Comments on: Lenses: Understanding the Numbers

By: ariana

ariana — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:52:11 +0000

Rebecca, thank you so much!

Alex, I know just how you feel, it’s so hard, but worth it later to remember those precious first months..

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:28:19 +0000

I just stumbled across your blog and looove all the posts you have about photography. I love all things photography and have done a few senior girls on the side for fun and now love photographing my daughter (although with a 4 week old and trying to get into the mommy routine I rarely take out the camera!). Thanks for posting all of this info! Your baby is just beautiful :)

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:15:34 +0000

THANK YOU! I just love your blog. Your photos of Jasper inspired me, some months ago, to invest in a DSLR. (I have a 7 month old.) I had NO idea of the quality difference between a “real” camera and and a point-and-shoot. My photos now are amazing. People think they’re done by a professional. And I’m just letting the camera go on auto! I feel bad that the photos of my two older kids aren’t as beautiful. Your explanation of lenses is really useful. I just bought the Nikon prime 35mm/1.8 and LOVE it…did this b/c of your beauts of Jasper with your prime. I’m really just so grateful to have found your site!

By: ariana

ariana — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:26:05 +0000

Sarah, that is such a tough question! I think I would have maybe focused less on the body and gotten a used one and put my money towards lenses. I certainly wouldn’t buy the kit lens, I would buy the body only if I were to buy new. I am torn between recommending the 50mm vs just going for something like the Sigma 30mm. The reason is the Sigma is so much more money but I feel like I outgrew the 50 pretty quickly because I wanted a wider angle. It didn’t help though that my 50 was slightly defective and not as sharp as it should have been until canon adjusted it!
I think that it sort of depends on the investment you are wanting to make initially. If you only have x amount of money, invest in the body and the 50 first and then as you get more funds upgrade from there (similar to what I did). If you have the funds now, skip the 50 and go right to something like the Sigma. I hope that helps!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:17:02 +0000

I find myself reading your photography posts sometimes even though I still only have a little Canon Elf point-and-shoot! Now that Finn is here, though, I’ve decided that it’s about time I invested in a nicer digital, largely based on what I’ve seen and read on your blog. If you could go back in time with what you know now, would you do anything differently in terms of the order of your purchases? What should I invest in first? What should I avoid? You might say that a lot will depend on my preferences and lifestyle, but I can tell you that this time around I’m more interested in quality than convenience. I’ve still got a point and shoot for those impromptu, quick-pull-the-camera-out-of-your-pocket moments; what I want NOW is artful, better-quality shots that I can plan for… especially close-ups!

By: ariana

ariana — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:43:53 +0000

Kimberly, thanks for adding your knowledge!!

The photographer I was talking about is Jasmine Star. She has a wonderful FAQ category on her blog where she is very open and shares so much:
http://jasminestarblog.com/index.cfm?q=FAQ

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:02:10 +0000

I tried to comment on this earlier from my iPhone but I lost it before I could post. :(

This is a really nice, clear explanation for those who are trying to figure it out! I’d add that focal length is very simply the length/distance in millimeters from the camera’s light sensor to the end of the lens. So a 30mm wide angle lens is quite short while a telephoto 100mm lens or 200mm lens will be much, much longer. That’s about as technical as even a serious hobbyist needs to really get! :) Longer length = closer view of the subject. It’s the reason (combined with the 1.6x crop factor that my camera also has)that I struggle with the 85mm lens… while I adore it for its beautiful portraits, low-light capability and bokeh, I have to be quite far from my subject which is challenging even in my relatively roomy house. That being said, I love that I can borrow it from my FIL on an as-needed basis.

The zoom lens that came with my 40D is actually a pretty nice piece of glass. It’s the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 and while it doesn’t stop down nearly as far as my 50mm f/1.4, it still takes some very nice, sharp photos, even with less than bright light. I use it quite a bit. And I find that even with the smaller max aperture, I still get some pretty decent background blur in the f/4-5 range. (In my photography class, my friend – the instructor recommended starting out at 5.6 and working down from there as the light dictates… you can still get very nice bokeh at that f-stop, and that way you give yourself better odds of nailing your focus.)

I don’t mind “zooming with my feet” so I use my 50mm the majority of the time, but there are times when that focal length just doesn’t work. I think my next lens will be a more high-end zoom, but I go back and forth on the primes, because I love the quality for the money… it’s a slippery slope and an expensive habit, as you well know! ;)

Would you mind sharing the photographer’s blog that you mentioned? Oh, and I agree with Michelle Louise and I’m a GREAT fan of digital-photography-school.com, as well! :)

By: ariana

ariana — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:47:48 +0000

That’s pretty much it Lou!

Colleen, wow, I’m so glad! Probably it’s understandable because I just barely understand it myself so can’t get too lost in the technicalities that are gibberish to me as well :)

Alicia, you do more with a point and shoot than I’ve seen many people do with fancy cameras. When you do get a DSLR (hopefully before you win the lottery LOL!) lookout world!

Meredith, which lens is it?? is he being facetious? I think there are a whole slew of husbands out there that hate me for the millions and sundry ways I’ve found to spend their family’s money ;)

By: Meredith

Meredith — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:31:53 +0000

Very good explanation. And my husband would really like to thank you for showing me exactly which lens I MUST have before travelling to Texas for his brother’s wedding, at which I will be the unofficial (because they’re not having a photographer, but maybe she’d take a few, since she has the camera and the experience) photographer.

By: Alicia

Alicia — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:51:43 +0000

wow – what fab technical writing skills you have!

I’m kinda like Lou, only way worse – because I’m still operating with a humble point-and-shoot (Kodak! jeez) and a really tight budget, and besides all that, have not done a dang thing to learn anything about photography and getting a decent pic.

But I enjoyed reading about this anyways. I’ll definitely buy all your camera bag recommendations soon as I hit that lotto jackpot!