[dogdots]

Ok, my lens just came in the mail today and I've been playing with it. I have to tell you it is not a fun play companion I was really under the impression I could use this lens indoors with out a flash. I find I can somewhat, but it is hazy sometimes--I know I shake . Also I'm use to shoot in M mode most of the time.

Anyway if someone could pass along some settings they may use when using this lens inside it might give me a boost in learning how to use my new friend. All the info the better. Thanks!

~~~Mary

[Dabhand16]

If you think you are not holding the camera steady enough, this might be of help.

[dogdots]

I read the article, but maybe you can give me some insight into this lens cuz maybe I have the ability for this lens all wrong.

It is sapose to be a lens for indoors and low lighting right?
What setting does this lens work best on? All of them?
Only Auto?--ish, I hate using this setting.
Anyone out there have this lens and is happy with it?

I kept reading how this is such a good lens. I know I have to play with it and get to know it so it becomes my best friend I was really looking for a lens I could use inside for the holidays. Without a tripod--kinda handling it like a point and shoot. Am I crazy?

[Navarroe]

Well, you're not crazy but this lens is not as easy to use as a point and shoot.

It is indeed a great lens but you really have to practice using it, as the aperture is so high the depth of field becomes very shallow so you have to make sure you focus exactly where you have to.... even when shooting a portrait you can find the nose and the ears to boe out of focus while the eyes and mouth are very sharp.

If you're used to use the camera in M mode you might find a good way to get used to the lens by using your camera on the P mode, that way you can get the idea of the speed while using the f/1.4 aperture.

I have a 85mm f/1.8 and it took me a couple of weeks to get used to it, with your lens it'll be the same story but once you've mastered it you'll find it can stay on your camera your whole holidays and you'll be very pleased.

Don't give up on it, it is a great lens, you'll see.

I hope I helped at least by ginving you hope on your lens.

[dogdots]

I will keep trying. I played with it alot tonight changing off with my kit and my 24-105. Now I will play with it in the P mode.

Does this lens need the flash on or can it take just a good a picture without the flash? And what mode is this lens best used in? So many questions.

Thank you Navarroe for the information and giving me the incentive to keep trying.

Maybe there is a better lens for the inside/family gathering/holiday shots. If so please inform me of it---Thanks!

~~~Mary

[Dabhand16]

Your lens does have the ability to be able to work in lower light levels than 'slower' lenses, but it is not just a question of fitting it and banging off your shots.

As Navarroe said, you still have to consider what depth of field you need and that might well mean that you will have to stop down from the maximum apature. If this means that you are going to underexpose the shot and you do not want to use a flash, you will have to raise the ISO. When it is wide open and used at fairly close range, I suspect your lens might only have a depth of field of about an inch

Rather than just playing with the lens, do some consructive tests - take some shots from a fixed viewpoint starting with it wide open and then reduce the apature on sucessive shots. This way you will see the depth of field that is available at different settings.

It is not a good idea to put equipment in boxes and think of 'this lens is for use indoors with no flash' or 'this lens is for taking family portraits'. You can use this, and any other lens, in any conditions and for any subject you like, because different lenses will give different results - for instance, telephoto lenses will compress perspective, and 50 - 85 mm lenses are ideal for portraits - but you still have to make the appropriate adjustments to capture the picture you want.

If your camera has a depth of field preview button it will enable you to check before the shot if you are not shooting action.

[silkstone]

Although this lens is 'fast' - i.e. wide maximum aperture - it can't work miracles and you still have to follow the normal rules about exposure settings etc. Don't be afraid to increase the ISO to 800 or even 1600 in low light - modern cameras have good high-ISO performance and you always use noise reduction software afterwards.

The 50mm f/1.4 is a brilliant lens for portraits and gives a very good bokeh (blurred backround) when used at wide apertures.

[sejanus]

Just a thought but occassionally a new lens can be faulty. Why don't you stick the camera on a tripod and take a shot at each aperture of something flat, like a magazine page. If the focus and the lens itself are OK, then the image of the flat object should be sharp at all apertures (within reason).

[Boofers]

I bought it for low light too, I went through the same learning curve you seem to be going through. You still need light, P or A mode works at f1/4, check the picture in A mode and adjust to f1.8 or f2.8. The trick for me was useing a manual tempeture setting of 3200 to 2800 indoors and turning on a few extra lights, working with the focus and using manual focus if needed to bring in their faces to a sharpness I liked. Work at it and you'll be happy once you learn it's limits and take pictures with in.

[dogdots]

So much infomation. And I have tried some of it. I played with the ISO--it did get noise. I tried all the settings. I even took 10 (same) pictures with it, then 10 with my 24-105, then with my kit lens to see which were better. I have to say that the 50mm did ok and my L lens did to, but the colors of the picture were different. I even put my husband on the middle of the couch and had to back way up to get him and the full couch into the picture.

I will try the magazine test. And I do agree it does give good bokeh, but I want to get alittle more picture with the bokeh. It does have a very small focal point.

I will try all the information you gave and hopefully I will be happy with it. My husband says I've become spoiled with my 24-105 lens, which is probably true

[Navarroe]

That could be definitely true, the quality and versatility of the 24-105 are something hard to achieve in a lens and once you have it's hard to change.

But the 50mm although it's hard to use it'll give you some really great shots, you'll see

[emmettleffel]

One tip that is handy if you handhold is to take a deep breath and then exhale.

At the end point of exhalation, take the picture.

Your hand usually is steadier then.

[silkstone]

Then remember to breathe in again.

[dogdots]

I've been hyperventilating a lot lately with this lens I've been playing with it all day and I like some of the pictures I have taken. Only I just can't see it as a lens to use with a lot of people during the holidays. It does well with objects. This is going to be a thinker for me as to keep or return.

Your so right after using the 24-105 it is hard to switch over to the other. I love this lens.

[Dabhand16]

Unlike zoom lenses, primes do have specific uses where they do best - that is where their focal length is ideal for a particular type of photography.

I know I have already said the it is best not to constrain what you do by thinking of an indoor lens or a family lens, but within that, it is obvious that although you can use a short lens for wildlife, better results will usually come from a telephoto. (Unless you are after a specific effect or result).

So I would say that maybe you have missed the point of the 50mm lens. You have put it into the category of a lens you can use without a flash. I would see it as the ideal lens for portraits, with the bonus that it has a low-light capability too. It does have other things it can do, but as with all prime lenses, you have to work a bit more to get the best out of them. This could mean that you have to have awareness of the depth of field it has at any given apature, but it also means that if you want to get the framing right and you do not want to crop the image, you have got to move closer to or further from the subject.

Zoom lenses do make us all lazy.