So what lens do you choose for a group shoot of a ballerina in a park?

[AlphaWorld]

So you know you will be photographing a ballerina under natural light - the choice of an A1 camera is easy. But what lens?

I chose to go with my newest acquisition: the 50-150mm f/2 GM. It was perfect. I used focal lengths from 50mm to 150mm, and something over 60 focal lengths in between - I was very glad to have those choices. I shot all the images below at f/2, 1/1000, and I let Auto ISO float - it varied, but it was always quite low. Cloudy, but there was enough light.

Love the separation between subject and background.

I have no regrets about buying the 50-150 GM. Yes, it's an expensive lens, but the autofocus works instantaneously, and the clarity of the image...

Apologies if I'm tempting you to consider a lens that is outside your budget.

 

[Richard A]

Nice shots. You got the jumping one spot on. This is a lens I probably wouldn't use much. What puts me off is the size & weight really. If I was looking at something in this range I would probably go with one of the fast 135mm lenses.

I had a chance to try this lens on the night walk we went on a couple of months ago but due to the weather and what we were shooting, I decided to have a longer play with the 14mm. This is a lens I will probably get soon. In fact, there was a good one on eBay recently for a good price and due to me humming and hahing, I missed out on it. They don't come up second hand very often.

 

[spudhead]

Nice shots Tony , that is one nice lens , if it worked with tc`s it would be in my kit Tony metadata would be nice

 

[Chris 3754]

Great shots and I fully agree that the separation of the subject from the background is wonderful! You also have just the right amount of motion blur in the fountain water. I recently did a park shoot of family with the Sony 90mm Macro G lens. It was tack sharp but I had to use the “human” zoom to frame it right since it was the only lens I had. Fortunately though my granddaughter found some insects so the macro came in handy.

 

[AlphaWorld]

Nice shots. You got the jumping one spot on. This is a lens I probably wouldn't use much. What puts me off is the size & weight really. If I was looking at something in this range I would probably go with one of the fast 135mm lenses.

I had a chance to try this lens on the night walk we went on a couple of months ago but due to the weather and what we were shooting, I decided to have a longer play with the 14mm. This is a lens I will probably get soon. In fact, there was a good one on eBay recently for a good price and due to me humming and hahing, I missed out on it. They don't come up second hand very often.

I am pondering the new Sigma 135mm - reviews are reporting it to be a very sharp lens, and it’s definitely fast - a whole stop faster than this one. But it weighs as much as this lens, and they left the zoom ring off it. It is definitely shorter than this, though. Do I want the Sigma and 2/3 of a stop (I’ve owned the Sony 135mm f/1.8 GM since 2019)?

Shooting a ballerina in flight is fun! It is one of my favourite subjects. You do get limited chances (a dancer cannot jump continuously for hours ), but that makes the satisfaction of a good shot even better.

 

[evacguy]

So you know you will be photographing a ballerina under natural light - the choice of an A1 camera is easy. But what lens?

I chose to go with my newest acquisition: the 50-150mm f/2 GM. It was perfect. I used focal lengths from 50mm to 150mm, and something over 60 focal lengths in between - I was very glad to have those choices. I shot all the images below at f/2, 1/1000, and I let Auto ISO float - it varied, but it was always quite low. Cloudy, but there was enough light.

Love the separation between subject and background.

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I have no regrets about buying the 50-150 GM. Yes, it's an expensive lens, but the autofocus works instantaneously, and the clarity of the image...

Apologies if I'm tempting you to consider a lens that is outside your budget.

Really nice shots Tony. I like them all, but the second is my favourite. You nailed the flight shot, I love the sense of motion with her hair and necklace in motion. The ground must have been a bit hard on her feet. Odd that there no meta data with the images? Where did you take the photographs and how long did you have access to the model for?