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New Lens

I added another piece to my kit today. I picked up a fixed length 50MM F1.8 lens. The 1.8 is the aperature diameter. The lower number means the lens can let in more light. This means that you can take pictures in lower light settings. It also allows you to limit the depth of field to highlight what you are shooting.


The first picture was shot with the 17-55MM lens that came with the Kit. Notice the shutter speed is .8 seconds. That may not sound like much time, but it is a lifetime in camera turns. You can also see that some of the books behind the glass are somewhat in focus. They move your eye away from the wine glass.

This image was shot with the news lens. The speed is 1/10th of a second. It is much easier to hold your hand still for 1/10 vs. .8 seconds. You can also notice that just the wine glass is in focus. Then lense has reduced the depth of field for this shot.








The lense was a steal for $89.00 at Charlotte Camera. It will also make an excellent portrait lens. This takes me to three lenses in the kit. 17-55MM Zoom, 50 MM prime, and a 28-200 MM zoom. The actual range with these lenses is increased by a factor of 1.6 with a digital SLR. That means with the 200 MM I am actually reaching out to what a normal SLR would shoot with a 320MM unit. The last thing I need is the external flash, and I think I am going to go with the Speedlight 420EX. More about that later.

Posted by sean at December 2, 2003 01:08 PM