[slip]

Is the da 35 good for family photos indoors? The wife loves the Xmas family shots but we find her 50 1.4 too close.
I like the price of this lens but am not sure it is much different then the 50
Btw, she doesn't do manual focus

Thanks

Randy

[subidoc]

Personal choices, and also depending on the "group" size. I have used my 35mm ZK numerous times. Focussing was never an issue, especially if the group is large enough. If more than 10 feet away, its already almost hyperfocal for this lens. Not sure what your DA says.... I have also used a 40mm Ultron in the last.

[JinDesu]

Have you guys used a compact cam before to take indoor group shots? A compact cam is usually around 24mm equivalent, and if you used one and it's been wider than what you need indoors, a 35mm might be spot on. If you, on the other hand, have a living room like mine where the compact cam just captures the whole group on the sofa - 35mm is too long.

[Docrwm]

I love my 35/2.4 for indoors. It's fast enough and wide enough for most situations. Big groups in small spaces call for an UWA sometimes but I find that for my 10-12 person Thanksgiving family shots it was great.

[ChuyQ]

Hi Randy,
If you are talking about family portraits only, and the family standing next to a Christmas tree, you may need some room in landscape orientation but not as much for portrait.
With a 7 foot tree and my family standing on both sides of it I found that I have to move the camera way back (15-20 ft.) in landscape orientation in order to fit the whole tree. For closeups of my kids it is really good no matter what the orientation of the camera.
If you are talking family reunions, I usually switch between my 35mm and 17-70 depending on the occasion or needs.

[MPrince]

Is the da 35 good for family photos indoors?

Depends on the size of the family and the size of the room.

[normhead]

I was going to say go for it, but then I changed my mind. From last year...I looked at my group shot of 14 people from last Christmas, I used the DA 18-135 @ 24mm. So for this purpose I'm guessing the best lens for this purpose is probably the Tamron 17-50 2.8. The 21 Ltd might work as well, but I haven't used it much indoors. We used the FA 50 1.7 for the solo or two person portrait shots... we used the 18-135 for everything else.