Nifty Fifty again!

iant

iant

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Ian T
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Please consider this questions comes from an absolute beginner.

There seems to be a lot of enthusiastic posts regarding the said Nifty Fifty without going into detail about why its so good. Having looked at its construction and price, it does seem rather a cheap ish lens for such enthusiastic praise as recieved here.

My lens list is as follows

18-55mm Canon Kit Lens
75-300mm Canon III USM
35-80mm Canon II
and the Sigma 105mm f2.8 EX DG Macro

So, presuming this lens will enhance my kit, what precisely will it give me that I don't already have. I have my eye on a couple of used ones, so depending on your answers, I may have to annoy my missus again. ;)
 
it has a wide apperture, so will work well in low light.

it is very sharp

and you hardly lose anything between new and used if you dont like it

if you set your camera to av mode, put the sigma 105 on and set the apperture to F2.8, dial in a fairly high iso and shoot in your living room without flash, see what shutter speeds it selects, the 50mm will use faster shutter speeds than that
 
As said above, it has a very wide apperture allowing fast use in low lights (often without a flash too) and also allows for a big Depth of Field, giving Bokeh backgrounds.

It is a great little lens to get used to using, it doesn't have a zoom so u have to think much more about your footwork and composition of the image.

Hope that Helps
Jamie
 
fletch5 said:
it has a wide apperture, so will work well in low light.
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I've read (and accepted) this point several times - and I know we always say weddings/churches are ideal shooting grounds for the fifty...

however to benefit from its wide aperture means shooting in 1.8-3.5ish... in which case you get no depth of field, so its usage is somewhat limited by that fact isnt it?

or am i missing somethin?
 
No you are not missing something, except that DoF is also determined by distance to subject, so if you are talking close up face portrait work, then yes limited/creative wide open, but at longer distances the DoF is more forgiving. As with any fast glass, the larger max aperture gives the opertunity to use that, when either you or your situation require. It is still a very sharp prime at smaller apertures.

Edit:
Sentence elaborated slightly
 
you are right yes, but when no flash is allowed, it is the only way to get a shot sometimes. and something is better than nothing;)
 
taken yesterday at f1.8. The DoF is not a problem. If anything I would have prefered to be closer so I could seperate her from the distracting background.

3244679797_47701947e8.jpg
 
you are right yes, but when no flash is allowed, it is the only way to get a shot sometimes. and something is better than nothing
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So it would certainly be ideal to use inside Stately Homes and such.

I think i have my answers, next purchase coming up, and thanks all. :)
 
the nikon version is a cracking fast & sharp lens- but it is also frustrating as its FOV on a crop sensor is too tight useually when there's no space to move further away from the subject.
 
Much as the others have said, it's super cheap, super fast and super sharp... for the money.

It's my most used lens TBH and I use it for several different styles of shot:

Products these are cropped to fill the frame.
pic13.jpg


pic59.jpg


Macro with additional extension tubes. These are full image resized.
pic25.jpg


pic31.jpg


Low Light though not quite wide enough here (have bought the 28mm f1.8 now!)
04.jpg


32.jpg


It's just so useful and cheap it's really a no-brainer to get one :D
 
AlexW said:
taken yesterday at f1.8. The DoF is not a problem. If anything I would have prefered to be closer so I could seperate her from the distracting background.

3244679797_47701947e8.jpg
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she must be FREEZING, poor girl.

also the compactness and the discreteness of the lens is great for walk around and snapping at things and people :)

LOL just noticed that i repeat the exact same thing as the post above!
 
IanT - the contents of your camera bag looks almost identical to mine and i am also debating the purchase of a nifty. Thanks for this post - its helped me a lot!!
 
iant said:
So it would certainly be ideal to use inside Stately Homes and such.

I think i have my answers, next purchase coming up, and thanks all. :)
Click to expand...

hmmm...not very wide though....50mm on your crop body equates to 80mm blah...well you do the math...would you walk around a stately home with your kit lens stuck at 55mm?
 
hmmm...not very wide though....50mm on your crop body equates to 80mm blah...well you do the math...would you walk around a stately home with your kit lens stuck at 55mm?
Click to expand...

After a trip to Jessops, i am now armed with my new Nifty Fifty. Having played with it for a few minutes, I can see exactly where you are coming from.

When you are new to this, its hard to see what other people already know when figures and angles et al are being quoted, its not until you get your hands dirty that the brain will convert technical data into laymans terms :)
 
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