# Why a 50mm Lens is your new Best Friend



## JamesScott86 (Jan 25, 2016)

The Nifty Fifty - a great lens for any photographer, but particularly so for someone that wants to make a good addition to their collection of glass.

But what makes a 50mm lens such a great option? Let’s find out!


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## petrochemist (Jan 25, 2016)

Over the years I've collected quite a few 50's. Great lenses but I really don't need another one, unless someone is willing to trade four f1.7s & a f1.4 for a f1.2. I'll even throw in the Minolta 50mm macro & two 55mm 1.8s


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## runnah (Jan 25, 2016)

50 is my least favorite focal length.


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## pixmedic (Jan 25, 2016)

I prefer 85mm. Though I did really like my 180mm f2.8


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## spiralout462 (Jan 25, 2016)

50mm might be great on full frame but I find that it's in between where I want to be, more often than not on a crop body.


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## Solarflare (Jan 25, 2016)

I have 28mm f1.8, 16-35mm f4 VR, 70-200mm f4 VR.

I also had a 50mm f1.8, but I got rid of it, because I never used it anymore and IMHO it was optically less than great.

That low price of 50mm is no accident. They dont put much effort into them, either.

The new Tamron 45mm f1.8 VC seems to be good, as are the Voigtländer "Nocton" 58mm f1.4 (SL-II "N") and the Zeiss "Planar" 50mm f1.4 ("ZF.2" for Nikon, "ZE" for Canon).


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## jcdeboever (Jan 25, 2016)

Currently, I use the SMC Pentax 50mm 1.7 on my K1000, super sharp and contrasty. Really the only lens I need for it, based on how I use it. It is way better than my Canon 50mm 1.8 on the T70.


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## jcdeboever (Jan 25, 2016)

JamesScott86 said:


> The Nifty Fifty - a great lens for any photographer, but particularly so for someone that wants to make a good addition to their collection of glass.
> 
> But what makes a 50mm lens such a great option? Let’s find out!
> 
> ...



Those are some dangerous scripts running in the background on link#2. I hope people running windows are protected because they are some damaging scripts... just saying.


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## runnah (Jan 25, 2016)

spiralout462 said:


> 50mm might be great on full frame but I find that it's in between where I want to be, more often than not on a crop body.




Exactly my problem, not wide or tight enough to be interesting.


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## jcdeboever (Jan 25, 2016)

runnah said:


> spiralout462 said:
> 
> 
> > 50mm might be great on full frame but I find that it's in between where I want to be, more often than not on a crop body.
> ...


I kind of agree. I prefer the 35mm on my D3300.

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## DarkShadow (Jan 25, 2016)

I think is a great lens but the focal length on crop body is to tight In many situations.I think the 35mm is a better all around walk around lens.I found more often I can get closer more easily with the 35mm then back up to get what I want with the 50mm


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## jcdeboever (Jan 25, 2016)

DarkShadow said:


> I think is a great lens but the focal length on crop body is to tight In many situations.I think the 35mm is a better all around walk around lens.I found more often I can get closer more easily with the 35mm then back up to get what I want with the 50mm


I see and feel the same thing on my D3300. I don't get why it feels different on a film camera though. 

I am going to try a Ricoh P 50mm f2 on my K1000. I have a minty copy of it I just found in a box, forgot all about it. I think I picked it up years ago to replace a SMC  50mm f2 but never used it. Reading the reviews on the Pentax site rated it a 10 for sharpness. Can't believe it's better than the 1.7, probably won't be able to tell even if it's a good copy. 

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## limr (Jan 25, 2016)

I love my Pentax 50mm f1.7. I've been learning to appreciate the 28mm focal length as well, but 50mm still seems to be my default. It suits my shooting style at the moment.


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## Didereaux (Jan 25, 2016)

People who bad mouth 50's are generally people with a lot of lead below the belt.     You occasionally have to move your feet to get the shot with a 50!


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## jcdeboever (Jan 25, 2016)

limr said:


> I love my Pentax 50mm f1.7. I've been learning to appreciate the 28mm focal length as well, but 50mm still seems to be my default. It suits my shooting style at the moment.



Have you ever tried the Ricoh P 50mm f2? I can't remember for the life of me why I picked that up? It was in a shoe box (inside a moving tub marked personal paperwork) from the 80's with baseball cards, miscellaneous fun stuff I thought was lost long ago. Maybe it was real cheap or something. I was surprised about all the rave reviews. Also, the Pentax 1.7 blows away that SMC Pentax M 50mm 1:2, not even close.


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## jcdeboever (Jan 25, 2016)

Didereaux said:


> People who bad mouth 50's are generally people with a lot of lead below the belt.     You occasionally have to move your feet to get the shot with a 50!


 lead pipe


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## limr (Jan 25, 2016)

jcdeboever said:


> limr said:
> 
> 
> > I love my Pentax 50mm f1.7. I've been learning to appreciate the 28mm focal length as well, but 50mm still seems to be my default. It suits my shooting style at the moment.
> ...



