Amateur needs helps with lenses...

[lapinkarhu]

Hello all,

I'm actually a fairly experienced shooter, I have mostly worked with Sony models such as EX1. But I know almost nothing about lenses, because I've always been stuck with the basic lens attached to a camera, and a wideangle attached to that (Which is a standard solution for example in EX1).

Now for the first time I'm going to buy a camera with interchangeable lenses - The AF100. But I don't know what lenses I should get, and how the attributes of a lens influence the look.

I know already that I'm getting a 14-140mm zoom lens. I've tested it and it's quite good for standard reality/documentary type shooting. And I'm getting a 10mm wideangle.

But what lenses are good for getting that attractive, movie-like shallow depth look? What attributes influence that look?

What is the millimeter ratio that shallow depth lenses use? How does it affect the look?

Does the f-stop need to be as low as possible? Does f1.6 automatically result in more shallow depth of field than for example f4.0?

I have a 18-55mm f3.5-5.5 lens on my still Canon 7D still camera and I like the look on that, but I have no idea how it would look different if it would be, say, 15-30mm with f1.6-3.0.

So yeah, I'm completely clueless, and I would appreciate any help. Maybe there are even some links with good visual examples?

[lapinkarhu]

Oh and also:

I've tested the 14-140mm lens on AF-100. It doesn't capture the shallow depth effect very well, even if you zoom all the way in with iris completely open. I have also used the Letus adapter and a 70-200 lens on my Sony EX-1. That lens had an awesome narrow depth of field. But why was it more narrow? Is it because it started with 70mm instead of 14mm? Or because it ends with 200mm instead of 140mm? The f-stops on both lenses start with f4.0.

[Jan_Crittenden]

You should look for a lens that has a wider F-stop, like anywhere from .9 to 2.8. Take a look at the Voightlanders, nice, fairly inexpensive and good shallow depth of field.

Best,

jan

[kostas]

You don't need to shoot everything with a shallow dof. But it is great to have the "tool" when you need it.
Long story short, depth of field is a function of the focal length (all other things equal the longer focal the narower the dof), distance from subject (all other things equal the closer you shoot to your subject the narower the dof), and aperture f-stop used (the wider you shoot the narrower the dof). A 35mm f2.0 lens, or a 50mm f1.4, or a 85mm f1.8 lenses should give you plenty of possibilities to work with lowlight, and/or shallow depth of field on the AF100. You could possibly look for vintage lenses with Nikon, OM, M42, Contax Yashica or other compatible mounts. If you want to go more modern, you could check the Korean 35mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.4 lenses by Samyang or Rokkinon or Bower or Vivitar or ... (all the same company) which are excellent value for money.
Of course, all the above lenses can only be focused manually (no autofocus).
Good luck.

[Oliver Rush]

I personally like Manual Nikons. They are great build quality, great image quality, and are relatively cheap (especially used). The beauty of the AF100 is the ability to mount any lenses, and you can get nikon mounts for almost any camera, so going the nikon route with the AF100 lets you keep your options open. I do recommend getting a good Nikon mount though and avoid the cheap mounts if you go the nikon route.

[hscully]

+1 on the manual Nikons. I use them and they perform beautifully. Spring for a good adapter when you can, like the Novoflex, then you can make use of those for which there is no manual aperture control.