Which Lens to Use when?
- Thread starter Kholi
- Start date
Attic6
Well-known member
When i used to work as a loader i figured to think about it like this:
A 35 mm will give you a head shot at about 3.5 ft and a 85 mm at 8.5ft etc i know this is not definite or technically a correct way to look into it, but a sort of rough estimate.
I'm thining now, i hope it was feet i was using not meters, sh!t, if i'm wrong then i'm getting old way to fast. Video is killing my brain! but anyway that was my basic principle wheather its feet or meters. and then obviously as the lens gets longer your dof gets smaller. And, if you are doing handheld stuff use a wider lens it'll hide that shakes and bumps better.
But in the end if it's the person you are concentrating on get them sharp and everything else soft and un-distracting. but a situation keep everything sharpish.
Hope i can be of some help.
A 35 mm will give you a head shot at about 3.5 ft and a 85 mm at 8.5ft etc i know this is not definite or technically a correct way to look into it, but a sort of rough estimate.
I'm thining now, i hope it was feet i was using not meters, sh!t, if i'm wrong then i'm getting old way to fast. Video is killing my brain! but anyway that was my basic principle wheather its feet or meters. and then obviously as the lens gets longer your dof gets smaller. And, if you are doing handheld stuff use a wider lens it'll hide that shakes and bumps better.
But in the end if it's the person you are concentrating on get them sharp and everything else soft and un-distracting. but a situation keep everything sharpish.
Hope i can be of some help.
Beat Takeshi
Two-Hip Shakur
I find the lens choice is dictated by want and then if its changed, its changed by need because something just doesn't look right for the shot. Mostly this happens on mediums to wide though.
Beat Takeshi
Two-Hip Shakur
yeah, we do plan what we want on the shot list but if we see that maybe its not wide enough or there is too much "mess" or its too "busy" in the wide we go a little shorter. For close ups, most likely you will be looking for that narrower DOF so what ever your fav lens is for that look is the lens you will use. If you have no idea what you want, throwing on a zoom lens with a wide range is good for testing all types without having to keep changing lenses for each focal length. When you find what you like, put on the prime that matches as close to possible.