries at http://www.pbase.com/unclefrank
 
I never even considered a prime until I saw your work here. I asked you about the 85 and the 35 and went with the 85 first, and Il add the 35 f2 later. For now I couldn't be happier. Its my favorite lens in the whole bag and I keep it loaded most of the time. thanks again.

By the way, any tips on taking portraits "semi-professionally"? I shoot mostly action shots for money, but I think with this setup (D200/85 1.8) I could do a service for people that's worth paying. I think my wife would have paid big bucks to get that shot of my son (She did, but she doens't know how much the equip. costs). Any suggestions on how to start that process? How did you get started?

Chris
--
Nikon D200
Nikon D100
Sigma 100-300 f4 HSM
Sigma 120-300 f2.8 HSM
Nikon 80-200 f2.8 ED Push-Pull
Tokina 12-24 f4
Nikon 18-70 AFS DG EX
Nikon 85 f1.8 D

You Pay for What You Get - DMB
 
Wow, great photos! 85/1.8 performed awesome, but so did the photographer behind the camera. Grats'!

PS: You have a handsome son too :-)
--
A man is only as big as the dreams he dares to live.
 
agileimages said:
By the way, any tips on taking portraits "semi-professionally"? I
shoot mostly action shots for money, but I think with this setup
(D200/85 1.8) I could do a service for people that's worth paying.
I think my wife would have paid big bucks to get that shot of my
son (She did, but she doens't know how much the equip. costs). Any
suggestions on how to start that process? How did you get started?
Click to expand...
I can't tell you the right way to get started, Chris, but for me it was a natural extension of my passion for taking people pics. Once I set up a gallery, friends started inquiring about having me take their pictures, which I did at zero or nominal cost. Then, when their friends began inquiring, I set a price which I felt reasonable for my level of execution. As my credentials and execution have improved, I've begun increasing my prices.

In summary, I've used word of mouth to get business. To get the process started. take plenty of portraits of friends and give them framable prints, making sure they'll show them around, and put some galleries on your website so potential clients can see examples of your work.

--
Warm regards, Uncle Frank
FCAS Founder, Hummingbird Hunter, Egret Stalker
Dilettante Appassionato
Galleries at http://www.pbase.com/unclefrank
 
I got into buying prime lenses since I could not afford decent zoom performers. Quality zoom lenses cost a lot of money. Zoom lenses have their uses but 2-3mm, usually, would not make big difference. You can live with primes taking great pictures, you just have to do more walking.
 
Than you so much for the comments. I hope to post more of him as time goes on.

--
Nikon D200
Nikon D100
Sigma 100-300 f4 HSM
Sigma 120-300 f2.8 HSM
Nikon 80-200 f2.8 ED Push-Pull
Tokina 12-24 f4
Nikon 18-70 AFS DG EX
Nikon 85 f1.8 D

You Pay for What You Get - DMB
 
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