What's a 'Nifty Fifty' lens?

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This is probably a stupid question but can anyone explain to me what a 'Nifty Fifty' lens is? I have seen this referred to several times on an American forum but do not know what it is or whether it is worth looking out for one.

Thanks :)
 
50mm f1.8... lens

cheap as chips and a great value bit of kit for shallow depth of field and 'fast' in low light!

or ask specialman... he knows more about it than anyone :D
 
Both Canon and Nikon have a nifty 50. They are both f/1.8 and around or below the £100 pound mark. Both super sharp lenses for the money.
 
good link there saxomad

i think i might have to buy one of these nifty fiftys.

any good sale/buys around at the mo?
 
Usually refers to the cheap Canon f1.8 50mm. Very poor build quality, but its a fast prime for about £75 and performs pretty well. Most of the other 50mms are a lot more expensive.

Fast 50mm lenses were often used as standard/walk about lenses on 35mm film SLRs. A 50mm lens on a crop camera (all the entry and mid level DSLRs) works out at the equivalent of an 80mm lens on a 35mm body. It's good for portraits, but I find it too long as a walk about, and too short as a telephoto. Just MHO.
 
MartynK said:
Usually refers to the cheap Canon f1.8 50mm. Very poor build quality, but its a fast prime for about £75 and performs pretty well. Most of the other 50mms are a lot more expensive.

Fast 50mm lenses were often used as standard/walk about lenses on 35mm film SLRs. A 50mm lens on a crop camera (all the entry and mid level DSLRs) works out at the equivalent of an 80mm lens on a 35mm body. It's good for portraits, but I find it too long as a walk about, and too short as a telephoto. Just MHO.
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Unless you shoot Nikon, when it's a cheap Nikon 50mm f1.8 with better build quality (I assume). :D

Oh, and equates to about 75mm on a Nikon body :D
 
String said:
These days any 50mm f1.8 would be a nifty fifty, except in my case she is a nifty 100, Olympus 2x crop, see?
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Yup! Likewise here :) My Oly OM 50mm: nice glass, decent 1.8, effective 100mm on 4/3 crop and cheap as chips :)
Beware, the ebayer's have cottoned on and they ain't as cheap as last summer.
Same with a lot of 'old' SLR primes.
 
I always thought of a nifty fifty as a 50mm compact prime. Most manufacturers seem to have them in 1.2, 1.4 or 1.8 (historically if not currently). I hadn't heard an apperture specified.
 
Just waitin for my Super Tak 55 f2 arriving, about 2/3 the price of a f1.8 for a fraction of a stop. Going on my Spotmatic II but will see some usage on the e620 :)
 
Oggy said:
I always thought of a nifty fifty as a 50mm compact prime. Most manufacturers seem to have them in 1.2, 1.4 or 1.8 (historically if not currently). I hadn't heard an apperture specified.
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The 1.2's and 1.4's aren't exactly compact or lightweight though are they?
 
This is a 50mm 1.4 on my K20D. Sorry for the awful photo. :(

NF1.jpg


Weighs a few ounces, takes a 49mm filter and costs about £250.
 
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String said:
These days any 50mm f1.8 would be a nifty fifty, except in my case she is a nifty 100, Olympus 2x crop, see?
Click to expand...

The lens is still a 50mm - it's the tiny sensor that gives it the angle of view equivalent to a 100mm on 35mm film ([pedant]OK, 135 format film[/pedant!])
 
yes, I know, but thanks so much for your input :)

Edit:

Actually, I wouldn't call the sensor tiny, and yes I have seen the comparison charts. A tiny sensor would be one from a compact, say, a Nikon coolpix (pedant) :)
 
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OutLore said:
Unless you shoot Nikon, when it's a cheap Nikon 50mm f1.8 with better build quality (I assume). :D

Oh, and equates to about 75mm on a Nikon body :D
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Well, my 50mm Nikkor wasn't cheap, but it is metal bodied and has an aperture ring. Works like a dream on an F2, and not too shabby on a 30D with an adapter!
 
Hardly massive! About the smae as 110 film - 110 film has a neg size of 13x17mm with 4/3rds sensor size being 17.3x13mm - all of 0.3mm bigger on the longest size. And yes, an old Nikon Coolpix sensor (mine's a 3100) is 5.27x3.96mm which is tiny by any standards.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone! May have to consider asking Santa to bring me one if it's not too late! ;)
 
i have just bought a new 50mm 1.4 today .. i now have a redundant 50 1.8 brand new in box lol :(
 
It's all not fair, I want one!! But I need it for my Nikon D40....it's double the price, any alternatives???

Christmas is zooming up, and I haven't got myself a present yet!!!
 
not long after getting my 400d my friend recommended that i get a nifty fifty, cheap as chips and pukka results .... yadda yadda yadda etc.

he was right !
 
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