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Prime lenses?

Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:51 am
by gp2003
I'm looking to buy a prime lens for my Nikon D200 digital camera. Various options have been suggested to me - 30mm, 50mm, 85mm, but I'm not too sure which would be the best buy for a humble amateur tog! Any advice from you good people would be gratefully received.

Re: Prime lenses?

Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2006 11:56 am
by Jacques
The 50mm lens is great for all-around candids, group portraits, and other slightly wide angle photos. It's considered more of a "standard" lens, giving you a view very close to what the human eye is used to seeing.

The 30mm is more suited to shoot a large group of people.

I would go for the 85mm for head and shoulder shots and the 50mm for full length.

Re: Prime lenses?

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:28 am
by gp2003
Thanks for the advice, but on a digital camera with a 1.5x crop factor, wouldn't a 30mm lens equate to the 50mm standard, with a 50mm lens becoming 75mm?

Re: Prime lenses?

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:37 am
by Jacques
Doh! Yes sorry, I'm still one of the luddites that uses film.