50mm Prime Lens: For when you insist on buying something…

Alright, alright. You have convinced me that you can go no further without buying something else! Not really, as you are here reading this, and I am sure you have been watching the youtube videos and such that are all out there for free. However, I digress. I tell you to get out there and shoot and you want to put hands on a piece of gear that did not come in the box with your camera I have tried to convince you not to upgrade. Fair enough. I will tell you now, since you have asked, my must have piece of gear, the first thing I think everyone should buy to go with their camera. That, in my opinion, is the 50mm prime lens, the “Nifty Fifty.”

The nifty fifty refers to 50mm prime lens with a max aperture of 1.8 or better. They are really the most lens for your money when you are starting out.

Just about every reputable brand of DSLR camera is going to have one.
They are usually very affordable. The Canon version here is 125$ retail.
Despite the price it is a sharp little lens.
It has the (IMO) standard wide aperture you need to really start exploring low light and background blur.

This was my first real lens. When I had taken my photography as far as I could with the equipment I had and books (or so I thought) I went looking for what I needed to do something else, and all my reading took me to this little prime lens. I readily admit, I may have used it against the grain so to speak the first time, using it to take action shots of my son playing baseball, but I still managed to learn a great deal from it. Let’s dive right into what you can expect from this lens, and if you have really just started out, what all this aperture and F stop nonsense means. I am going to show you some photos made with two different lenses. One is my work horse, my EF-S 18-135 F/3.5-5.6 and the other is the 50mm 1.8

1. 18-135 F/3.5-5.6, 1/125 F/5.0 ISO 100

For this photo my workhorse lens was set to 50mm and the max aperture it can do at that length, 5.0. Notice that while the orchid itself (first one I have bloomed, be proud) is somewhat dim, but despite the aperture there is still a great deal of blur in the background. You can almost sort of make out my garage. The image is sharp enough for you to appreciate the other bloom though.

2. 50mm F/1.8, 1/1250 F/1.8 ISO 100

the 50mm is wide open at F/1.8. The exposure is similar (I left it up to the camera) and you will notice with the much wider aperture, the camera chose a shutter speed 10x faster! You will also notice that the back ground is blurred so much that you cannot tell the flower is in front of a window, much less what is outside of it. In fact the depth of field is so shallow that the second bloom about three inches away is not in focus.

3. 50mm F/1.8, 1/125 F/1.8 ISO 100

This photo is identical to the last one except I took control of the speed and reduced it to the same speed as the first photo so you can see a very real difference for the amount of light allowed in by 1.8 vs 5.0. The photo is overexposed, however, your ability to contend with various lighting situations without flash is greatly enhanced. I will share one last one where I actually edited one of these photos so that I can show off my lovely orchid.

That is what most people are looking for in a nutshell. They are looking for the wider aperture to either shoot in low light or they want to try their hand at that wonderful portrait back ground blur (I know the word everyone uses, I am choosing not to use it.)

For your money, for all it can do, for something that you may want as a very part time hobby or just to take better photos, and for asking my opinion, the 50mm 1.8 prime is one of the best lenses you can get as your first non-kit lens. It even has a history of being the go to, as I see plenty of evidence that it is lens that many consumer grade SLR cameras came with when purchased. Every time I find a film SLR out there like a Canon AE-1 Program, it has a 50mm on it. That says something to me, in this lens is not just a great piece of glass, but a shared experience.

It does not hurt that I also just enjoy prime lenses. The other factor I was looking for was sharpness, and the constant focal length of a prime lens will always mean a sharper image than the variable lens. I have shown that I use plenty of variables, but you really cannot beat that prime lens. The prime lens forces you to do something else I believe in : MOVE YOUR FEET!

I do not like it when people become too dependent on zoom for their framing. Your feet were made to move you. They are always going to be your best tool for reframing if I am being asked. You will literally hit a wall, or a rail, or a cliff, or something sometimes and so you must zoom in or out, but your feet should be where you start. Your mission for the weekend, should you choose to accept it, is to conduct your own research using this entry as a stepping off point, and more importantly to find a subject, some thing large, and photograph it. USE YOUR FEET. You made a photo, now make another, walk around the object if you can, sit down, climb up, back up, get closer. Be safe while you are doing all of this. Good Shooting.

P.S. I decided that I would attach a variety of the photos I have made with my 50mm and I realized that it goes all the way back. I believe the photo of my grandfather was made with it. My first lightroom photo ever was one of the ones shown when I asked it to show me all the photos made with the 50mm 1.8 Whether at work, or play, or just with my family, it is clearly my favorite lens.