Let’s cut to the chase – you wanted a “real camera” (which for most people means a DSLR) because you wanted to take photos with a blurry background. You were tired of your cell phone images where everything was flat and in focus, and you wanted to produce gorgeous images where your subject was sharp but the background was blurred.
You might have heard the term “bokeh” used alongside images with a blurred background. On Instagram, photos with a blurred background often have tags such as #bokeh or #bokehlicious on them.
The answer is yes. You can use Nikon’s 35mm DX lens on an FX camera in FX mode. For some reason, the lens was designed to *almost* cover a full-frame sensor, despite being designed and marketed only for DX bodies. There are some problems with it, but if you recently upgraded to a full-frame Nikon and already have this lens, it’s worth giving it a try.
The first thing you need to do is find the “Image area” submenu on your camera and turn OFF the “Auto DX crop” option. Also make sure “Choose image area” is set to FX, which it probably already is unless you’ve been screwing around.
Turn off Auto DX crop! This is the most important menu option change you will ever make in your entire life.
Once that’s all set, the camera will no longer go into DX mode and you’ll be able to use the full 35mm glory of this tiny lens on your full-frame system. You will now get a nice and useful 35mm field of view with only some minor vignetting at wider apertures (generally speaking, under f4).
If you stop down too far (past f4) the edges will change from gentle vignetting to totally black, as if you’re looking through the keyhole of a door. That’s the caveat with using this lens on an FX camera. But you bought a full-frame system to use the lenses wide open for that ridiculous background blur, so who cares about f4 and above, right?
Nikon D700 with 35mm f1.8G DX lens at f3.2. This image is uncorrected so you can see the vignetting in the corners.
As you can see in the sample photo above, the vignetting is definitely there but it’s not too bad under most shooting conditions. Vignetting may be become more distracting in bright sunlight, but you can always crop it out or correct for it in Photoshop or Lightroom under the Lens Corrections menu. If you shoot a lot at night or in dark bars like I do, then the vignetting won’t even matter.
Vignetting? Nobody cares! Nikon D700 with 35mm f1.8G DX at f1.8.
The lens performs well on full-frame cameras, with rich and vivid colors. Sometimes the colors are too vivid, to the point of being almost cartoonish. But you can always color correct in your editing software.
Beware — this lens causes storms and rain when attached to an FX camera! Nikon D700 with 35mm f1.8G DX at f2.5.
Autofocus is quick and accurate, but that’s to be expected since FX autofocus systems are generally the best anyway. It’s also nice to use this lens with a huge, bright FX viewfinder rather than the tiny DX viewfinders.
Look at how much crap you can fit into the frame now! 35mm all day, baby! Nikon D700 with 35mm f1.8G DX at f1.8.
Give this lens a try on your full-frame camera and let me know what you think below in the comments! And follow me on Instagram for my latest photos of New York City.
Most beginning photographers will have a crop-sensor camera, such as the Nikon D3300 that I recommended in the article. Without getting crazy technical here, using a crop-sensor camera always means that the millimeter number on the lens (in this case 35mm) is multiplied by 1.5. That means that this lens will give you the rough equivalent of a classic 50mm field of view.
The Nikon 35mm f1.8G DX lens looking all sexy on my bed. Photo taken with a Samsung Tablet.
Sharp, Light and Small
The Nikon 35mm is a lightweight lens. It’s perfect for carrying around all day long and using in a variety of situations. It’s useful for photos of people, close-up shots of objects, and even landscapes. The lens is very sharp and delivers images with quite a bit of detail.
Keep in mind that the lens is a prime lens with a fixed focal length – meaning that you can’t zoom with it. If you need to get closer to your subject, you’ll have to actually walk towards it!
Yes, you can fit everything in the shot even though it’s not a zoom lens!
Cheap and Popular
The lens is also inexpensive. Brand new, it shouldn’t cost you more than $200 from any major internet camera retailer.
Even better, this lens is so popular that one of your Nikon-shooting friends probably owns one, and may let you try it out – at least for a few shots.
Good for Low Light and Night Shooting
The f-number of a lens tells you how much light the lens lets in, or how “bright” it is. Once again, I won’t get too technical here, but the lower the f-number, the better a lens will perform in low light situations or at night. This lens has an f-number of 1.8, which is a very low number (for comparison, a typical zoom lens has an f-number of 3.5, which is why most zoom lenses are not so good for low-light shooting).
What this all means is you can finally shoot clear, detailed pictures of your friends drinking in dimly-lit bars, or capture scenes on the streets at night that don’t look dark and grainy.
Were they running from the rain – or from me & my camera?
Blurred Background
Another great aspect of this lens is the ability to shoot photos with that “blurred background” look that everyone loves and craves. This makes the lens useful for casual portraits, or to isolate a subject that’s in front of a distracting background, such as a busy street.
A blurry bunch of flowers, just for you.
Nikon created a gem with this lens and even more amazing is how inexpensive it is to own. I highly recommend you go buy (or try) the Nikon 35mm f1.8G DX. Do you have this lens and enjoy shooting with it? Or are you a beginner that has more questions about it? Leave a comment below or feel free to message me on Instagram.
