New nifty

Flying giraffe

Flying giraffe

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Just getting into dslr and enjoying it so far, i have borrowed a 70-70 sigma and bought a 55-250 as they seemed to get good reviews, but after reading alot about the "nifty fifty" i decided to buy one, want id like to know is what type of shots should i be taking with the nifty to get the most out of it, and where does it fall short, sorry if this has been asked hundreds of times before, and any advice would be most appreciated.
 
The main advantage is that you can use it in low light situations - at f1.8. It will let in a lot more light that the other lenses which you have. As well as this, you can use it to isolate the subject from the background, again due to the wide aperture.

EDIT: this article might be of interest.
 
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Thanks for the advice and the link, ill give it a good read before i take the lens out for a few trest shots
 
Warning : A Nifty Fifty can be addictive... :nuts::love::thumbs:
 
Quoth said:
The main advantage is that you can use it in low light situations - at f1.8. It will let in a lot more light that the other lenses which you have. As well as this, you can use it to isolate the subject from the background, again due to the wide aperture.

EDIT: this article might be of interest.
Click to expand...

That is a very good Article explains alot.
 
Im very new to photography but after reading so many good reviews of the 50m f1.8 I Decided to get one along with my 550d. The main advantages are as above- the depth of field you can get in portraits and abstract shots of random items is fantastic and makes for an interesting shot.

The downsides are it has a very slow autofocus.. But I tend to use the manual focus to pick points.
It lacks image stabilisation but this is part made up for by the fast/wide apertures which let a good amount of light in. I find ther you have to be pretty close to a subject for it to be at its best dof wise

I'd recommend it, it's a fun lens and very cheap :)
 
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jovialjester said:
Is it as simple as using 50mm tubes to get 1:1?
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As far as I know - yes.

That would be the actual size on a sensor - once enlarged the image would be considerably more.

But it's advisable to use tubes which allow you to keep the automatic functions of the camera and lens.

I use the Kenko DG AF set of 3 which can be stacked together to give various magnifications.

I picked them up on here for an approx 40-50% saving on the actual size.

.
 
Thanks for the tip re. extension tubes for macro on the 50.
 
I have some extension tubes arriving in the post and immediately thought to couple them with the 50mm.

As everyone says, it's a great lens - far sharper than the 18-55 kit lens
 
petersmart said:
As far as I know - yes.

That would be the actual size on a sensor - once enlarged the image would be considerably more.

But it's advisable to use tubes which allow you to keep the automatic functions of the camera and lens.


.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I have some manual ones, I'll give it a go with those till I have more spare cash :-)
 
had a few shots inside, and yes very slow on auto focus, not overly happy with the shots, but im guessing thats just me, looking forward to some nice sunny weather so i can try it out properly, also have to ask as a complete begginer what are extension tubes? are they something you knock up yourself or proper kit?
 
Flying giraffe said:
what are extension tubes? are they something you knock up yourself or proper kit?
Click to expand...

They are more of a macro thing but still handy to have around Kenko are the best ones that I know of but they are expensive. http://www.kenkoglobal.com/TP-AUTO-EX-TUBE-SET-DG.html

There are as always cheaper versions over on ebay but they don't have the electrics and you need to trick the lens to use them but still worth a try if you just want to play around, before splashing out real money.
 
Flying giraffe said:
had a few shots inside, and yes very slow on auto focus, not overly happy with the shots, but im guessing thats just me, looking forward to some nice sunny weather so i can try it out properly, also have to ask as a complete begginer what are extension tubes? are they something you knock up yourself or proper kit?
Click to expand...

Yeah extension tubes are essentially an extension to the lens (between the lens and camera) which increases magnification and reduces the minimum focussing distance making it useful for macro with your existing lenses
 
I use it for most people shots. From portraits to full body, on both my 40d and 5d II. I love the shallow depth of field. I also use for my "Hollywood" portraits.
First with the Canon 40d

5127583275_453887f420.jpg


... and this with 5d II

5437283140_eab4744973_m.jpg
 
I used to use it for pretty much everything - the shallow depth of field transforms the most ordinary of objects into art and it's brilliant for portraits.

The other option is to go for a 30mm or 35mm 1.8 as it will give you a slightly wider angle which is useful indoors. I now use my 30mm much more than my 50.

A set of macro filters for £10 from ebay are a great addition too.
 
thanks for all the advice, some amazing shots have been posted to this thread, now i must try to emulate them, cheers everyone.
 
The nifty is great, I would prefer to go for something like a 30mm, the 50mm is a little long on a crop sensor, but don't think I'll ever part with mine!
 
Dulux said:
The nifty is great, I would prefer to go for something like a 30mm, the 50mm is a little long on a crop sensor, but don't think I'll ever part with mine!
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That's where the Nikkor 35mm f1.8 is great - I use mine more than the NF.l
 
Dulux said:
The nifty is great, I would prefer to go for something like a 30mm, the 50mm is a little long on a crop sensor, but don't think I'll ever part with mine!
Click to expand...

Fully agree. I sold my nifty as soon as I got the Sigma 30mm and never looked back. The 30mm on a crop feels 'just right'. The 50 is a little too long indoors - to me that FL was a little awkward on a cropper.
 
the 50 is a rather versatile lens, on a full frame body you get a very natural perspective close to the human eye. On a crop body it becomes a wonderful portrait lens. Attach some extension tubes onto the end it turns into a very capable macro lens.
 
The 50 1.8 is one of my most-used lenses, I love it for people shots and use it in my portraiture all the time - but it excels in really poor light where you may not get the shot at all with other lenses! With this glass on my D700 I feel my camera can almost see in the dark!
 
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great stots, just got a 50mm, if my pics are anything half way as good i'll be well pleased
 
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