lapchaser said:Do you know of any place on the web I can learn about taking such Sharp pictures.

Any site that covers the basics of photography - how to support the camera, the relation between shutter speed/aperture/ISO, lighting, contrast, selective focus, depth of field, etc. - would probably more than suffice. (The basics also include the fundamentals of composition - framing, rule of thirds, leading lines, etc. - which, while useful stuff that can improve your pictures, won't technically do much for their sharpness.)

I don't know of any likely websites, but I'm sure many exist. You could almost certainly stop by your local public library and check out a couple of books on the fundamentals. And if the book was written ages ago, back when "digital" meant you were using your fingers, that's fine. The fundamentals of taking a good picture haven't changed very much over the past several decades.

I took my first photography course in 1978. Much of what I learned there applies today. Even a lot of the darkroom stuff remains relevant, it's just done somewhat differently today (on a computer, instead of in a darkroom), is all.

If going through an entire book is more than you want, just learn about the relationship between aperture and depth of field, and then get yourself a tripod. This alone will probably improve the sharpness of your photos more dramatically than will any lens you can buy.

Taking great photographs is an art. But simply taking sharp photographs is largely a matter of understanding a few basic technical skills.
--
Michael

The biggest thing you want to familiarize yourself with is shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. And how they are all related to give you proper exposure. Adjusting one will have an effect on the other two.

In addition, aperture also deals with depth of field. Shutter speed will impact ambient light

lapchaser said:Do you know of any place on the web I can learn about taking such Sharp pictures. I have D40x but no Prime Lens. I want to take portraits of my kids and also want to catch them in action. But so far i have been doing a lousy job, please let me know if there is any place that will teach me the basics and some advanced skills.

I have a feeling you aren't really interested in learning photography as much as you are in just taking nice pictures of the kids.

Your best bet would really be to just get this lens. Its remarkable how quickly people with no photography experience can take great, sharp photos with a decent prime lens. It's almost "point and shoot".

(I'm probably going to get thrashed by the photography snobs for this post and that's fine. I stand by this advice.)

12345Michael54321 said:MangoGT said:I have a feeling you aren't really interested in learning photography as much as you are in just taking nice pictures of the kids.

Your best bet would really be to just get this lens.

If he just wants nice snaps of the kids, I think an $89 p&s makes more sense than a DSLR w/lens(es).

Nothing wrong with just wanting nice pictures of the kids, either.

That isn't true. The image quality of a dSLR is going to be far better than that of a point and shoot--for some of the reasons that he already mentioned. Point and shoots are terrible for low light and action, whereas a D40(x) with a prime lens could easily get him sharp, high quality photos in most situations. I'm sure he also won't mind the "cool" effect of the bokeh from this lens, accenting the sharpness of the subjects (his kids).

kbedwardz said:Not trying to poop on the interesting thread, but since when is MSRP "hot"?

I think it is because this could be a very popular lens (first cheap fast prime that will AF with D40/D60), and getting it at MSRP when it is first released could be a good deal. The popular 18-200mm VR lens originally sold at retail ~$700 then was selling for over $1000 until production could keep up with demand which was over a year. So, if you want one now, MSRP could be the hottest deal you are going to find for a while, and you may not be able to find one at that much longer.

just bought one, will wait for it from BH. I have a 50mm f/1.8 but I would like to see how the quality of the 35mm compared to it before deciding which one to sell. From reading the rave reviews, I think the 35mm will be able to produce much nicer pictures. I don't like to stand back too far when taking portrait picture with the 50mm since the house is very small and there is not enough room to fall back on. Thank OPS.

got my lens from beach delivered yesterday. haven't put it through all the paces yet but so far i'm loving the results i'm getting with my d90

Ehero said:Any hands-on review?

Yes, all over the place.

Check out the Flickr Photo Pool: Link

I decided to cancel my backorder at Adorama. The rep said they received 1000 items and it wasn't enough to cover all the backorders... I decided to place a new order with Photoalley.com. $199.99 with 7% Cash Back and free shipping.

jcb193 said:So, not to harp on a subject, but what would be the best type of lens for the naughty shooting I am trying to do. (I agree that having a super sharp image might not be best for this purpose). Macro? Filter? This Lens? Any recommendations for a Nikon D90 less than $200.

Don't be looking for a lens recommendation, look for photo classes recommendation (lighting, focus, composition, etc.)