New To f2 - f2.8 and Basic Photography

[hech54]

Some of you may remember....but I recently posted about my new/old "Love"....an 85mm f2 AIS Nikkor.
Over the years....I jumped from Rangefinders straight into autofocus SLRs...and then on to my D70 with the 18-70 lens....so my "Photography 101" knowledge is VERY Hit Or Miss.

A few months ago I rented the 28(?)-70mm 2.8 (the older bigger one) Nikkor and got stunning results in a dark but colorfully lit nightclub....even at ISO1000.

So....I should be able to do even better with this lens right? (provided I can manually focus correctly - a BIG problem on a D70....I know). This 85mm....IMO...is a "portrait lens"...I understand...but I also won't be photographing a band that runs about the stage....these are old guys with upright basses, pianos and saxophones...

I have basically two questions:
1) Do DOF issues diminish at slower shutter speeds....even if I'm at f2 or f2.8?...am I understanding that correctly?

2) A possibly DUMB question but....here goes...What is a good shutter speed (regardless of f-stop) to counteract normal hand-held camera shake? What speed is a good place to start? I'm usually at ISO400....it's always been my favorite. (I also understand that I MUST go higher for my nightclub stuff....I'm not THAT dumb).

Thank you for listening....please be kind. I just can't seem to get my head around some of the basic photography....no matter how much I read.

[Nod]

A VERY rough rule of thumb for handholdable shutter speeds is 1/35mm equivalent focal length so with your 85mm, that works out to be slightly faster than 1/125th. In reality, you may well be able to do better than that (or, indeed, not be able to avoid camera shake at that speed) so the best thing to do is to try it for yourself!

As for DoF changing with shutter speeds - that's a new one on me! AFAIK, DoF is only affected by the aperture combined with focal length. However, at longer shutter speeds, subject and camera movement will probably have a greater effect on image sharpness than a lack of DoF.

Might I suggest that you keep your eyes peeled for a 50mm f/1.4 to gain yet another stop. You'll lose a little of the reach that the 85mm has but maybe you can get a little closer to the performers?

[ermintrude]

DOF is not affected directly by shutter speed, only aperture/focal length as Nod said.

However it will 'affect' it *indirectly*, given that the faster shutter speed you use the wider the aperture required to let the same amount of light in, hence the shallower the DOF. So if you shot say 1/60 at f5.6 but decided you needed a faster shot to reduce blur, you might choose 1/125 which (for the same amount of light) would require an aperture of f4 so you would get a greater DOF.

[hech54]

slightly faster than 1/125th.

Thank You. I at least got THAT right. I've found that hovering around 1/125th is best for me...then changing aperture as the lighting changes.

DoF is only affected by the aperture combined with focal length.

That was another question I had...I just didn't know how to word it correctly.
Am I crazy in seeing that....even with the same 85mm lens...that at lower apertures...objects CLOSER to the lens have more of the annoying(to me) razor-thin depth of field (tip of the nose in focus and eyes blurred) than with the object farther away from the same 85mm lens?
Or am I just bonkers?

it will 'affect' it *indirectly*

Thank You too. Reading the rest of what you posted makes me realize that the changes I'm making to my aperture settings are FAR too drastic.

[ermintrude]

Am I crazy in seeing that....even with the same 85mm lens...that at lower apertures...objects CLOSER to the lens have more of the annoying(to me) razor-thin depth of field (tip of the nose in focus and eyes blurred) than with the object farther away from the same 85mm lens?
Or am I just bonkers?

Well you may be bonkers But youre quite right, focussing on objects close to the lens will give a much shallower DOF than focussing further away from the lens. Thats why a landscape shot will have a very deep DOF but a macro shot a really really shallow one.

Thank You too. Reading the rest of what you posted makes me realize that the changes I'm making to my aperture settings are FAR too drastic.

Well not necessarily, it totally depends on what situation youre shooting, what you want to achieve. That was just an example, but some scenes require 'drastic' settings

[hech54]

Well you may be bonkers But youre quite right, focussing on objects close to the lens will give a much shallower DOF than focussing further away from the lens. Thats why a landscape shot will have a very deep DOF but a macro shot a really really shallow one.

OK...NOW I am starting to understand exactly why I had such a deep DOF shooting at F2.8 with the big Nikkor 28-70 f2.8 I rented....almost all of the shots were from a distance.




Thank You again!!!!

[ermintrude]

Yep, once youre more than a few feet away the dof is great. However, it looks like youve got it very well on those shots to me

[hech54]

Yep, once youre more than a few feet away the dof is great. However, it looks like youve got it very well on those shots to me

Thank You...and thank the lens too.
I want one SO bad.