Landscape and portrait - kit to consider?

PardonTheWait

PardonTheWait

PardonTheWait

Soldato
Joined
26 Aug 2003
Posts
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This year I'd like to actually make some use of my camera - sadly we don't really go to any MX meets so much anymore (although I'll still be trying to get to some especially in the summer), so I want to get more into landscape and portrait stuff.

My main question, really, is whether there's any lenses that are quite good for both of these things? I've got a D40. Two lenses I've been looking at are the Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 EX DC HSM and the Sigma 30mm f1.4 EX DC HSM. From what I've read the 30mm is capable of both - how about the 10-20? Is it too wide to be of much practical use except for landscapes? If two lenses is going to be much better than compromising with one, I'll just have to save up, but I'm not made of money so if there's one that's decent for both I'd certainly be interested to know!

The other thing, is lighting/flashes for portrait stuff. I see a couple of you guys have some interesting setups that didn't cost the earth, does anyone have any tips? I'm interested in a flashgun obviously, but (I think) MrSix has mentioned stuff about using cheapy ebay flashguns with a control unit, and his results are cracking.

I've been playing with bouncing the onboard flash and making diffusers and so on, and I've bullied some friends into agreeing to let me practice on them, but in time it'd be nice to build up a bit of kit for better results and more versatility. Thing is previously I've had little to no interest in this sort of photography so I haven't the faintest idea where to start! Any guidance would be much appreciated on both questions :)
 
10-20 will only be any good for 'alternative' portraits, as the distortion will be huge that close up.

As for flashes, i'll someone else do that, as I make do with my single wireless :p
 
divine` said:
10-20 will only be any good for 'alternative' portraits, as the distortion will be huge that close up.

As for flashes, i'll someone else do that, as I make do with my single wireless :p
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I suspected as much on the 10-20. One thing I was thinking, is that me and Sic have been considering doing soe Urbex type stuff, and you see a lot of shots taken with very wide lenses, so I assume it'd be a safe choice for if we ever did that?

As for flashes, they just scare me, they've got too many buttons and I'm scared I won't be able to work it! Plus they're a lot of money, so I don't want to spend out unless I know it will be right, and I won't want to buy another one any time soon.
 
Ive got both the 10-20mm and the 30mm. The 30mm as you say is capable of both portraits and landscapes. The 10-20mm, while better at landscapes is way to wide for portraits. One way to test it out is to set the kit lens to 30mm, duct tape it in place and use it for a day or two and see how you get on with 30mm for everything. :)

As for lighting; http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html Get reading! ;)
 
Mohinder said:
I suspected as much on the 10-20. One thing I was thinking, is that me and Sic have been considering doing soe Urbex type stuff, and you see a lot of shots taken with very wide lenses, so I assume it'd be a safe choice for if we ever did that?
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Oh he mentioned that to me.

Well, if you try that, I might come along (time dependant) and you can see what mine is like if you wanted :p (unless Sic already has one, which is very possible)

I imagine it'd be good for that though, along with low aperture stuff.
 
Excellent, thanks for the link :)

I have plenty of time - I'm a complete noob at both these disciplines, and have shamefully neglected my camera since I got it, so I've got lots of learning and saving to do before it's worth even buying much in the way of kit.

Only time constraint is I want a good landscape lens for September, I'm going to Romania by motorbike and intend on taking lots and lots of landscape stuff. As soon as the weather starts to improve I can concentrate on landscape stuff - I ride a motorbike so going out on a really crap day is not an attractive prospect.

Portrait stuff I'll just practice on my mates :D
 
divine` said:
Oh he mentioned that to me.

Well, if you try that, I might come along (time dependant) and you can see what mine is like if you wanted :p (unless Sic already has one, which is very possible)

I imagine it'd be good for that though, along with low aperture stuff.
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You should, this year one of my 'resolutions' is to actally go at photography properly - instead of doing it a couple of times a year at big MX meets, actually make the effort to do it on my own. Urban exploration would be tons of fun and a good challenge for my photography :)
 
10-20 is perfect for landscapes and then just throw in a nifty fifty (50mm 1.8) for 50 quid for portraits. Vivitar 283 or 285HV flash, cheap with all the manual controls you need and combined with a wireless flash triggers off ebay for a tenner. sorted.
 
Mohinder said:
I suspected as much on the 10-20. One thing I was thinking, is that me and Sic have been considering doing soe Urbex type stuff, and you see a lot of shots taken with very wide lenses, so I assume it'd be a safe choice for if we ever did that?
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its the lens to have ;)

olv said:
10-20 is perfect for landscapes and then just throw in a nifty fifty (50mm 1.8) for 50 quid for portraits. Vivitar 283 or 285HV flash, cheap with all the manual controls you need and combined with a wireless flash triggers off ebay for a tenner. sorted.
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nifty fifty won't auto focus on a d40
 
Get the 50mm f1.8 and put up with manual focus, you may actually prefer the manual focus of it.
The 10-20 is a really fun lens, everyone seems to think it's only good for landscapes but I use it everywhere, once you buy it it probably won't come off your camera for a week!

As for a flash, the SB-600 is good. Remember the on-board flash won't illuminate the whole area a 10mm focal length will cover.
 
robertgilbert86 said:
The 10-20 is a really fun lens, everyone seems to think it's only good for landscapes but I use it everywhere, once you buy it it probably won't come off your camera for a week!
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this is true, i have it on my camera most of the time - it's great fun, put it around 10mm and take up closeup shots of people - they look funny :D
 
I've got a fifty already actually, and it's great - the only problem is I have real trouble with the manual focus when it's wide open because I wear glasses. I've tried really hard to find the right spot on the... er.. the thing next to the viewfinder that I forget the name of, but if it's pretty open, I just can't focus it properly. What I tend to do is either just keep trying til I get it in focus by elimination, or use it a little more closed. When I get my contacts I suspect I'll get a lot more use out of it!

I think the two sigma lenses are definitely two good shouts for me, it's just a matter of deciding which to get first.. probably the 10-20 I reckon.

The vivitar was mentioned in the lighting 101 link that MK posted, I shall certainly look into that and the Sb-600. Thanks very much for the advice guys, it's all appreciated :)
 
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