Best Prime lens for beginners

[RJ31]

I have a Canon EOS 700D with Kit Lens. What is the best budget Prime Lens I should purchase?

The options I have are:

• EF 50MM f/1.8 STM
• EF 40MM f/2.8 STM
• EF 24MM f/2.8 STM

Thanks

 

[DB_Cro]

Definitely the 50, even if it wasn't the cheapest option out there.

 

[JoeW]

I'm a Nikon heretic not a Canon worshipper so I'm not speaking for specific experience with these particular lens but just lens in general.

Get the "nifty 50."

First, even if it doesn't stay your "go to" lens, everyone should have a 50mm prime in their kit bag or at least as part of their accessories.

Second, it's must faster than the others AND you can do some really cool DoF work with it.

Third, you're more likely to get more distortion with the 24 and 40 alternatives (which matters a lot if you're shooting people...giant thighs, keystone effect with windows, etc.). Now, if you know you shoot architecture a lot or landscapes with big wide-open vistas (i.e. Grand Canyon, Red Rock territory, that sort of stuff), then I might go for one of the wide angles. But I think you'll get a helluva lot more use out of the 50 than you would of the other 2 options.

 

[RJ31]

Thanks a lot to both of you.
@JoeW, really appreciate the detailed explanation and help here.

 

[Punisher911]

Yes.. Definitely the 50mm f/1.8 stm. I have one myself. Even had the older ii version for a while. It was good too. The newer STM version is even better and at a price that's impossible to pass up.

 

[Derrel]

Are the 40mm and 24mm actually EF lenses? I thought they were EF-S lenses, only usable on crop-sensor bodies? Regardless, I'm not sure that the 50 is a slam-dunk choice for every user; the 24mm will be a normal-like lens that offers some exciting pictorial possibilities of creative exaggeration of size/height/distance, whereas the 50mm is basically a short- to medium-telephoto lens length, and the 40mm is sort of the "super-normal", semi-selective longer-than-normal-normal-lens length.

The differences might not seem or sound all that significant, but each length is its own specific type of tool.

 

[DB_Cro]

If I only had to have one, something in the 35 to 50mm range is what everyone needs to learn framing fast, I wouldn't go wider then that.
However, 50mm on a crop body is 75mm or more, which doesn't make it a standard anymore IMO, so I'd probably suggest 40mm for crop body users.

HOWEVER no.2, I'd give the 50 here a nod again above the 40 just because it's F/1.8 vs F/2.8 and it's cheaper.

 

[sabbath999]

I am going to be an even bigger heretic, I shoot both Nikon and Canon, both film and dig, and I was bored and curious so I ordered a Yongnuo 50mm 1.8 to replace a broken Canon Nifty 50 (the breakage was not the lens's fault, the lens was dropped on a concrete floor when the strap broke (grumble grumble)).

ANYWAY, bottom line is I like the $40 Yongnuo better than the Canon I replaced it with. Very sharp, but what really shows is the Bokeh is MUCH better and that's one of the most important things there is to consider when buying a fast prime.

Normally, I don't shoot off-brand lenses but I thought I would throw this out there because that thing is so darned cheap you can buy it AND another prime and have the best of both worlds.

 

[Dao]

The lenses you list are different in focal length so it is hard to recommend one over the other.


Which car should I buy?
A) 2 doors sports car.
B) 7 passengers Minivan.
C) Jeep.
D) 4 doors small plugin Hybird.

 

[Derrel]

 

[DB_Cro]

I am going to be an even bigger heretic, I shoot both Nikon and Canon, both film and dig, and I was bored and curious so I ordered a Yongnuo 50mm 1.8 to replace a broken Canon Nifty 50 (the breakage was not the lens's fault, the lens was dropped on a concrete floor when the strap broke (grumble grumble)).

ANYWAY, bottom line is I like the $40 Yongnuo better than the Canon I replaced it with. Very sharp, but what really shows is the Bokeh is MUCH better and that's one of the most important things there is to consider when buying a fast prime.

Normally, I don't shoot off-brand lenses but I thought I would throw this out there because that thing is so darned cheap you can buy it AND another prime and have the best of both worlds.

That's interesting.. the few reviews I saw rated the YN lenses rather bad, especially re: sharpness.
I love their flashes but...

 

[beagle100]

get the $60 (used) 50mm 1.8 mkII or spend a little more on the newer STM version

 

[Dao]

On a serious note, lens purchase should not be what other people think they need. It should be based on what you need. OP, if you need to ask what lens you need to purchase, my recommendation is not to get any right now.

Learn more about photography and read more about lenses. Learn more about how Depth of field affected by aperture size (of course, there are other factors too). Learn more about how the field of view varies with focal length and how it affects your photos.

Go visit lens review sites such as photozone.de, slrgear.com, dpreview.com or fredmiranda.com and check out their technical and user reviews. Search a particular lens from within flickr.com and see if you can see some examples.

Once you know more, you should know what you need to get next.

 

[sabbath999]

That's interesting.. the few reviews I saw rated the YN lenses rather bad, especially re: sharpness.
I love their flashes but...

I don't read pixel peeper reviews, so I have no idea what others think of it. Mine works great and is very sharp all the way out to the edge wide open. I'm sure with such a cheap lens quality control is not what you would see at a Nikon or Canon plant, but mine's sharp.

 

[sabbath999]

One thing that IS quirky about the YN lens is that it totally sucks on older film cameras. For some reason, there's something in the lens firmware that causes the older EOS film cameras shutters to hang open. It works fine on something more modern like an EOS Elan 7, or an EOS-1 VHS, but on something like an EOS 600, 650? Not so much.

No idea why, but if you are shooting one of these 25-year-old film cameras you might keep that in mind.