The other way is to get a smaller focal length. But this is likely still going to be tough in a museum. At f/2.8 you'd get a foot of DOF at 9 feet away. One way to improve this situation is to stop down. and runs into a wall or the other statue behind him. If he wants one foot of DOF he's going to have to be 12 feet away. Not only is it difficult to grab precise focus but everything outside that narrow range will be a blur. If your friend is using the 50mm wide open from about three feet away the DOF is going to be under an inch. He described being unable to get both the nose and the ear of a sculpted portrait in focus at once (when shooting wide open), or else being unable to step back far enough to get a whole 6-ft-tall statue in the frame.That's just lens physics. One of my friends said he bought a 50mm f/1.4, but he is disappointed in its very shallow depth of field. ![]() The lens is NOT compatible with the internal flash, if flash is a consideration. At this distance, the long side of the sensor takes in about 8 inches (20 cm) with the lens set to 24mm. So: would a 20mm f/1.8 be the way to go? Or would it be too wide and prevent me from getting that bokeh I desire? Would a 35 or 50mm be better? If so, how far back would I have to stand to get the whole statue in the frame?Although it is fairly expensive, the Pentax 12-24mm f/4 might be a good museum lens. So: would a 20mm f/1.8 be the way to go? Or would it be too wide and prevent me from getting that bokeh I desire? Would a 35 or 50mm be better? If so, how far back would I have to stand to get the whole statue in the frame? (I know he's no photography expert, so it's possible he's just doing something wrong.) In my perfect world, I would be able to photograph statues in low light and have the shots turn out nice and sharp and with a blurred background to help the statue stand out. He described being unable to get both the nose and the ear of a sculpted portrait in focus at once (when shooting wide open), or else being unable to step back far enough to get a whole 6-ft-tall statue in the frame. ![]() I figure a fast prime lens is probably the way to go, but I'm not sure how wide it should be. ![]() Right now I have only a Sigma 28-300 f/3.5. I'm starting to invest in better equipment to deal with the challenges of museum photography, but can't afford a whole suite of lenses. There are exceptions, of course some museums allow tripods on low-traffic days, and some will allow the use of one by prior arrangement, but for the most part, I'm stuck with low light and a handheld camera. The objects I photograph are mostly inside museums, where the lighting is poor and tripods are forbidden. I'm an art historian trying to amass my own photo archive of Greek and Roman art, so mostly large pieces of sculpture and small three-dimensional artifacts (vases, bronze implements, etc.).
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