50 mm

So I had some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket, so I decided to take a common suggestion and buy a 50 mm lens. I got the Nikon AF 50 mm f/1.8 D. It is relatively inexpensive, but quite good. The selling point is the large f/1.8 aperture. This allows for shallow depth of field so you can throw the background out of focus, drawing attention to the subject. It also allows for more pictures in available light, instead of requiring flash.

As you can see it is great for portraits. That's because on a DX camera it is a moderate telephoto lens. I got some good shots but found it strange to use since I was used to my 18-70 zoom.

Digital Photography Equipment

Here's what I have to shoot digital.

Nikon D50 (back).

Nikon D50 (front). I don't have that 18-55 lens.

Nikon AF-S 18-70 mm DX.

Nikon Speedlight SB-600.

I got this kit in the summer of 2006. The D50 was the lowest-end Nikon DSLR at the time. It's 6 megapixels and I'm very happy with it. Compared to the D40 that soon followed, this D50 is a bit larger, has a top LCD panel, and an autofocus screwdriver so that it works with non AF-S lenses. It cannot show the shooting settings that appear on the top LCD on the back screen. I'm ok with that, and I'm glad it has the autofocus screwdriver.

I would have liked to get the 18-200 VR lens but at the time it was very hard to find. I wanted something better than the plastic mount 18-55 kit lens that normally comes with the D50. So I opted for the 18-70 mm AF-S DX lens. The 18-70 was the kit lens for the D70s. I thought the metal mount was important. I am also quite satisfied with the lens but I do wish I had a VR lens.

The SB-600 flash was also the lowest-end flash I could get from Nikon at the time. I wanted an external flash especially for bounce-flash off the ceiling indoors for more natural lighting.