The Nifty Fifty Challenge

[mike_rambo]

very cool shot, I'm starting to think a nifty 50 will be my next purchase.

 

[sm4him]

That's a beautiful shot!

And while I like the idea of challenging yourself like that, I think if I did it, I'd still cheat and carry my 70-300 with me. Because if all I had was my 50, I just KNOW a hawk or eagle or some other awesome bird would come and land in the PERFECT place to get its picture...with a 300mm. :lmao:

 

[Awiserbud]

The number of rays coming out of light source is determined by the number of blades used in the aperture. The more the blades more are the number of rays. And these are clearly noticeable if aperture is small like f/22.

The 50mm 1.8 has 7 aperture blades....i counted 14 rays...how does that work...my guess would be PH.

The phenomenon is called "Sunstar Rays" and the number of rays varies in different lenses. In case of Nikon it is double the number of aperture blades. Found some info here:
View attachment 35302

Good info, So i'm guessing the shape of the blades has more to do with it than anything, in the case of the 7 blades in the 50mm f1.8 there must be 2 "high points" for each blade.

 

[bc_steve]

very cool shot, I'm starting to think a nifty 50 will be my next purchase.

it is a great lens and it happens to be one of the most affordable! I got the Nikkor 50mm 1.8D new for around $130 (best price I could find. memoryexpress.com in Canada)