Nope, never tried it. I've got either Pentax, Vivitar, or Takumar lenses for the K1000. And yeah, I've heard the f1.7 is miles ahead of the f2. I will say again how much I adore my f1.7!


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## unpopular (Jan 25, 2016)

I've said it before. The best part with a 50 is you can shoot with one eye open and pretend you're a cyborg.

--

One really under-rated lens is the Konica AR 45/1.4 pancake. Lots of fun to use!


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## tirediron (Jan 25, 2016)

It's a useful lens, but IMO, only moderately so (for me).  My 85 is my go-to prime and most of the rest of my focal lengths are taken up by zooms.


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## jcdeboever (Jan 25, 2016)

tirediron said:


> It's a useful lens, but IMO, only moderately so (for me).  My 85 is my go-to prime and most of the rest of my focal lengths are taken up by zooms.



Just curious, is it good as a walk around lens or do you use it for that? It seems great for portraits in non confined areas. It is not my cup of tea for indoor basketball games as I found out.


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## gsgary (Jan 25, 2016)

I would love the Noctilux f0.95

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## jcdeboever (Jan 25, 2016)

gsgary said:


> I would love the Noctilux f0.95
> 
> Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk



For 9600 smackers, it better take the picture for me. Geez, Leica is proud of their stuff. I looked at the flickr photo's and well, let me say my SMC Pentax 50mm 1.7 will be just fine. The bokeh is pretty cool though, I must admit.


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## gsgary (Jan 25, 2016)

jcdeboever said:


> gsgary said:
> 
> 
> > I would love the Noctilux f0.95
> ...


I've got the very good Voigtlander 50F1.5 Nocton for my Leica's but will be getting  a Sumilux 

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## unpopular (Jan 25, 2016)

Its a good thing it's on a rangefinder. It'd be impossible to focus wide open otherwise.


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## tirediron (Jan 25, 2016)

jcdeboever said:


> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> > It's a useful lens, but IMO, only moderately so (for me).  My 85 is my go-to prime and most of the rest of my focal lengths are taken up by zooms.
> ...


 I guess it depends on your shooting style; I tend to shoot wide/loose when I'm just wandering, and I actually prefer the 35 over the 50.


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## jcdeboever (Jan 25, 2016)

tirediron said:


> jcdeboever said:
> 
> 
> > tirediron said:
> ...


Me too. I was just curious if you used the 85 for more than portraits. 

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## tirediron (Jan 25, 2016)

jcdeboever said:


> tirediron said:
> 
> 
> > jcdeboever said:
> ...


Ummm....  probably not, but then portraits are about 70% of my shooting, so.....


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## Solarflare (Jan 27, 2016)

Didereaux said:


> People who bad mouth 50's are generally people with a lot of lead below the belt.     You occasionally have to move your feet to get the shot with a 50!


Ah yes, and with my 28mm I have to stand still, or what ?

That you have to move around is a general property of prime lenses, not just the 50mm.

And besides, the issue with many 50mm is that the lenses themselves are optically disappointing, not that theres anything wrong with the focal length.


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## gsgary (Jan 27, 2016)

Solarflare said:


> Didereaux said:
> 
> 
> > People who bad mouth 50's are generally people with a lot of lead below the belt.     You occasionally have to move your feet to get the shot with a 50!
> ...


It all depends  which 50mm lenses you buy mine are not poor quality

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## chuasam (Jan 28, 2016)

I have a love/hate with my 50mm lens.
It is soft and the image quality sucks, but it's small,  fast and light.
I kinda want the Sigma 50mm ART but I don't really want to spend that much money at the moment on a toy.


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## weepete (Jan 29, 2016)

I find i dont shoot a lot between 24-150mm.


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## jaomul (Jan 29, 2016)

I suppose these types of topic are very user opinion specific. It is sometimes hard to say a whether a 50mm or indeed any other focal length lens is good/bad/indifferent. The quality of a specific model can be debated better. The focal length (though always remaining the same- not this debate  ) serves different purposes on different format cameras. One would not likely have the same general purpose on a 4/3rds as on a full frame


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## gsgary (Jan 29, 2016)

Most people that shoot with film have a few different 50mm lenses because they render  the subject in different ways 

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## DanOstergren (Jan 29, 2016)

50mm is great, but it's not automatically perfect for you. An 85mm can be your new best friend. So could a 100mm, or a 135mm, or a 35mm, or a 24mm.


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## gsgary (Jan 30, 2016)

I love my Voigtlander 50F1.5 asph M fit

on Leica M4P wide open






And on the A7 with close focus wide open


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