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Author Topic: What lense for my d50 ?  (Read 3161 times)

francelet

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What lense for my d50 ?
« on: August 05, 2016, 02:51:08 AM »
Hello,

I have a nikon d50 and lense: AF-S Nikkor 55-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 G ED
I know 55-300mm is not good fo photogrammetry so i want update that
I think my budget is 200$ max because my d50 is old and dont want update old stuff and the purpose is for making assets for games, (objects little and also big like rocks, houses,  ans why not faces and drone

so i found Nikon Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8 D-AF
so... i'm not a expert but i heard prime 50mm is far better than zoom, do you think that will be a big difference with my  55-300mm or should i save some cash and buy in 2 years ~ a better camera?

oh and i dont know if AF-S 35 mm f/1,8 G is better...
I'm lost :/
Thanks very much

Francois
« Last Edit: August 06, 2016, 06:30:10 PM by francelet »

francelet

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Re: What lense for my d50 ?
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2016, 06:26:40 PM »
Now i wonder if NIKON 50MM F/1.8G worth the price because its more expensice than the older version 1.8D... for create some  assets for a game it is worth? i'm totally lost XD
« Last Edit: August 06, 2016, 06:29:06 PM by francelet »

ekbmuts

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Re: What lense for my d50 ?
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2016, 03:49:31 AM »
Have you tried your 55-300mm lens to see what results you can get?

It's not that this lens won't work for you.  It absolutely will.  A prime lens (one without a zoom) might work better.  Probably will. But that 55-300 is going to do just fine to get you started.

Photoscan recommends that you set it at either 55mm or 300mm.  I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you will probably want to set it at 55mm, unless you're photographing ants or something like that.

What is way, way more important than the lens that you are using is (amongst other things):

1.  Good, in-focus shots.

2.  Even lighting, no shadows.

3.  Good coverage on your shots, meaning enough angles of the object that you're shooting to give Photoscan something to work with.

So, my recommendation is don't spend any money!  Use the lens you have on the camera you have.  It will give you great results if your procedure is good and you know what you're doing.  Don't get hung up on the equipment you're using.

One last thing:  don't shoot flat, untextured objects like bars of ivory soap.  And don't shoot reflective objects.  Neither will give you good results.  Photoscan likes good textured, non-reflective objects.

Good luck.

Jon

francelet

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Re: What lense for my d50 ?
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2016, 01:59:53 AM »
Thanks for your  help Ekbmuts and your advices !

Before i had a 18-55 standart lens but last year my father broke it against a rock and of course not longer work, for his sin he buys a the 55-300mm lens before i start photogrammetry , anyway you are right my pictures makes really nice modeles in agisoft but i think 35mm would be more easier for example when i shoot a big object like house or big rocks

In 1 or 2 years i think i will take the prime 35mm over the 55m More useful for architecture and wide stuffs

Thanks
« Last Edit: August 09, 2016, 02:02:37 AM by francelet »

ekbmuts

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Re: What lense for my d50 ?
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2016, 03:42:45 AM »
francelet,  Great.  Glad that helped.  I've been thinking of getting a new lens too.  Maybe I'll talk my father into breaking it so I can have him buy me a new one...!

All joking aside, I just shot a baseball bat yesterday with a 18-200mm lens, set to 200mm and it came out perfect.  So that 55-300mm lens you have might be more useful than you at first thought.

35mm sounds right for houses and big rocks.

One more piece of advice:  I have found that you will get better results if you don't vary your focal length within a project.  Meaning:  if you're going to shoot a rock with your lens set at 55mm, don't take a bunch of pictures and then change to 125mm and shoot a bunch more pictures and load all those shots into Photoscan.  In my experience, Photoscan isn't too keen on that.  Choose your focal length for that project and stick with it.

There you go.

Jon

francelet

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Re: What lense for my d50 ?
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2016, 05:23:03 PM »
Hi sorry im a bit late XD and again thanks for your advices :)
You are absolutly right I have decent result !
btw i have found that http://lightpointdata.com/articles/2016/2/5/best-lenses-for-photogrammetry
this guy recommends the Nikon 20 mm f/2.8
But i think 20 mm do some distorsions!?  It's very expensive.. and i don't do scientific stuffs but for a game...

Francois

ekbmuts

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Re: What lense for my d50 ?
« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2016, 05:54:02 AM »
francelet,  Yeah, I guess that's a nice lens.  But in my dreams...

When I learned photography many years ago, the first lesson I was taught was that the best camera is the one you have.  And if you don't know the basics of the subject, then you could have a Hasselblad $500,000.00 camera and get lousy results.

So I stopped dreaming of getting a million dollar coupon for B&H Photo and decided to do the very best that I could with what I have.   And I have pretty much the same as you do.

You can get amazing results with the gear in your hands right now as long as you follow the basics of this photogrammetry subject.

Good luck.  Nice talking to you.

Jon