dark rides and a 3.5-5.6 lens

[f19810]

I just bought a nikon d5100 and have the 18-55 and 55-200 kit lenses. Can I assume that even with the good low light capabilities of this camera, that I will not be able to get decent shots on the rides? I am planning on putting the pictures in a photobook so the pictures will be around 3 x 5. I don't want to buy another lens just for the dark rides since I am not sure when or if I would use it again. Until Sunday, I was only going to take my G12 (one step above a point and shoot) to WDW and not my d40 dslr but I saw this camera and couldn't resist!
Judy

 

[NLD]

Well, you'd have to keep the focal lengths on the wide end to get your widest aperture.

How high does ISO go on the D5100?

Some of Small World might be in reach.

If there is any way you can get a 35 1.8 lens or even a 50 1.8 (not as ideal a focal length, but even cheaper than the 35mm), I strongly suggest it.

That 35 1.8 DX lens is a fabulous deal.

 

[AbbysFamily]

I think you're in for a rough time on some of the true dark rides. Reading the reviews, the camera is good, but the hi iso modes are pretty noisy (as expected). I've taken a F1.8 and a F2.8 at iso 3200 and still had a tough times for parts. With F3.5 or higher, even with iso bumped above that, your going to have your work cut out for you to get an image you'll be happy with IMO.

 

[f19810]

The highest iso is 64000. I am considering getting the 35mm lens but might wait. I'm going to WDW in a couple of weeks and will be going back in Oct so I may wait to get the other lens until then. I bought the G12 in March so that I didn't have to always carry the slr and now I bought a new slr and didn't budget for it! A new lens will have to wait! With any luck, my brother will have a lens and I can use that one. What would I use the 35mm lens for other than dark rides.

 

[ukcatfan]

The exposure is only part of the problem. That lens will not likely AF in low light. Get familiar with MF if you want to try.

 

[f19810]

I just looked at some photos taken with the 35mm 1.8 lens. I love the background blur and how the subject just jumps out at you. Either I am doing something wrong or my other lenses (f3.5-5.6) just can't match that. I can justify getting this lens if I will use it for flowers and other subjects when I want a nice blurred background. I can may be buying this lens in the VERY near future.

 

[ukcatfan]

I would not justify it for macro work. I am almost positive that it is not a macro lens. It is nice for blurring the background on larger subjects like people, but it is not really a portrait lens either. The focal length is a little short for that. Research depth of field (how much is in focus) to understand how the aperture affects it.

 

[photo_chick]

While I agree that a 35mm probably isn't going to do macro looking work well(it's not a true macro lens), I know several professional photographers that use the 35mm for a portrait lens. It's a great focal length on a crop body when doing groups of people.

But back to the original question, you can get some shots on some rides with what you've got. I had one day in MK this last trip when I left my fast prime in the room. I was using my 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 at ISO 3200 (I kept my lens at 28mm) on my 50D and I got some shots from It's a Small World. Parts of it are very bright. I got a few shots on on Winnie the Pooh and I didn't get anything usable on Peter Pan. I didn't try on anything else that day, since I had already covered the other rides on the trip. Anyway, my point is that possible to get some shots with a lens the speed yours is wide open.

 

[HPS3]

I have the 35 on my D5100 and rarely take it off. I wish I could have gotten this instead of the 18-55 as my kit lens.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I loved my Nikkor 35mm lens for the shows and nighttime shots. I really didn't try to take pictures on the rides. You can pick one up for around $200 or you can rent one. There are online sources, or maybe some local sources around your home.

 

[zackiedawg]

I have, in a pinch, taken a few shots in dark rides with a slowish lens - can you get something 'usable'? Yes. Will it be as excellent as some examples you'll see here of folks using full-frame cameras, F1.4 lenses, and tons of RAW processing? No. I wouldn't let it discourage me from still taking some shots, but just accepting that they won't be as good as they would be with a faster lens.

