Dave Benham

Nikon D700, 50mm f/1.4, 1/30 at f/1.4

I just thought I’d post the aftermath of my challenge at the weekend. As I managed to get my month old son covered in soot (no, not up the chimneys yet, it was a steam engine – honest) it meant a bath was running almost as we walked in the door. A little later Tom was lying gazing out into the twilight and I had a f/1.4 lens on the camera. Available light – fantastic.

Nikon D700, 50mm f/1.4, 1/30 at f/1.4

The narrow depth of field shooting at f/1.4 is something else – check out the shot above. I was aiming to get the eye closest to the lens in focus, and even with him being so small Tom’s left eye is blurred. I was lucky on the first shot in being able to move myself into position so I was roughly parallel.

Next lens challenge – 70-200 I think!

Over the Easter weekend I set myself a challenge – instead of using my 24-70 f/2.8 or 70-200 f/2.8 zooms I had to stick to a single fixed focal length – my Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4 lens.

As nice as it is to travel light (and it is much lighter than my other zooms!) I was a little apprehensive as we approached the minature steam fair at Sammy Miller’s motorcycle museum, near New Milton. I was envisaging close cropped portraits of grizzled steam enthusiasts, and detail shots of their lovingly restored engines. How would I cope with the 50mm alone?

Harry helped me out here in a strange way. He was spooked by a little pocket steamroller shooting past us and decided the safest place to look at the steam was from within the playground. So against the fence we waited while he soaked up the atmosphere a little more.  There’s nothing like a climbing frame to inspire confidence, and provide a few photo opportunities!

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I’ve always loved a 50mm lens from my film days – my parents purchased a Minolta 50mm f/1.8 lens for my trusty Minolta Dynax 600si and it was to become an almost permanent fixture on my camera. I’ve wanted a 50mm lens for my Nikon system for a while and my friends and colleagues Mark Wheatley and Phil Cowan both love the f/1.8 version. I held myself back when I heard there was a new AF-S version of the lens arriving.

Why do we love a 50mm lens so much? For me it was the closest representation to what my eyes were looking at – now I appreciate far more the benefits of the large aperture for low light photography and the creative effect of bokeh.

I purchased my lens from Mifsuds in Brixham, and the next day I was eagerly adding it to my D700. As much as I love my AF-S 24-70 f/2.8 it is a heavy lens for everyday use, and the difference in weight is understandably staggering. The wide maximum aperture of f/1.4 and integration of the AF-S motor does make this a little more bulky than the earlier f/1.4 and f/1.8 models, but it handles well and looks a little less like a toy!

Harry sitting on the bookshelf, 1/30 at f/1.4, ISO 720

Once I’d got used to the minimum focusing distance I realised just how good this lens is – even in virtual darkness you can lock in on individual details. The extra couple of stops makes for a supremely bright viewfinder too.

Tinsel, 1/30 at f/1.4, ISO 1100

So now I have pretty much my ideal kit bag – the 24-70, 50mm standard lens and the 70-300 zoom. In a perfect world I’d have the 70-200 f/2.8 lens and a wide lens – the 14-24mm for example – but budget won’t stretch that far and realistically at the moment I’ve got what I need. I think the 24-70 will be the weapon of choice as I crave the flexibility and 24mm on a full frame camera is actually – 24mm!