# Reasons to buy a 50mm lens?



## deggimatt (Apr 15, 2012)

What are the main reasons to own a 50mm lens? ex: *EF 50MM F/1.8 II*​


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## rexbobcat (Apr 15, 2012)

On a full frame camera 50mm is approximately what the human eye sees.

It's fast. 

It's telephoto enough to be used for portraits.

It's cheap.

In its price range, it's better than any other lens out there.


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## 2WheelPhoto (Apr 15, 2012)

Another reason is any less (full frame or not) and portraiture is not desirable


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## Tony S (Apr 15, 2012)

... because you can??


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## Dao (Apr 16, 2012)

deggimatt said:


> What are the main reasons to own a 50mm lens? ex: *EF 50MM F/1.8 II*​



Because you need to shoot a photo with a focal length of 50mm.


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## IByte (Apr 16, 2012)

deggimatt said:


> What are the main reasons to own a 50mm lens? ex: *EF 50MM F/1.8 II*​



 I can give you, I mean show you 5 reasons to own a 50mm 1.8/1.4 lens 8)


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## snowbear (Apr 16, 2012)

And having a fast 50mm will allow you to hang out with all the really cool photographers!!


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## c.cloudwalker (Apr 16, 2012)

snowbear said:


> And having a fast 50mm will allow you to hang out with all the really cool photographers!!



You mean the real cool internetz fauxtographers... :lmao:


To the OP = I still don't get the nifty-fifty thing. When I was growing up as a photog nobody used the 50mm, it was considered the most boring lens out there.

To be honest, I don't remember why but the fact that it's close to the human eye in some respect may be it. I already see that way, why would I want to see the same darn way with my camera? Now, I always kept a 50 in my bag but only because it was a cheap lens (came with the body!) and it might come in handy if I killed all the other ones...


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## bhop (Apr 16, 2012)

If I only used a crop sensor body camera, I wouldn't bother, but on full frame (or film) 50mm is one of my favorites.


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## Big Mike (Apr 16, 2012)

deggimatt said:


> What are the main reasons to own a 50mm lens? ex: *EF 50MM F/1.8 II*​


The typical scenario is that someone only has zoom lenses (particularly cheaper zoom lenses with a maximum aperture of F3.5 to F5.6).  The 50mm F1.8II is the least expensive option to get you a lens with a large maximum aperture.  

Also, because of the simple design on a 50mm lens, you can get pretty good optical quality for a lower price.  The potential image quality on a 50mm F1.8II, is probably better than anything you can get in a zoom lens, until you get up around the $500-$600 range.

On the other hand, the 50mm F1.8II is otherwise a rather cheap lens.  The construction is mainly plastic, the focus isn't known for being accurate and it probably wouldn't stand up to a fall that a better lens might.  Also, it just feels like a toy, compared to a better lens.


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## rexbobcat (Apr 16, 2012)

c.cloudwalker said:


> snowbear said:
> 
> 
> > And having a fast 50mm will allow you to hang out with all the really cool photographers!!
> ...



I thought 50mm is what came standard with most cameras back at a time? Maybe that's why it used to be boring. Kind of like how nobody considers kit lenses to be worth much.


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## c.cloudwalker (Apr 16, 2012)

rexbobcat said:


> I thought 50mm is what came standard with most cameras back at a time?



Exactly.

And they were boring. And you couldn't sell them.

And that is why it is funny that they are so big today.


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## bhop (Apr 16, 2012)

So boring...

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=50mm&ss=2&s=int


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## Trever1t (Apr 16, 2012)

deggimatt said:


> What are the main reasons to own a 50mm lens? ex: *EF 50MM F/1.8 II*​



Because you don't already have one!


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## Overread (Apr 16, 2012)

Big Mike has really summed up most of the points - the 50mm f1.8 is an often popular lens recommended to people starting photography because its a very cheap lens, but with very good optics for its price - in fact in its price range its probably about the best optics you can get. 

The result being that its a good lens to introduce people to better optics as opposed to just the cheaper 70-300mm; kit lenses and 18-200mm type lenses that beginners often favour for their versatility and price. The 50mm gives them an affordable taste of what better optics can be and as a result either ends up as their best lens; or as a stepping stone in experience toward higher value lenses and better optics (if they choose to head that way).


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## IByte (Apr 16, 2012)

If you have a 50 mm you are hip and cool.


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## unpopular (Apr 16, 2012)

The lengths between 35 and 50mm I think are unobtrusive, they allow an image to be about the subject, and not about the lens. I shoot almost exclusively with a 50mm lens, and only because I haven't yet found a 35mm lens I like.


