Tempted to buy a 50mm 1.8 lense..
Discussion
If you're on about the Canon 50mm fixed then yes. I bought one for gig and low light photography, showed it to a friend who was so impressed, bought one himself. Those were the days when they were around £70 a throw.
The depth of field you can get from it is pretty epic, don't have any photos to hand but you can achieve some brilliant shots. I recently took my camera and lenses on holiday and found 9/10 I was reaching for the 'nifty fifty' as it was just that, nifty. It also made me concentrate on what I was shooting, I could only fit certain things in or get so close to them.
It's not fast on AF and it's not quiet. The build quality obviously isn't high but it works and I've had mine two years now. I purchased a set of filter, UV, blue and grat gradiant as well as a star filter. All of which have their own unique addition to shots.
Hope that helps.
The depth of field you can get from it is pretty epic, don't have any photos to hand but you can achieve some brilliant shots. I recently took my camera and lenses on holiday and found 9/10 I was reaching for the 'nifty fifty' as it was just that, nifty. It also made me concentrate on what I was shooting, I could only fit certain things in or get so close to them.
It's not fast on AF and it's not quiet. The build quality obviously isn't high but it works and I've had mine two years now. I purchased a set of filter, UV, blue and grat gradiant as well as a star filter. All of which have their own unique addition to shots.
Hope that helps.
It's good because a 50mm lens is a technically very simple lens to make, so you can get a fast lens (wide aperture) quite cheaply. Having a fast lens opens up the possibility of creative shots with very out of focus backgrounds and foregrounds, and for that alone it's probably worth getting. Also, a 50mm lens gives a field of view that can be quite useful for taking conventional portrait photographs.
As to whether it's good for "taking photos around town etc.", the answer is "it depends". I know it sounds obvious, but if you want something small, light and fast with a 50mm focal length (which you might), then yes. If you want something else (which you might), then no. The most likely reason it wouldn't be good is that, on most digital SLRs, it gives a moderately telephoto field of view, meaning you would often be unable to "get it all in". If you've already got a zoom lens that covers 50mm then set it to that and see whether you like it.
As to whether it's good for "taking photos around town etc.", the answer is "it depends". I know it sounds obvious, but if you want something small, light and fast with a 50mm focal length (which you might), then yes. If you want something else (which you might), then no. The most likely reason it wouldn't be good is that, on most digital SLRs, it gives a moderately telephoto field of view, meaning you would often be unable to "get it all in". If you've already got a zoom lens that covers 50mm then set it to that and see whether you like it.
GilbertGrape said:
Nikon D80, so not full frame. I've been reading that a 35mm might be better, but costs twice as much. Would a 35mm be twice as good as a 50?
Like hi fi, spending twice as much does not make it sound twice as good! As you are using a crop sensor, the 35 will give you an 'effective' 50mm - the 50 will end up giving you 75mm. For portraits its a close run thing. I guess many would prefer the 50mm... personally I prefer slightly the longer 75GilbertGrape said:
Nikon D80, so not full frame. I've been reading that a 35mm might be better, but costs twice as much. Would a 35mm be twice as good as a 50?
I have the 50mm on a D80 and, IMHO, it was the best £90 I've ever spent on camera gear. The lens is light, fast and very sharp and is great for portraits. Tried my brother in laws 35mm at Christmas and didn't think it was that good, seemed slow to focus and wasn't as good in low light.Borrowed a 50mm from a friend when I had my 50D. Borrowed it again after I bought a 5DmkII. It didn't work for me on the 50D, but even now, I'd prefer a 35mm. I guess the only way to find out is to try one out from someone you know. If it does't work for you, even 10 pounds would be too much to pay for a lens.
I've had a f1.8 for a couple of years now (using on ff) and I love it. I happened across a second hand f1.2 in LCE (£995) on Saturday which was beautiful, I was 90% committed to buying it, but the aperture I would be using it at (mainly use the 50mm for landscapes) I decided to get the f1.4 which is marginally sharper than the 1.8 and 1.2 above f4
GilbertGrape said:
Will the 50mm be a good walk-around lens?
I may be visiting the UK and Europe soon, so want a nice light weight lens. I've been reading how sharp the 50mm is, and how well it works in low light. Will the 50mm work for taking normal 'touristy' pictures?
Well any lens can be good for that if you're prepared to take advantage of its characteristics and forego taking photos it doesn't allow. However, for me, being stuck with one focal length would be overly restrictive, especially a telephoto and especially if I were in a place I wouldn't have the opportunity to go back to easily.I may be visiting the UK and Europe soon, so want a nice light weight lens. I've been reading how sharp the 50mm is, and how well it works in low light. Will the 50mm work for taking normal 'touristy' pictures?
If you've got a zoom lens that covers 50mm, set it to that focal length and see how useful you find it for the sort of photography you've got in mind.
GilbertGrape said:
Will the 50mm be a good walk-around lens?
I may be visiting the UK and Europe soon, so want a nice light weight lens. I've been reading how sharp the 50mm is, and how well it works in low light. Will the 50mm work for taking normal 'touristy' pictures?
Yes and no, depending on your viewpoint. The 1.4 is much better image quality and I've found it to be much sharper than the 1.8 I hadI may be visiting the UK and Europe soon, so want a nice light weight lens. I've been reading how sharp the 50mm is, and how well it works in low light. Will the 50mm work for taking normal 'touristy' pictures?
Best touristy lens I had was a Sigma 18-50 f2.8 though
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