first prime lens

Alan_T

Alan_T

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hi, i'll be in the market for my first prime soon, but there is soo much info out there on them that tends to strand off in different directions i don't know where i stand!

i'll have around £400 to spend, and i don't mind buying used (infact probably will) and i'm thinking of the following:

Canon 50mm 1.8
Canon 50mm 1.4
Sigma 50mm 1.4
Sigma 30mm

now these are going on a 500D, and i'll be using it mainly for portrait.

so my questions are:

are there any others to consider?
what one would you go for?
which one would suit my 500d

i ws just going to go for the canon 50mm 1.8 but seen as i'll have the buget for it, thought i might treat myself.
 
Have you done much portrait stuff before? Depending on your style of shooting, there are a quite a few possibilities! What lenses do you currently use, and what focal lengths are most used?

Personally I loved the canon 85mm f/1.8 on my 50D, but if you prefer more full-body stuff, it'll probably be too long, unless you've got a studio the size of an aircraft hangar :D
 
It depends on what you want to spend really. I spent weeks mulling it over and was won over by the Sigma 1.4. I'm using a 30D, and was previously using the Canon 50mm 1.8. I love the way 50mm looks on crop sensors for candids, portraits and general walk around stuff.

The Sigma is over £100 more expensive than the Canon 1.4 and in my opinion is worth the money. It's newer technology and the canon has an added problem of the front ring getting damaged (I've read, not experienced) which gives you a focus problem (I forget exactly what off the top of my head!).

If it's a case of budget and you could REALLY use the money save by buying the Canon 1.4 then I say go for it as it's still a VERY good lens. The Sigma IS worth more though, and given the choice I'd get that (and did) over the Canon. Okay it wiped out my money in doing it, but I don't regret it.

There are a LOT of threads from the last 2 months in this section regarding these lenses, and a few links within them. Have a nose to make your mind up, but I doubt you'd have any regrets if you bought either lens (although the bokeh on the Sigma is nicer!).
 
Why do you want a prime? The benefit is a very low f/number, and if you don't want to use one at lower than f/2.8 on a regular basis, there's really no point.

For portraits with shallow depth of field, which is quite a nice technique, a 50mm f/1.8 is just about perfect. And at £75 from Kerso (see trade section below) it's a rare bargain. I would get one of those and see how you go.

If you're anything like me, you'll find it pretty limited and the novelty will wear off. Which would be an expensive experiment. I used to have several primes that I used only rarely, then I got a 17-55 2.8 and never touched them again. All now sold ;)
 
Considering the crop factor on your camera I would go for the canon 50mm 1.4mm. As this would make it 80mm and it's a better build quality than the canon 1.8. That's just my opinion : )
 
If you want to do serious portraiture: 50mm f/1.8 - it's very sharp

If you want to do general family snapshots: 28mm f/1.8 - more expensive, but much more usable focal length and superior focusing for spontaneous shots
 
ok thanks guys, not done ALOT of portrait stuff yet, i'm looking for something that works well indoors/low light. and capable of a shallow dop,

part of me is saying just go for the canon 50mm 1.8, but i dont want to do that then crave the better build quality/image of on of the others and endup buying again.

i'm currently using a tamron 18-200 and canon 28-135, (the tamron is getting sold).
 
Primes are ideal for low light. A good thing to help you decide on a prime focal length is try using your zoom lens fixed at a certain length for a day or so and see how it suits you.
 
If you get a canon 50mm 1.8 secondhand, you can find out if you like 50mm prime.
Either way you should be able to sell it on for no or hardly any loss and move on to the more expensive lens .
 
I'll put another word in here for the 50mm f/1.8, it's not crazily expensive and is a great introductory lens for those low-light situations and portraiture in general.

I will just add however that it is a tad loud in AF mode. :p
 
I BOUGHT A CANON 50 1.4 FOR £230 7 MONTHS OLD WITH RECIEPTS ETC AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! £150 MORE THAN THE 1.8 BUT WORTH IT!

I LOVE BOKEH AND SHALLOW DOF
 
plumbjob said:
If you get a canon 50mm 1.8 secondhand, you can find out if you like 50mm prime.
Either way you should be able to sell it on for no or hardly any loss and move on to the more expensive lens .
Click to expand...

That's my point in the post above really (badly made ;) ) get a 50 1.8 and give it a go, then you can:

Keep it, and pocket the change.
Sell it on, and lose next to nothing. It will sell instantly on here for £50 at least.
Then upgrade to the 50 1.4 Canon or Sigma.
Get the Sigma 30 1.4 or Canon 28 1.8.
Maybe the 85 1.8.
Or be sensible, and get the 17-55 2.8 and never look back :D Such a good lens :thumbs:

With the experience gained, you'll know exactly what to do.
 
ok, i'm going to try using specific focal lengths for a while like suggested above.

now, i've read in some posts that because i have a crop sensor a 50mm lens wont actually be 50mm, so if i set my canon 18-135mm to 50mm, will it be the same as a 50mm prime.

that may sound a daft question so i hope someone knows what i mean! lol

Alan
 
Alan_T said:
ok, i'm going to try using specific focal lengths for a while like suggested above.

now, i've read in some posts that because i have a crop sensor a 50mm lens wont actually be 50mm, so if i set my canon 18-135mm to 50mm, will it be the same as a 50mm prime.

that may sound a daft question so i hope someone knows what i mean! lol

Alan
Click to expand...

It'll still be a 50mm lens, but because the sensor is smaller than 'full frame' (or 35mm film format), the sensor only covers the central part of the image circle created by the lens. This gives an equivalent field of view which would be the same as a lens of (50*1.6 = )80mm on a full-frame camera. I'm sure someone will come up with a nice diagram that demonstrates what I mean in a few minutes :)

Set your current lens to 50mm, and that's exactly what you'd see with a 50mm prime (except the viewfinder would be a fair bit brighter as the prime has a larger aperture)
 
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great, that clear's it up nicely.

cheers Chris
 
Yeah.

50mm will be 50mm whatever lens you use, whether is prime or zoom, whether is EF or EF-S.

The only difference will be if you popped a 50mm on a full frame, it may appear wider to what you can see just now using a 500D.

If you were using a full frame before with a 50mm, and then popped that onto your crop camera, it would appear like a 80mm relative to the full frame.

As you are only using the 500D, all focal lengths are equal.


Andy
 
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You realise of course with some shopping around you could get both the 50mm 1.8 and the 85mm 1.8 lenses within your budget..

Thats the pair I have for portrait work and I wont part with either.

I don't find the build on the 50mm and issue, its light weight is a joy actually and you hardly know its there.

The 85mm is just the nuts, its as simple as that.

I use the 50mm for body or fuller shots and the 85mm for head and shoulders, shooting from just under 3 metres and always indoors, always low light.
 
Oh really, I didn't think of that option!

I'll look into that also!
 
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