Which Lens?

[John_A]

Passing my D50 to our son who is a tattoo artist that wants to post more photos to his web site. Which lens should he be looking at?

I am thinking 18 - 55

[cfortner]

IMHO for that purpose a 50mm 1.8 would likely be a better choice in that price range.

[Melany]

Originally Posted by cfortner

IMHO for that purpose a 50mm 1.8 would likely be a better choice in that price range.

I agree with the 50mm
Or maybe a macro, if he wants to post tat photos. Maybe a 60mm macro?

[John_A]

Originally Posted by Melany

I agree with the 50mm
Or maybe a macro, if he wants to post tat photos. Maybe a 60mm macro?

I was thinking the DOF could get fuzzy on like a shoulder tat with the 50. it would be fine for the chest or belly...

[Photogdude]

don't worry about DOF, when choosing your lens. i think the 50 or 60 are great suggestions, with the 60 being more versatile, just in case you wanna do close-ups.

[Snarfy]

an 18-55 will be just fine as an introductory lens

[Daniel W.]

The OP makes a very relevant comment bout DOF on a multi-planar (focus on multiple planes) such as a shoulder tattoo. Using the camera on an auto-mode (usually first steps) the camera would likely put it at around 2.8-4.0, which at the distance required to shoot a shoulder to fill the frame with a 50 or 60, may not give it as much sharpness (DOF falloff wise) as if it were shot at 24mm or 35mm.

I say try the 18-55, learn to use AV-mode to stop down to f/8 or so, or even try shooting outside to avoid direct flash. Then, possibly consider an additional purchase in the future.

[venchka]

Lighting. Minimum focus distance-easy to see if you can get close enough with your own hands. Tripod. Lighting. One of the classic Nikon people lenses would be on my shopping list. One more time: Lighting.

Oh. And the crop sensor thing. 35 is the real 50 and 50 is the real 75. 75mm is a classic people field of view.