Lens advice please...do I need a 50mm?
- Thread starter Herethere
- Start date
- Messages
- 11,116
- Name
- And
- Edit My Images
- No
Hi Charlene
I bought a 50mm 1.8 last year for one of the lads that was leaving and was just getting into photography. I caught up with him a few days ago and he absolutely loves it. His 18-55 kit lens hasn't been back on since he got the 50mm.
For the price they are, I def would get one, if for some reason you didn't get on with it, I'm sure you would sell on no problem and not loose much money.
I bought a 50mm 1.8 last year for one of the lads that was leaving and was just getting into photography. I caught up with him a few days ago and he absolutely loves it. His 18-55 kit lens hasn't been back on since he got the 50mm.
For the price they are, I def would get one, if for some reason you didn't get on with it, I'm sure you would sell on no problem and not loose much money.
- Messages
- 1,902
- Name
- Adam
- Edit My Images
- No
A simple solution is to shoot with your kit lens at only 50mm for a bit. If you don't find the focal length useful, then don't bother with a 50mm prime, if you do then the prime will provide sharper shots and wider apertures, so it's worth having.
- Messages
- 11,116
- Name
- And
- Edit My Images
- No
As above 
Yes you still have a zoom function
It's called your feet
Seriously, taking a shot with a prime lens, can make all the difference, not just because of the improved quality, but it also makes you think a bit more about the shot.
Yes you still have a zoom function
It's called your feet
Seriously, taking a shot with a prime lens, can make all the difference, not just because of the improved quality, but it also makes you think a bit more about the shot.
Last edited:
cuthbert
Pugh Pugh Barney McGrew Me Dibble and Grubb
- Messages
- 2,042
- Name
- Mark
- Edit My Images
- Yes
the kit lens has pretty bad performance at around the 50mm mark - if you compare the nifty fifty vs the kit lens at 50mm at f5.6 the nifty fifity is much sharper.
i'd say colour contrast is about the same.
the main advantage of the nifty over the kit lens is that the maximum aperture of f1.8 allows you to experiment and experience narrow depth of field effects and use your camera in lower lighting conditions that you could with the kit lens (without increasing the iso).
i had a nifty fifty and i found it was a lens with many more creative possibilities than the kit zoom.
it's not the sharpest lens wide open (at f1.8) but it's not too bad, usable.
on your camera (1.6 crop) a 50mm lens makes an ideal lens for portraits. the nifty fifty doesn't make a half bad portrait lens - focussing isn't the fastest or most accurate but as long as your subject isn't moving too much it's not a problem and with the f1.8 aperture you can blur the background much more than you can with the kit lens.
i'd say colour contrast is about the same.
the main advantage of the nifty over the kit lens is that the maximum aperture of f1.8 allows you to experiment and experience narrow depth of field effects and use your camera in lower lighting conditions that you could with the kit lens (without increasing the iso).
i had a nifty fifty and i found it was a lens with many more creative possibilities than the kit zoom.
it's not the sharpest lens wide open (at f1.8) but it's not too bad, usable.
on your camera (1.6 crop) a 50mm lens makes an ideal lens for portraits. the nifty fifty doesn't make a half bad portrait lens - focussing isn't the fastest or most accurate but as long as your subject isn't moving too much it's not a problem and with the f1.8 aperture you can blur the background much more than you can with the kit lens.
Last edited:
As above
Yes you still have a zoom function
It's called your feet
Seriously, taking a shot with a prime lens, can make all the difference, not just because of the improved quality, but it also makes you think a bit more about the shot.
haha...never thought of moving!! Thanks so much - this forum is great
- Messages
- 572
- Name
- Andy
- Edit My Images
- Yes
I took my 50mm out today when I walked the dog. I snapped a few good shots with it. They are a good lens and worth getting for what they cost. You get some stunning results for little money.
- Messages
- 3,093
- Name
- Russ
- Edit My Images
- Yes
I've been using a Sigma 18-200mm with my 400D for the last 3 years.
Bought a nifty fifty 50 a few months back, not used it a great deal but it did save my bacon at a kids Xmas party.
It was in a big all but the curtains were closed blocking all natural light and the fluorescent lighting wasn't up to much. The ceilings were too high to bounce the flash off and I didn't fancy pointing my flash gun at kiddies under 12 months
I was really struggling with my Sigma lens so switched to the nifty fifty. Set the aperture to just over 2 (IIRC) and managed to get some reasonably decent shots
Definitely think it's worth trying one out for the money
Bought a nifty fifty 50 a few months back, not used it a great deal but it did save my bacon at a kids Xmas party.
It was in a big all but the curtains were closed blocking all natural light and the fluorescent lighting wasn't up to much. The ceilings were too high to bounce the flash off and I didn't fancy pointing my flash gun at kiddies under 12 months
I was really struggling with my Sigma lens so switched to the nifty fifty. Set the aperture to just over 2 (IIRC) and managed to get some reasonably decent shots
Definitely think it's worth trying one out for the money
- Messages
- 1,118
- Name
- Chris
- Edit My Images
- Yes
I bought one based on the sharpness increase over a kit lens alone. Can't wait till it arrives!
- Messages
- 1,320
- Name
- Alex Tyler
- Edit My Images
- Yes
Buy it now, i had a 450D with kit lens and was loving and bought the 50mm as everyone says its amazing and i love using n hadn't used the kit lenses since and dont want to.
Such a good lens for the price would rather this came with the camera then the kit. For the price as well you can go wrong, would happily pay double for it.
Such a good lens for the price would rather this came with the camera then the kit. For the price as well you can go wrong, would happily pay double for it.
- Messages
- 15,780
- Name
- Rich
- Edit My Images
- Yes
Just like my old Pentax SLR that came with a 50mm f1.7, still a great lens even by modern standards
Strangely never owned one since I changed to a Canon DSLR, been spoilt by the high quality zoom lenses available now
- Messages
- 7,882
- Edit My Images
- No
A 50MM is used to take photographs. wither you actually need or just want one is up to you. The fact that a lot of people have one is down to the fact it was quite cheap but in reality its poorly made, has inacurate focus and soft wide open.
- Messages
- 2,906
- Name
- Stu
- Edit My Images
- No
It really depends what you shoot - I would echo earlier advice about shooting at 50mm with your kit lens and see if you like the focal length.
I have a Nikon 50/1.8, which never gets used as I find the equivalent focal length on APS-C cameras (i.e. yours) to be too long, as the 50 gets multiplied by 1.6 to give the equivalent focal length which is about 80mm. Maybe try shooting at 24 and 35mm (other popular prime focal lengths) and see if they suit you better.
I have a Nikon 50/1.8, which never gets used as I find the equivalent focal length on APS-C cameras (i.e. yours) to be too long, as the 50 gets multiplied by 1.6 to give the equivalent focal length which is about 80mm. Maybe try shooting at 24 and 35mm (other popular prime focal lengths) and see if they suit you better.