The Nifty Fifty Has Arrived....

Anything and everything, your best trying it out in every situation, personally I whacked mine open to 1.8 and shot shots of my son and dog, only now over a year later that I've started using smaller apatures to Increase the DOF
 
chris250 said:
Anything and everything, your best trying it out in every situation, personally I whacked mine open to 1.8 and shot shots of my son and dog, only now over a year later that I've started using smaller apatures to Increase the DOF
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I have no dog...or son...but some very handsome nephews & a niece, may borrow them for a photo shoot!
 
Although I was adamant I didn't need one, I bought one off the forums last weeks (cheers Tank) and have to say that despite what limitations it has because of the fixed focal length, it is a nice piece of kit and for £70 it's not broken the bank. It's an f/1.8 so not really fancy but for low light it'll deffo help I think...

Here's the first pic I shot on it for my 365....

4275255338_aa302c421d.jpg
 
Just be careful not to move once you've focused, because with such a shallow DOF even the slightest movement can push the spot you focused on out of focus. I tend to stop mine down a bit to f2 or f2.8, even then it's super shallow.

If you want to 'test' it on something, mount your camera on a tripod or on a table top, stick the lens in Manual Focus and shoot something small and stationary. Make sure you nail the focus and you should see that this is a pretty sharp lens for not a lot of cash :)
 
When I first got mine, I took it out for a day around Docklands as my only lens.

It makes you think a bit more about composure as well.
 
You should just go out an have fun with it! I really like the lens for portraits, just being able to throw BG OOF makes such a difference to your work.
I just traded mine up for the lovely Mark I version, I loved the old (newer) one and I love
the new (older) one even more!
pip
 
Stop it down to f/4 for maximum sharpenss :thumbs:
It's not as good wide open, but still acceptable.

EDIT: Beaten to it by DizMatt :)
 
yeah, do tests of: low light, shallow DoF, uber sharpness (stopped down as said), and thinking out side of the box, fixed focal length can help make you think more about composition etc, a year ago i was used to a compact equive to 28mm wide, i got a film camera with a 50mm lens I found it restrictive then realised it made me think about composition (I never really use to before then lol)
 
50mm primes should be top of everyone's shopping list imo. They will give you all the creative freedom you want and really help with composition etc. I honestly believe fixed focal lengths slow you down and make you work harder/smarter.

In terms of testing your lens, I'd start with stationary subjects so you can get an idea of how thin the DOF is wide open. It'll also confirm that your lens is focusing accurately.

If you go out with young ones don't shoot wide open unless you feel very confident in yourself and your camera, and the kids stay still. If they are running about and you shoot wide open you'll get a lot of slightly out of focus pictures (unless you're focusing is perfect). Hope that doesn't sound derogatory.
 
Jim.R said:
Stop it down to f/4 for maximum sharpenss :thumbs:
It's not as good wide open, but still acceptable.

EDIT: Beaten to it by DizMatt :)
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great minds and fools :)

here's a 50mm pic of my pops I took for his bowling club.
(which I keep posting up..sorry :()

IMG_8631%20500px.jpg


anyway...much sharpness I think,. 100% crops 50mm f1.4@f4
eyebrows.jpg
 
Thanks all, hopefully I will have time to play with it over the weekend, I have just had the canon a week & made it the top lens on my shopping list after reading about them on here.
 
MatW said:
Just be careful not to move once you've focused, because with such a shallow DOF even the slightest movement can push the spot you focused on out of focus.
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And that 2/3 of that is behind the focus point, the remaining 1/3 is infront.

A tip I read on here.
 
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