Prime lenses for Disney

Discussion in 'Digital Cameras & Equipment' started by Dooku77, Mar 17, 2013.

  1. Dooku77

    Dooku77 Member

    Hello all, this year I am going in May again the Magic Kingdom. In that past years I've used zoom lenses. This year I wanted to try and use only prime lenses (Nikon 35mm f1.8g and 50mm f1.8g) and I was wondering if any of you have done this with good results?
     
  2. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    Shot only with them? ; Haven't done that but you can good results. ; You just have to either zoom with your feet or find a different way of looking at each scene.
     
  3. Dooku77

    Dooku77 Member

    Zooming with my feet is pretty fun. I shoot martial arts tournaments for my school with my 35mm and I'm constantly scrambling to get my shots and the lighting is usually bad so I rely on my primes for that. Someplace as large as Disney I was thinking close ups of the wife in the queues with the 35 and maybe some landscape shots with the 50. I was just trying to avoid bring a large bag this year. Thanks for the input.
     
  4. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    You jogged my memory. ; Back in the film era I spent a day with Disneyland and only my 20/2.8 prime. ; It was fun. ; I also was shooting slides and using my Cokin blue/yellow polarizer as well.

    [​IMG] Before Nemo in Yellow

    [​IMG] Before Nemo in Blue
     
  5. Dooku77

    Dooku77 Member

    OMG I absolutely love those pictures. You've given me hope for beautiful shots. The blue filter picture is mesmerizing.
     
  6. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    Thanks!

    That was a fun filter to use in the days before Photoshop was more mainstream. ; I did have a student edition of it, just never learned to use the tools it had.
     
  7. gary

    gary Member

    it's an excellent idea, i did pixelmania 2010 with a bag of primes, no zooms. now i don't know the nikon lengths, but if you have something in the 135-200 range, and the bag doesn't end up too heavy you might want that along. 50 is a little short for a few things such as kilimanjaro safari and boat/resort shots at times. if that length makes the bag a little heavy consider leaving off the 50 and just make the jump from 35 up to a modest telephoto, yeah you will be having to do a little more foot zooming and thought into the framing of shots, but there is value in working at that
     
  8. Dooku77

    Dooku77 Member

    So what I'll do is bring my sigma 50-200mm along with my 35mm and 50mm. I know I could shoot 50mm with the zoom but its not a fixed 1.8 and its considerably longer than a prime. Thanks for the advice.
     
  9. I'll be taking the same 35 1.8g on my trip in June. ; The 35mm is my first break from the 18-105 that came with the D7000. ; When I started seeing how much sharper the 35mm was, there was no doubt in my mind that it would be coming along on the next trip. ; I'm also renting a 24-70 2.8 and a 70-200 2.8 from Kingdom Camera, so I'm not sure how much I'll use the 35mm. ; I'm thinking I'll use the prime more for indoor/wide shots. ; The only prime I would want after a 35mm would be something wider for landscape shots.


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  10. Dooku77

    Dooku77 Member

    Renting the big dogs huh? Very nice choices. Those are 2 lenses I would love to own. Those fixed apertures will do wonders in low light since a lot of the indoor stuff doesn't allow flash.
     
  11. zackiedawg

    zackiedawg Member Staff Member

    I have shot DHS with only my 30mm F1.4 - back before I picked up my mirrorless cameras as second bodies, I wanted to travel light with the DSLR, so I decided to see what I'd get with just the small 30mm onboard. ; Even L, M, A. ; It was challenging - generally fun - I missed a few things where not having a long enough focal meant I either didn't take a shot or took it and ended up deleting...and a few times I couldn't quite get wide enough and resorted instead for a detail shot closeup.


    I might someday try it again - but generally, I like a little more flexibility, and tend to either travel with a zoom lens alone, or bring a few lenses along. ; That's become easier with the mirrorless kit, since I can wedge 3-5 lenses and body in the same bag I used to bring the DSLR and one lens in...same footprint, more lenses. ; I've gone with the mirrorless camera and only an 18-55mm kit lens, which was also a bit more limiting, and did fine, but that still offered some focal length flexibility.
     
  12. Dooku77

    Dooku77 Member

    I was not even going to bring my DSLR but my wife asked me why so then I came up with this brilliant idea to just take primes and remove the grip from my D7000. So far I have my 35mm,50mm and 50-200mm. I'm not bringing any flashes. I think it will be fun.
     
  13. Dooku77

    Dooku77 Member

    I've gone and done it. Couldn't pass up on this Nikon instant rebate and purchased the 85mm 1.8G. I'm so excited to take these lovelies to Magic Kingdom.
     
  14. Very nice. ; Looking forward to seeing your shots!


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  15. ddindy

    ddindy Member Staff Member

    I bought the Nikon 85mm 1.8 last fall, and I think it's my favorite lens now. ; Watch the DOF when it's wide open, though, it's very shallow.
     
  16. Tim

    Tim Administrator Staff Member

    We have considered do a prime-only meet at pixelmania. ; You're going to be doing a lot of foot-zooming but it will definitely improve your "photographic-eye".
     
  17. Dooku77

    Dooku77 Member

    Re: Re: Prime lenses for Disney

    I have no issue at all doing the old foot zoom. I shot a martial arts tournament with only my 35mm and I had a blast.

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  18. Tim

    Tim Administrator Staff Member

    Also, with those fast primes, you should have no issues photographing dark rides. You're not going to be long enough for most shows, but you will certainly learn to compose shots creatively. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
     

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