I like the Nikon 50mm f/1.8, but then I like the Canon 50mm f/1.8, too

garryknight

garryknight

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But which is better? There's only one way to find out...

But not, as Harry Hill would say, "FIGHT!" Let's see your 'Nifty Fifty' shots, whichever camera you choose, including other makes. Personally, I don't think either of those is better, but I do like to see what people can do with them, whether it's because they're so sharp or because you can get so creative with the depth of field.

I'll start off with this one and if you care to join in, it could turn out to be one of the best-quality threads on TP.

And It Was All Yellow, Too

1/320 sec @ f/1.8, ISO 200
 
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La Estrella -just a little more sharpness on the point and it would be stunning - eyes hunting for focus atm
 
I have been thinking about getting a 50 mm f1.8 for a while now and you have just convinced me to buy my first lens above the kit one I have for my Nikon
 
I know the BG is a little busy but, I like this one as it shows his expression off well.


Dexter by hpygolucky, on Flickr

Shot with my canon nifty @ 2.2.
 
Thomas as taken by his sister Millie on a family day out, she had my d300 with 50mm 1.4 a-fs. I really dont know why I bother, she has a natural eye for composition and lighting.

thomassxx.jpg
 
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I just realised I read the thread title wrong! I use the Nikon 35mm f1.8!!!!

OK, I'm outta here!!!!!
 
Adam Priseman said:
Hey, you forgot the Sony 50mm f1.8! :shake:
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You're right, I did! OK, I've edited the original post. All photos taken with a fast 50mm lens will be fine. I'd love to see them all and I bet others will too.

Ricardodaforce said:
I just realised I read the thread title wrong! I use the Nikon 35mm f1.8!!!!

OK, I'm outta here!!!!!
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Oh, now that is a shame. Your photos are always well worth a look. You'll just have to go and get yourself a 50mm f/1.8 now... :D
 
That's a corker Rich.

Already I think that f/1.8 is a little too wide (and soft) so I will use f/2 and f/2.8 a lot more. I see you've used f/2.8 for this shot and it's given a great balance between sharpness and the background bokeh.
 
Thanks Johnathon, I did start out shooting at f/1.8 but due to the tiny depth of field I kept getting shots where the focus was slightly off.

At f/1.8 it only takes a minute movement (them or you) to skew the focus whereas at f/2.8 you have quite a bit more leeway and I find I get a lot more keepers :)
 
My first shot with my 50mm the Christmas before last...


Madison by dsutton1974, on Flickr
 
Mine arrived this morning and I am really struggling with it, so I am shamefully popping onto this thread asking for tips.
 
jomantha said:
Mine arrived this morning and I am really struggling with it, so I am shamefully popping onto this thread asking for tips.
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"Shamefully?" No, no! Do it shamelessly. :)

Which particular lens is it? Presumably the Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G? But then I suppose that the majority of tips for one 50mm lens will also apply to the others.

Since the lens will go to f/1.8, you can shoot in lower light conditions than at smaller apertures but you then have less depth of field to play with. And at f/1.8 the lens won't be at its sharpest, so a lot of the time you'll probably want to stop down to f/2.8 to f/5.6, say, or even to f/8 as long as you're getting shutter speeds faster than 1/80 sec.

With close-up portraits, the depth of field will be very shallow at f/1.8 so you might have to stop down to get both eyes in focus unless the subject's face is parallel to the lens. But then that f/1.8 allows you to shoot lower-light indoor shots including children scuttling around. For more sedate subjects, f/8 should give you a nice shot with the background not too blurred, to give some context. f/1.8 will give you quite blurred backgrounds if you stay close to your subject.

With landscapes, the lens will probably perform well at f/16 but higher than that you might start to get loss of image quality from diffraction. But as with f/16 on any lens, the light needs to be good or you need a tripod.

For many other subjects, the old "f/8 and be there" adage seems to work quite well - again, as long as the light is sufficient. My best advice would be to shoot in aperture priority mode, adjust the aperture relative to the subject you're shooting and how much you want in focus, and increase the ISO if you need to. But then I'd say that about most lenses on most cameras.

Now, all of this might not be the kind of tips you had in mind. If you were to say what kind of photography you like to do most, maybe others can give some more relevant tips.
 
Thats exactly the kind of tips I am looking for, I bought the lens to try to grab some pictures of my children playing with their toys in the house, because the house is cluttered I always hate the backgrounds and end up binning the photos, I also bought it to try to grab some of my friends new baby, its been a hectic weekend, so I will have a go at setting it up on the tripod in the next few days.

Ive started writing all these tips in a book, because I go to meets, people help and then a few months later I have forgotten!

These are the best of a not very good lot so far.


DSC_0573 by jomantha, on Flickr


DSC_0578 by jomantha, on Flickr


DSC_0569 by jomantha, on Flickr
 
jomantha said:
These are the best of a not very good lot so far.
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This wasn't intended as a critique thread, more of a photo sharing thread, but I just wanted to give some feedback, if that's OK. This is a nice, low-contrast treatment that suits the subjects. I'm wondering if the focus is more on the noses or the hair than the eyes, but it's difficult to tell. I notice from the EXIF data that you shot f/1.8 at ISO 200 which has left you with quite slow shutter speeds of around 1/50 to 1/60. You'll get sharper shots if you can increase this speed. In this kind of light, try ISO 400. If you're shooting JPEG, the camera will be pretty good at removing any extra noise.

It often works better to leave more space on the side that the subject is looking into, especially with a landscape format. You can get very powerful portraits when shooting with a wide view like this. You could also try some square crops as these are becoming more popular and work well with people shots.
 
Brill thanks - sorry to hijack the thread - the pictures on here are so sharp - I can only hope to get close to them :)
 
Well my 35 1.8 has a 52mm equivalent... :) I use that all the time :)
 
6866081971_0b9d85a073_b.jpg


1/1000th at f2.8 400iso +0.5EV

This is full frame from the Canon 50mm f1.8 - not one pixel removed :D

I like this lens a lot BUT the focus is a bit hit and miss due to the rather clockwork arrangement of the gears etc in the focusing mechanism.

Thinking of going to 1.4 just for this reason but wonder if it will be much better. Shame the 1.4 is not proper ring USM.

David
 
A recent shot with my Nikon 50mm f1.8 AF-D iso 500 1/3200 @ f1.8...

7048777967_1745075860_z.jpg
 
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