Help me understand why I hate the 50...

stsinner

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I bought the 50 f/1.8 because everyone said how much they loved it.. But to take pictures in my home, which is the most common place for me to take pictures of my kids, I have to be so far away that it's impractical.. I have to be in the next room to get a picture of my kids with a good amount of the Christmas tree in focus..

What I don't understand is that my friend told me that the 50 with the crop factor of my camera, the lens is more like an 85mm.. What does this mean, and is he right?
 
Most likely.
Most DSLR sensors are smaller than the 35mm film format ... so the effective focal length gets magnified. Most DSLR sensors are about 1.4 - 1.6x ... your camera could be 1.5x.

For shooting indoors you might want a wider lens ... but most lenses will not have such a large aperture (f/1.8) ... you might find a 20mm f/2.8 or a 28mm f/2.0.
 
Yes he is correct. It is basically a 75mm with a 1.5 crop factor or 80 with a 1.6. Since there is no zoom you have to move to get what you want in the frame rather than just zooming in or out. Hope this helped a bit.
 
You need to choose your lens type based on your sensor size and what subject you photograph, because if you do not have a camera with a full frame sensor you will have a "crop" factor from a smaller size sensor. This "crop" factor will vary between manufacturers so read your manual carefully. Everyone may like this lens, but if it does not suite your needs it will not work for you. An excellent article by Ken Rockwell shows the differences in sensor size Crop Factor. If you are are using your DSLR to photograph your kids at home then a 15-35mm or 17-35mm zoom lens would probably work better by giving you more flexibility or a prime 20mm lens. You may also have to look into using a flash with a zoom lens.

Other "crop" factor links
DSLR Magnification
The "Multiplier Factor" - Lonestardigital.com
 
McKaso chances are he isn't looking to spend 1400 on a lens. He most likely wants an affordable fast prime lens.
 
ya the 50 on a crop sensor isnt really for indoor/tight areas. its meant for when you have more room, and can afford to "manually zoom". its a great lens, because once you become comfortable with it, you cant beat how sharp you can get with it, for the price. It's also a great, affordable, low light lens.

But, for indoor, family type shots, you can do a lot with your kit lens and a good flash.
 
You could look at the Sigma 28mm f/1.8 (1.5x = 42mm) ... it is not that expensive.

or the Sigma 20mm f/1.8.
 
The sigma 30mm 1.4 EX is quite nice, and is a comfortable length indoors. although I like my 17-50, but its not as fast. The 30mm is 385 bucks right now, the other lenses mentioned are about on par quality wise with the canon 50mm 1.8, the sigma 30mm 1.4 is defiantly a step up in quality.
 
You shouldn't hate it. It is a $90 lens with an maximum aperture of 1.8. No, it's not my 50mm f/1.2, but it will get the job done.

I have shot with 50mm on a 1.6x crop factor in small rooms just fine. Maybe you are not tightening up on your photos enough. Taking a picture of the kids and including a tree wouldn't be a job for a 50mm regardless of cropping factors. This is a job for a wide angle lens.

You camera has a 1.6x cropping factor. All Canon's with the APS-C have a 1.6x cropping factor. The APS-H, found in the 1D Mark III, has a 1.3x cropping factor.

You will always hate equipment if you are trying to get it to do something it shouldn't do.

-Nick
 
thanks for the explanations and the links to get me up to speed on the problem.. I had such high hopes for this lens while I awaited its delivery in the mail, so I guess it was just a let down. It will no doubt be good for outdoor shooting, but it just doesn't suit my needs for indoor family shots.

As was stated, I really love my kit lens (18-55), so I guess I'll just stick with that and a flash until I can afford a fast, wider lens.
 
The Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 is a nice fast replacement for the kit.

For indoor shooting I have had a lot of good results with a vivitar 285 bounced from a stand in the corner of the room. It gives pretty good even light without being to harsh on the subjects eyes. Defiantly not a portrait setup, but it works well for general family and party pictures.
 
The 50MM F/1.8 isn't a good portrait lens? Sure you can use a wideangle indoors, but then you are going to get not only the kid in the frame but also a bunch of other crap. 50MM isn't wide, but it should be sufficient for you to be able to get portrait shots of your child.
 
When I first got my 50mm/f1.8, also I was surprised by its performance. I found it difficult to really handle the wide open apertures, as so many parts of the subject are going to be thrown into blurriness, and also I hadn't really reckoned with the (to be expected, had I thought right) crop factor. But I started to like it, all the same. I rarely go to the widest open aperture these days, as too much gets blurry, and if a face is only turned mildly to one side, one eye is out of focus already, and I have got used to going far back in order to be able to use it.
 

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