Fixed Focal Length Lenses?

[Scott Bell]

After reading through several of the camera/lens discussions, I've been considering a lens change/upgrade. Of course, there is the trade off between price, functionality and performance. I've been looking at lenses that will work better in low-light conditions and I'm considering a fixed length lens since it would allow me to get into a very low F-stop at a lower price. I find that with my current zoom lenses, while chasing I'm almost always zoomed all the way out anyway, so it won't hurt having a fixed length.

The lens I'm looking at is a 50mm f1.4 that gets tremendous reviews from everyone that has used it.

My questions are

1) Do you think a fixed length would be too limiting?
2) If not, what length do you guys tend to take your pictures at for the most part? I realize it will vary, but do you think that having a 50mm fixed length lens that is really high quality would be much of a detriment?

Thanks for all the great discussions!

Scott

 

[James Langford]

Personally, I love fixed length. They are very sharp, and as you mentioned tend to be more open for the price. I have a 20mm 2.8 Canon, and the 50 1.8. Have you considered the 50 1.8? If is a very good lens for the price.

They can be more challenging because you have to swap out lenses more than if you were using a zoom. However, I find that my 20mm is almost always on my 30D, with the 28-135 zoom lens being used only occassionally.

James

 

[Jason Foster]

50mm fixed a good bet.

I know that the budget is a factor so my advice may not apply, but I'm working toward having two cameras so that I don't have to switch lenses as often. 50mm is good, and the next purchase would be the wider angle lense. The 50mm will go a long way with weather shots as well as tons of other applications once you see you can shot a lot more low light situations.

Good Luck.

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

I started with all fixed focal lengths back in the day (20,50,100,200,300). Bought used/sold for decent amount then eventually got high quality zooms (17-40, 70-200). I kept my 50 f/1.4 which I use all the time for low/light and scenes where I want the absolute best in sharpness. I also have a fixed macro (60 f/2.8) which sees plenty of action on the camera.

When it comes to storm chasing, I prefer zooms due to some of the quickness of events occuring. I don't have 30 minutes to setup a shot perfectly... I just want to get a well exposed image without powerlines in it . If I'm out hiking or something, I tend to put the prime on since I can move around.

I REALLY wish they made a high-quality, sharp, non-fisheye 10-12mm or so prime.

 

[Doug Raflik]

Don't know what your budget is, or what camera you are shooting with, but I consider this lens to be great for the money, and is my main storm lens.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/284399-REG/Tamron_AF09C700_28_75mm_f_2_8_XR_Di.html

You can pan back to the 28mm for a wide angle shot, but you at least have some zoom option for when that old barn gets hit by the tornado.
***DISCLAIMER*** Not that I am wanting anything to get hit.

Pretty much every shot on these 2 pages were shot with that lens, except the really wide shots which were shot at 14mm. (full frame sensor)

http://www.wxnut.net/5-22-08.htm

http://www.wxnut.net/5-23-08.htm

Doug Raflik

 

[Andrew Ryan]

I just bought the Nikkor 50mm f1.8 prime and I love it. I haven't really tested it in the field yet but I haven't felt that the fixed focal length constrains me. I don't know how much I will be able to use it with storm chasing, but I will find out soon. The sharpness of the prime is great and makes me want to chose over my other lenses every single time! So, I guess it's gonna be fun next year when I'm juggling 2-3 lenses while chasing!

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

So, I guess it's gonna be fun next year when I'm juggling 2-3 lenses while chasing!

Wife wanted a better camera... so I got her a Rebel XTI. 2 body chasing rocks! I keep a telephoto on one, and a wide on another.

 

[Cris Schroeder]

I keep a telephoto on one, and a wide on another.

I tried this last summer with some landscape work. I kept my 70-300 zoom on the XTi (for a whopping 480mm of zoom), and put the 17-40L on my film Rebel G. That way I took advantage of the XTi crop factor when I wanted it, without losing the true wide-angle benefits of the 17-40. The downside was shooting film, but I like to shoot B&W film occasionally just for fun.

Two bodies would definitely be the way to go.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

From my experience if your goal is to find a good lens just for storm chasing, I would work on getting a wider angle lens first, while 50mm isn't too bad, I frequently find myself at the wider end of my lens 17mm and wishing I could go wider. I'm sure you've seen it discussed as it has been brought up in many discussions, its not a super great lens but the Sigma 17-70mm opens up to 2.8, and covers a good chunk of the range I use most while chasing. Regardless I don't think I personally would be happy with something fixed at 50mm for chasing, that is not even close to wide enough for most of what I try to shoot...

 

[Scott Bell]

LOL....so we went from a $250 question to an $800 answer! I think 2 bodies are out of the question until I decide to upgrade bodies at some later date. I've only been shooting SLR for a couple of years at this point, and I'm still not up to the level of my current camera, which is the Sony A100 for those keeping track. I do feel that I could benefit from a lens that performs better in low light conditions.

I'm looking for a way to deal with those times when it's 8:30 in the evening, under an HP storm going 60 mph (ie, handheld) and trying to get a few halfway decent shots with low contrast (ok, so this sums up most of my chases this year ) I realize it probably won't make it perfect, but better would be a step in the right direction.

Thanks for the input on the lens idea, I think I'll give it a shot and if it doesn't perform, I can sell it and try a different idea.

Scott

 

[Scott Bell]

Dustin,
thanks, that was my main concern with that lens, if I would want a more wide open lens for chasing.

The kit lens with my camera is 18-70mm, but it runs from 3.5-5.6 and it seems to jump pretty fast in low light situations. Your comments were what I was wondering about.

Apparently I was typing my previous response why you were. Thanks!

Scott

 

[Cris Schroeder]

Just curious, but what is the maximum ISO for the Sony? Shooting in RAW with a high ISO and noise reduction software may somewhat offset a slower lens. Not ideal, but cheaper than new glass.

Most of my chasing this year has been in the early evening and I've had to bump up the ISO to 800-1600 when shooting handheld at f/4. I wish the XTi would go higher than 1600 as I'm finding myself limited in low light. Still, a noise reduction plugin for Photoshop is a lot cheaper than a decent faster lens.

Just a thought.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

I'm probably strange, but for storms I don't think I'd get horribly concerned over the lowest aperture available on a lens. Might seem silly, but really it's not. I don't think much will beat the Canon 10-22mm for chasing. A 50mm 1.4 handheld will be just as easy as a 10-22 at 10mm handheld at 3.5....or at least close enough.

I have the 17-40L, the 10-22 EF-s, and the 50mm 1.8. The 50mm really never gets used anymore. It's about worthless for storms, cept maybe lightning...but most times for that you have to stop down anyway, and 17-40 would almost get you to 50mm anyway. My 17-40L is almost never used now, it's become the lense I put on for lightning. The 10-22 is always on my camera when chasing. IMO...17mm is just hardly enough wide angle on these crop cameras.

I just wouldn't worry about the lowest aperture, since a wide angle is going to let you hand hold it at much lower shutter speeds than that 50mm will anyway. The other thing to ponder if you haven't done it yet, get a window mount. You can stop the car and slap the camera on your window nearly as fast as you can pull over and shoot handheld.

 

[Jim Saueressig]

get a window mount.

Mike, which do you use?

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

Just a cheap $25 thing I got from Rockbrook Camera in Omaha. I have two actually, one for video and one for stills. Just a slide over the window clamp you twist tighter, then a ball top that has a tightener on it too as it swivels. I very rarely need to use an actual tripod.