Reasons to buy a 50mm lens?

[IByte]

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

 

[unpopular]

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.

 

[Derrel]

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.

 

[theeph]

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...

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.

 

[snowbear]

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.

 

[theeph]

Not you.

 

[deggimatt]

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

 

[Dao]

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.

 

[subscuck]

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...

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.

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.

 

[punch]

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

 

[ShorehamBoy]

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!

 

[Derrel]

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!

 

[c.cloudwalker]

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!

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...

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.

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.

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........

 

[digital flower]

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

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