My last camera, a Sony A550, had the 14MP sensor which is also in the D3100 - so actually not quite as good a sensor as the one in your D5100...with an F3.5 lens wide open, I could get usable but not great dark ride shots...here are some samples - these were shot strictly in JPG with no post processing, so they could possibly have been even slightly better results if they'd been shot in RAW and worked on a bit:

18-250mm lens at F3.5, ISO6400:

Tamron 10-24mm at F3.5 and ISO6400:

Sony NEX3, 18-55mm kit lens at F3.5, ISO6400 (same sensor, different camera):

Not my greatest dark ride results by any means - I can do much better with my 30mm F1.4 or 50mm F1.7 - but sometimes I didn't have those with me, and I still decided to give it a go just for fun. They'd be usable to show family, for slideshows, for small prints...so yes, you could get usable results even with your kit lens and shooting straight JPGs out of camera, and your D5100 is capable of even better results at ISO6400 with the newer 16MP sensor, which is quite good (I have the same sensor in my newer camera, Sony A580).

 

[MarkBarbieri]

You might want to just relax and enjoy the rides and not bother taking pictures. There are a lot of people here with dark ride photos that they will share for free or a very nominal cost. The rides don't really change much. Unless you really want to shoot the rides for the joy of shooting them, I'd put your efforts into getting pictures that you can't easily download from someone else.

 

[ukcatfan]

While I agree that a 35mm probably isn't going to do macro looking work well(it's not a true macro lens), I know several professional photographers that use the 35mm for a portrait lens. It's a great focal length on a crop body when doing groups of people.

But back to the original question, you can get some shots on some rides with what you've got. I had one day in MK this last trip when I left my fast prime in the room. I was using my 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 at ISO 3200 (I kept my lens at 28mm) on my 50D and I got some shots from It's a Small World. Parts of it are very bright. I got a few shots on on Winnie the Pooh and I didn't get anything usable on Peter Pan. I didn't try on anything else that day, since I had already covered the other rides on the trip. Anyway, my point is that possible to get some shots with a lens the speed yours is wide open.

I was thinking true head and shoulders portraits. I use my 35mm for group shots.

 

[krb2g]

I love my 35mm f/1.8 prime (I'm using it on a D40 body). I bought it after my last Disney trip specifically for dark ride shots (even though we definitely didn't have another trip scheduled any time in the near future at that point!), but I've been able to use it for a lot of other things. It produces beautiful bokeh.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I just bought a nikon d5100 and have the 18-55 and 55-200 kit lenses. Can I assume that even with the good low light capabilities of this camera, that I will not be able to get decent shots on the rides? I am planning on putting the pictures in a photobook so the pictures will be around 3 x 5. I don't want to buy another lens just for the dark rides since I am not sure when or if I would use it again. Until Sunday, I was only going to take my G12 (one step above a point and shoot) to WDW and not my d40 dslr but I saw this camera and couldn't resist!
Judy

Here's my take (but keep in mind that I'm probably the worst one on the boards to take advice from experience wise.) Can you get decent shots with what you have? Yes. Would you do better with the 35mm 1.8? Absolutely. Would I bump the ISO up to 6400? I can't say yes but I can't say no. On the darker pictures, the 6400 brings up too much noise for my liking. 3200 is manageable and 6400 isn't horrible, it's just too much for my liking most of the time.

My main lens is the Sigma 18-250 which it pretty much the 2 kit lenses in 1. I also recently picked up a Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens which works just as well as the 35mm, but a hair more reach. We just got back from WDW and I'm going through some of the pictures now and can definitely see a difference in sharpness with the 50mm. The nice blurry background really makes your subject stand out also. If you can justify the $200 and can afford it before your trip, I'd say go for it. It won't be the last time you use that lens I'm sure.

I haven't posted any pics from this last trip but my 2010 trip report has pictures all taken with the Nikon D5000 and the Sigma lens I mentioned. You should be able to better than all of those with the setup you already have Good luck and have fun!!!