DSLR Photography. 50mm Lens Questions!?

Question

Just received my first 50mm prime lens. My camera is a Nikon D3200 paired with a 50mm Nikkor f1.8D lens. Manual focus to save money.

With it being a prime lens, I was forced to move around to place and crop my shots. My subject is a car since I am a car photographer.

Manual focusing isn't the easiest thing to do, however i got the just of getting my pictures sharp. Since I strive for a more professional looking shot, I use a wide aperture such as f2.2, f2.8 to generate a nice depth of fied that gives a the background of the shot a blurred look.

Question:

Anyway guys and gals. I stepped away for a few shots to get the car in frame. I was a decent ways away from the car for the shot and i focused manually but it was as if i was no longer able to focus the shot at that distance from my subject. like i was too far to reach focus.

Is this because i should be shooting at a tighter aperture such as f11? is that why I wasnt able to get the shot in focus from far distance with this lens?

Thanks guys still learning. Amateur.

qrk · Accepted Answer

Your lens will focus out to infinity. 
How do adjust focus? 
Do you use the focus indicator in the lower left of your viewfinder (see pages 23 and 42 in your manual)?
Or, do you go for best clarity in the viewfinder?

If you use the indicator, the focus point must be on a contrasting edge. If the focus point is on a side panel without any contrasting edges, the focus indicator won't work.

If focusing for best clarity, then Joedlh's comment about the diopter adjustment may be in issue (see page 20 in your manual).

joedlh · Answer

Make sure the diopter on your viewfinder is suited to your vision. If it isn't, it will look like the shot is out of focus when it really is in focus. This is especially important if you are using manual focus. Which, by the way, why? Please don't say that it's because somebody told you that professionals always use manual focus. The other thing that you should consider is this: are you getting all the car in focus at f/2.8? Don't sacrifice a clear image of your subject just to get creamy bokeh. Moved your subject farther away from the background and move yourself closer to it in order to get the blur. In this regard, a 50mm lens may not the best choice for a wide subject like a car. On your APS-C sized sensor, it's more like an 85mm short telephoto.

B K · Answer

Even though the lens is manual focus, you should still get the auto focus confirm light showing in the view finder when you achieve focus.

That lens can focus to infinity - so it should not be a problem.  The lens focus is not limited by the aperture.  Only wide apertures create shallow depth of field.  Also the distance to the subject, and distance of the background will affect how shallow a depth of field you will see.

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DSLR Photography. 50mm Lens Questions!?

3 Answers