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## Derrel (Apr 16, 2012)

I really prefer a 55,58,or 60mm lens to a 50mm. I also like a 45mm lens a fair bit as well. The difference in angle of view between a 50mm and a 58mm is SUBSTANTIAL; the 55,58,and 60mm lenses are much more selective.

According to the former longtime editor and writer first at Modern Photography and later the combined Modern and Popular Photography, Herbert Keppler, at one time in slr-dom, the camera makers standardized on 55 or 58mm lenses so that the "normal" lens would give a two-eyed view with the viewfinder's magnification almost perfectly matched to the lens length the cameras would be sold with. With a lens and a viewfinder that allowed the photographer to keep both eyes open, as viewfinder magnifications got lower, the 58 or 55mm lenses that had been standard in the  early 1960's were replaced by a 50mm standard lens. Earlier, in the rangefinder era that began in the late 1920's and early 1930's, the 50mm f/3.5 was pretty standard lens for the Leica models of the beginning of the era, although faster f/2 and even f/1.5 models were not that far in the future for many photographers who could afford "quality" cameras like the Leica or Contax rangefinders.


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## theeph (Apr 16, 2012)

c.cloudwalker said:


> snowbear said:
> 
> 
> > And having a fast 50mm will allow you to hang out with all the really cool photographers!!
> ...



Just so you know, you come off as a complete asshole. What a pretentious, belittling statement. If you can't find a use for nearly any lens then perhaps you are the fauxtographer.  Just a thought.


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## snowbear (Apr 17, 2012)

theeph said:


> Just so you know, you come off as a complete asshole. What a pretentious, belittling statement. If you can't find a use for nearly any lens then perhaps you are the fauxtographer.  Just a thought.


I'm not quite sure which of us this is directed to, but I actually use my 50 (and a 24 prime) on my digital and 35mm body.


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## theeph (Apr 17, 2012)

Not you.


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## deggimatt (Apr 19, 2012)

I Bought the 50mm 4 days ago. I enjoyed reading your replies :mrgreen:  I really like the lens so far. At F- 5.6 the sharpness is much much better than the kit lens. At 1.8 the sharpness lacks a bit, but I really like the Bokeh on the 1.8. All in all, a pretty good buy.:thumbup:


I can be considered "Cool" now


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## Dao (Apr 19, 2012)

deggimatt said:


> I Bought the 50mm 4 days ago. I enjoyed reading your replies :mrgreen:  I really like the lens so far. At F- 5.6 the sharpness is much much better than the kit lens. At 1.8 the sharpness lacks a bit, but I really like the Bokeh on the 1.8. All in all, a pretty good buy.:thumbup:
> 
> 
> I can be considered "Cool" now



Welcome to the cool world!   

And have fun with the new lens.


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## subscuck (Apr 19, 2012)

theeph said:


> c.cloudwalker said:
> 
> 
> > snowbear said:
> ...



And just so *you *know, you come off as a completely clueless newb to this site who makes rash judgements about people you don't know. C.cloudwalker is a professional (not a perfeshenal) photographer with decades of experience and the knowledge to go with it. How is relating his experience belittling? Troll.


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## punch (Apr 19, 2012)

i love the drama over a 50mm lens.  for the love of god... it's a focal length, not a moral veiwpoint.


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## ShorehamBoy (Apr 19, 2012)

I bought a 50mm f1.8 II last year and really enjoy using it.  Being (pretty much) a noob to photography it offered me a different perspective and presented me with new challenges, on a limited budget.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!


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## Derrel (Apr 19, 2012)

punch said:


> i love the drama over a 50mm lens.  for the love of god... it's a focal length, not a moral veiwpoint.



One of the most succinct and on-point observations I have read here this entire month! Bravo!


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## c.cloudwalker (Apr 19, 2012)

punch said:


> *i love the drama* over a 50mm lens.  for the love of god... it's a focal length, not a moral veiwpoint.



So do I :lmao:

Not that I thought about creating it. I thought I was just talking about the ever-present generation gap...

Dang!









subscuck said:


> theeph said:
> 
> 
> > c.cloudwalker said:
> ...



Thanks for sticking up for me but there really was no need. It's just a fifty. Even if I don't find it so nifty 

People are so damn uptight........


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## digital flower (Apr 19, 2012)

I actually prefer my 60mm/2.8 over the 50/1.8.

One great thing about the 50 is size. Very portable.:thumbup::thumbup:


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