Field Review: Nikon D3100 (Day 4)

It was a cold, quiet, crisp morning in my hometown: the type of day I would usually shoot with my 50mm lens on my D90. After a little thought and a cup of tea I put my Nikon 50mm F/1.8 D lens on the D3100. We love 50mm Prime lenses here on The Phoblographer. They are low cost and great to shoot with. We have written a few posts on this subject. I thought it would be interesting to use my 50mm F/1.8 to shoot some Bokeh and have some fun.

Bokeh

If you just want regular Bokeh you can use a 35mm F/1.8 lens. But if you want to use something like the Bokeh Masters Kit, You need a 50mm F/1.8 lens. The Bokeh quality is nice, clear, and bright as long as you focus right. This camera just requires a little extra effort for bokeh, but it is more than capable.

D3100 & 50mm F/1.8 Combo

The 50mm lens is an FX lens. It does not have its own autofocus motor and the D3100 does not have an auto focus screw. This means I have to focus manually. In the cold, this sucks unless you have gloves. Manual focus is good practice though. The D3100 has a focus indicator on the bottom left of the viewfinder. Shooting in any mode, with the exception of manual, the exposure meter scale will aid you in manual focus. It will point out which direction to adjust the lens. You can turn this option on in the setup Menu; it’s called “Rangefinder” function. The 50mm 1.8 D lens is a great fit for the camera, even without auto focus.

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