All photos in this article were taken with a Nikon D5100 and Nikon 35mm f1.8G DX lens. Except for the photo of the lens itself, which was taken with a Samsung Tablet & Snapseed.
The kit lens is the inexpensive zoom lens that comes with a new DSLR or mirrorless camera. Usually it’s made of plastic with a plastic mount. Years ago, kit lenses used to be very badly built and of poor optical quality. I have one old kit lens that was difficult to zoom in and out (it would become hard to turn and even get stuck at certain points). Even worse, it had optical problems, leaving one area of the photo very blurry while the rest of the photo was perfectly sharp. Kit lenses today are both built better and much better optically. Here are more good points about kit lenses:
They Are Cheap
Usually when you buy a new camera, the kit lens is around $100. For that relatively low outlay of cash, you get a lens that probably has very fast autofocus and may even have image stabilization built into it, as is the case with Nikon kit lenses. Due to its low cost, it’s less of a worry bringing it to places where you may not want to risk a more expensive lens.
Kit lenses make me feel safer riding the NYC subway.
They Are Versatile
Because they cover such a big focal range — allowing you to zoom from a wide shot to a close up shot and anything in between — they’re great for a lot of photographic situations. They are especially useful while traveling or at an event.
Photobombing, kit lens style.
They Are Lightweight and Small
Since they are small and mostly made from plastic, they are very light compared to more expensive lenses, which will likely be larger and made with metal. Many of the newest kit lenses are also designed to basically retract into themselves, becoming more compact for storage or for stowing in a camera bag.
They Are Sharp & Can Focus Closely
Yes, it’s true. The newer kit lenses are surprisingly sharp with pretty good image quality. I have also found that many can focus very close to the subject, which is useful for photographing objects like toys or food.
Late night with the kit lens.
Downsides
Sounds great, right? So why would you need any other lens? Well, as good as the kit lens may be, more expensive lenses will still be better optically. There really is a difference there. If you’re a beginner you may not be able to tell, or it may not matter to you right now. Later on in your photographic journey, it might become important.
Another downside with kit lenses is that they aren’t the best choice for indoor photography or night photography. However, I have done both of those types of photography with a kit lens — all of the photos in this article were taken with a kit lens, including the night shots.
Finally, every new photographer wants to experiment with that creamy “blurred background” look. While you can achieve it somewhat with a kit lens under the right conditions, it’s not the ideal lens for it.
Don’t worry about any of that right now, though. Go out and shoot with your kit lens. It’s probably a lot better than you think and you will get some great images out of it.
All photos in this story were taken with an Olympus EM-10 and the Olympus 14-42 RII kit lens.
So you want your very first “real camera” — you want a DSLR. You’re ready to step up from your point-and-shoot or smartphone. But you’re not sure what you should buy to get started, and you don’t want to spend too much money as a beginner. Here’s my advice:
Buy Used
There are some people that will scoff at the idea of buying anything used, but it’s extremely common in the photography world to buy used gear. Photographers are constantly selling their equipment for various reasons. Sometimes a photographer doesn’t use a camera or lens as much as they thought they would. Or maybe they are selling off equipment to buy something more expensive. Whatever the case, the used photography gear market is thriving and you’re sure to find whatever you want at a discount. It’s true that there’s always a risk that some used gear may be in bad shape or may not function properly, so use a reputable source like KEH or Amazon (both have generous and easy return policies) and you’ll be fine. You can also try ordering refurbished equipment directly from the manufacturer.
I personally rarely buy any of my equipment new; nearly every piece of gear I have was bought used. Many of my cameras and lenses are very old.
Buy a Nikon
For a beginner, choosing between Canon and Nikon is often an agonizing decision, so I’m going to make it easy for you: just buy a Nikon. Okay, I’m a Nikon fan, it’s true. But they really are great cameras, and any Nikon DSLR made after 2011 is going to give you very high-quality images. And when compared with similar cameras from Canon, Nikon cameras usually have more megapixels and better sensors.
Buy One Lens
When you’re shopping for your used Nikon, keep in mind that it’s likely just the body you’re buying. You’ll also need to buy a lens. But don’t buy a bunch of lenses. As a beginner photographer, you’re going to be figuring out your style and what you like to shoot. Get one general-purpose lens and stick with that for a while.
My Specific Recommendation
Buy a used Nikon D3300 and a 35mm f1.8G DX lens. The Nikon D3300 is a very good camera, with excellent image quality. It’s also small and light, which means you’ll be more likely to throw it in a bag and bring it with you everywhere.
The 35mm f1.8G DX lens is a great all-around lens. It’s inexpensive, very sharp, focuses quickly, and it’s small. It’s also good for low-light situations, such as night photography or taking pictures of your friends in dimly lit bars. The lens is also good for people shots since it will give you that nice “blurred background” look when you take a picture of someone’s face. Also, it can focus very closely on objects — great for food shots, for example. And you won’t have to buy anything else for a while.
Good luck getting started on your photographic journey, and if you have any questions feel free to e-mail me, message me on Instagram, or leave a comment below.
