Nifty 50 on a crop body as a portrait lens

[Peeb]

OK- dearest daughter is home for X-mas break so I borrowed-back her D5500 to test my 50mm f/1.8 as a portrait lens. Figured it's equivalent to a 75mm on my full frame camera.

Blew out the background right well, to my eyes. Might have to get me a crop camera for wildlife AND for portraits. Anybody else used their 50 on a crop with good results?

 

[Peeb]

The humans in my home will hardly tolerate my cameras anymore, but here is my avatar modeling for the 50mm.... (cropped out the xmas tree on the left as the bokeh was just too busy with the lights and all)

 

[Peeb]

OK- well maybe ONE human (thanks, dear)...

 

[Derrel]

I well, it sounds like you're all set to buy some new Nikon stuff for yourself. 50mm on DX? Yeah, sure, it's alright. For some time Leica has made its very fast 75mm (Summilux ?), and Cosina's much smaller lighter and more-affordable 75/2.5 Color-Heliar have been around, so there has been a place for this length in a fast prime lens.
I still prefer the 1.8 AfD over the 1.8 G. Why? I can hear and feel the AFD as it focuses and re-focuses. But really, any of the AF 50's are amply good performance lenses. The D series ones are smaller than the G models, by quite a noticeable amount.

 

[Peeb]

I well, it sounds like you're all set to buy some new Nikon stuff for yourself. 50mm on DX? Yeah, sure, it's alright. For some time Leica has made its very fast 75mm (Summilux ?), and Cosina's much smaller lighter and more-affordable 75/2.5 Color-Heliar have been around, so there has been a place for this length in a fast prime lens.
I still prefer the 1.8 AfD over the 1.8 G. Why? I can hear and feel the AFD as it focuses and re-focuses. But really, any of the AF 50's are amply good performance lenses. The D series ones are smaller than the G models, by quite a noticeable amount.

I know, right? I've got a couple of "G" lenses and they focus so quietly that you wonder if they did anything at all. I've actually pulled away and refocused on my shoe to make sure something was happening!

I don't have a backup camera so I thought it might be wise to get a crop so I would have FX and DX both covered. Borrowing my daughters, I really liked the 50 on it.

 

[MRnats]

My 50 1.8 G has been my go-to, workhorse lense for a lot of the shooting I do which is mostly portraiture (D7100). I also have an 85 1.8G so it's not just a matter of "that's all I have and I make it work for me". Good results? I think I get good results from it. Others might think it sucks. It's all subjective. I don't use it for super tight head shots; I use the 85 for that. I use the 50 for full body and waist up shooting.

 

[PropilotBW]

I am tempted to buy this lens again, as Nikon has it on sale for $176 again!!

 

[Derrel]

... "G" lenses and they focus so quietly that you wonder if they did anything at all.>SNIP

Exactly! Focus is so critical, the feel and the sound of the old in-body AF motor, knowing that it has actually re-set my focus is reassuring. I shoot exclusively in AF-C mode, so I prefer to be "reminded" every time the focus has been adjusted.

 

[Derrel]

An issue I consider under-discussed is how regular people react to a camera with a small, nondescript, short lens with a small-diameter filter, like a 49 to 55 filter: my experience is that a SMALL lens makes the camera much less threatening, much less intrusive.

And this is a perfect example, a 50mm on a small-body camera. Big, wide 72 to 77 to 82mm filter lenses, or 4 pound 70-200 zooms, or fat 24-70/2.8 lenses put a lot of people "off'. Using an f/1.8 50mm for people work, you get a good focal length AND a comfortable working range, with a tool that does not alarm people, or look 'creepy'.

 

[Designer]

.. test my 50mm f/1.8 as a portrait lens. Figured it's equivalent to a 75mm on my full frame camera.

Actually, you've got it backward. The "crop factor" applies to the APS-C sensor, not the "full-size" 35 mm sensor. So on the "full-frame" is acts just like a 50mm lens.

 

[Peeb]

.. test my 50mm f/1.8 as a portrait lens. Figured it's equivalent to a 75mm on my full frame camera.

Actually, you've got it backward. The "crop factor" applies to the APS-C sensor, not the "full-size" 35 mm sensor. So on the "full-frame" is acts just like a 50mm lens.

I probably said it wrong- I use the 50 on my FX, but I wanted to try it on my daughter's DX, which made the FOV like 75 in FX

 

[BananaRepublic]

An issue I consider under-discussed is how regular people react to a camera with a small, nondescript, short lens with a small-diameter filter, like a 49 to 55 filter: my experience is that a SMALL lens makes the camera much less threatening, much less intrusive.

And this is a perfect example, a 50mm on a small-body camera. Big, wide 72 to 77 to 82mm filter lenses, or 4 pound 70-200 zooms, or fat 24-70/2.8 lenses put a lot of people "off'. Using an f/1.8 50mm for people work, you get a good focal length AND a comfortable working range, with a tool that does not alarm people, or look 'creepy'.

and they weigh less also.