Should every camera bag contain a 50mm?

V

vecsri

Suspended / Banned
Messages
669
Name
Richard Black
Edit My Images
Yes
Something my camera bag doesn't contain.

I've asked before, but where do they come into their own?
Tempted to get one to slap on my spare body for dragging round places i don't want the 200.
 
Yes. Really handy for indoor low-light portraits and shallow DoF malarkey...although 50mm can sometimes be a bit long on a non-FF body. But the cheaper ones are excellent value.
 
I hardly ever use mine, I find the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 more useful for low light, but as 50mm f/1.8s tend to be mega-cheap having one is probably a no-brainer.
 
Then i shall add it some where lol
May get rid of my 18-55 and get the 50
 
vecsri said:
May get rid of my 18-55 and get the 50
Click to expand...

I would'nt mate, as someone else said, the 50mm is a bit long for quite a lot, and the 18-55mm is nice to snap away with.
 
If you have an 18-55 try setting it at 50mm and leave it there for a day's shooting - if nothing else you'll learn to zoom using your feet ;)
 
everyone says a must have lens. and will be the cheapest lens you will ever own with exceptional image quality. However, a few months back, someone asked the question, which lens do you use the most and which the least. most people listed the fifty as the least.(not that many of them would be without it). you happen to have the sigma 24-70 f2.8. so prob not worth it to you. although if it is dark and no flash, then they are excellent.
 
for my 40D i use the canon 28mm 1.8 and for my 5D the 50mm 1.4.

great for indoor work especially when the priest wont let you use a flash during the ceremony which our local priest does a lot. he is a bit anti photos ????
 
Yup! I use mine loads for especially for portraits and indoor stuff...
 
I've just bought a 50mm 1.8 for my bag.

I don't expect to use it a lot as most of my time is outdoors,but for low light indoor shots it will be useful for me.
 
I love my nifty fifty. Hardly used the kit lens since getting it. It works very well for my togging :)
 
Every camera bag should contain the lens which is helping the owner in getting the most of his visions. That's it :) For some it will be 50, for some it will be tons of useless heavy zooms, for some others it will be 24 or 30... No recipe. :)
 
My humble 50mm has saved my bacon on at least one occasion. Yes, it's fixed, and yes, it's not that wide, but the speed and sharpness made up for it. I wouldn't be without one.
 
Anyone else find they learn a lot more about composition if they're working with a fixed focal length?
 
Allow me to jump-in, please ... a nifty fifty is a must for many many reasons!

It is relatively dirt-cheap! It is a very good lens for portrait (when coupled with a DX body, as is the case with the OP). It is great for low-light, unless someone has one of the f1.4? Can be used, very well, for great macro with extension tubes and / or reversing rings and these too can be had for relative cheap price.

It is a very versatile lens, that is well worth keeping "at home"; even if you don't use it for something specific, it will come in handy on that rainy day where you just go brain-dead and need a new angle!
 
yourapocalypse said:
Anyone else find they learn a lot more about composition if they're working with a fixed focal length?
Click to expand...

Have to say yes to that ... not just composition, but also it helps to sharpen my skills with aperture control, shutter speed control etc. since I have one less variable to worry about (and focal length change can be very demanding)!
 
Glad people agree. For those reasons alone, a nifty is an essential purchase. Don't think of it as a lens, think of it as a learning tool.
 
Bought the 50 f/1.8 and didn't get on with it. Found all the shot's had a sepia cast and it was pretty poor build quality. Offloaded it as it wasn't getting much use, the f/1.4 on the other hand is a superb lens and one I use a lot.
 
yourapocalypse said:
Anyone else find they learn a lot more about composition if they're working with a fixed focal length?
Click to expand...

About 20 years ago I sold all my lenses and just used a 50mm for a year.
You learn a lot more about photography with just a 50mm.
 
I spent two weeks taking a camera everywhere with me with just a fifty on it and it's a great learning experience. Zooms can make me lazy and I found that I put extra effort into the photos just beacuse I had to use my legs. It was the TP nify fifty so I wanted to try to get some reasonable pics with it.

Now I have my own nestling in my bag:love: I'm hoping it's going to mate with the 100mm f2.8 macro :D
 
It depends what other lens you have and the style of photography you are after really.

If you are walking around with a 5D and a 24-70 2.8 then i wouldn't expect you would miss it. But if you have only a 400D and a kit lens and likes portraits then you would love the 50.
 
The 50mm is a nice portrait lens - something a lot of people tend to forget.

The Observer portraitist Jane Brown used a 50mm lens and natural light for most of her work.

Some pics here

A.
 
50mm is a nice portrait lens on a crop body.

On a full frame body (as it always has been for decades with 35mm until DSLR came along), it is always considered that between 85mm to 100mm is best for portrait.
 
I love my 50mm 1.4 EF, and dont think my kitbag would/should/could be without it !

Scott.
 
so, looking at this thread, it appears a fair few went for the 1.4 instead(me included).
 
i'd love the 50 1.4 on a full frame, but I have the 1.8 on a crop sensor - i still love it. As a massive amateur, whenever i'm playing around with settings and everything, its nice to stick a fixed lens on and figure out where i'm going wrong.

Also, I only ever had a 50 on my only slr before - a praktica which i stopped using 15 years ago.

(wish I had kept it going)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top