I just came across this article via twitter. It gives a great discussion on prime lenses and their benefits/applications. He specifically talks about the "Nifty 50" but the article can be applied to prime lenses in general.
Your welcome. I've recently borrowed a couple of prime lenses from a friend (35mm f/1.8 and 50mm f/1.8) and am loving them. I'm dreading the day he wants them back!
Thanks for the info! I think I'm going to have to buy one now.
Does anyone have an opinion about the choice between The Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM (~$350) and the canon EF 50mm f/1.8 (~$100)? I'm wondering if the improved image quality with the 1.4 USM is worth the price?
I got a 50mm 1.8 prime AIS lens off ebay for about $50. Great lens for certain shots. I'd preffer the 35mm if only for AF since MF takes some prectice, moreso in low light. Good thing is, my camera's focus sensor still works even with the AIS lens.
Ashley: just received my canon ef 50mm f/1.8 yesterday from B&H. I am thoroughly impressed by this lens. SO inexpensive but is impeccably sharp. As you will hear from many others.. the build quality is not so great and i'm sure if you bump it hard enough it'll just crack. But honestly for the price you can not beat it. If i were clumsy enough to break this one I'd just get another. Now i'm sure the f/1.4 is considerably better as far as build quality and of course the wider fstop... but i'm just a beginner and the f/1.8 really fits my budget.
ashley - i got the 50 1.8 after really wanting to get better DOF and more bokeh than i was getting with my 24-70 2.8. i must say i fell in love with prime lenses, and it's SO affordable. however, after saving up the money i bought the 1.4 and i think it was absolutely worth the money for the upgrade. however.... i shot with the 1.2 and that is just like heaven and now i want that one. so i suppose my advice would be to get the 1.8 to make sure you like prime lenses (because some people don't) and then if you fall in love save up for the 1.2 that's my two cents anyway :)
I'm still pretty new to all of this and I've only got one lens, it's the Nikkor 50mm/1.4G. I love it! Thought it'd be a good lens to learn on and to experiment with.
From 1.8 to 1.4 your not only gaining f/.4 but your gaining the glass and mechanics of the lens that allow it to go to 1.4. Even if you shot both lenses at 1.8 you would notice a nice difference. With that said I went with the 1.8 cause I can't afford too many $400 lenses and choose to apply my extra $300 to a wide angle lens.
If you really want a nice lens, look at the canon 50mm f/1.2 :drools: lol
I've wanted a prime lens, but then got super turned away from it because some jerk at a Henry's (when I asked for a bit of info) told me that my camera was going to be useless with it. True, I have a beginner dslr (Nikon D40x) but his advice was, and I quote
"Get a less shitty camera and then we'll talk"
Thanks Dan from Henry's.
I'll probably start looking into it again. Thanks for the link though
I use a Nikon D40x and have been using the 50mm f/1.8 and 35mm f/1.8 primes for a few weeks now. The 50mm pretty much lives on my camera at the moment. It's definitely worth getting prime. The images are much sharper than anything I've taken with a zoom lens.
Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with the D40x. Sure, I'd love a D3 but that's definitely out of my price range :-) Obviously a case of camera snobbery at Henry's.
Thanks for this - I "accidentally" bought a Canon 50mm 1.4 on the back of this! To be fair, I've been pining after one since last summer. Although I am well chuffed with my upgrade - I wholeheartedly recommend getting the cheaper 1.8 to anyone on a budget, produces amazing photos and essential for portraits, here's one I took at Christmas: http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmakerf/4216613069/
Great discussion. I shoot exclusively with prime lenses. My newest fav. is the 85L 1.2 but I also use the 50 1.8 and the Tamron 90mm. I LOVE the bokeh and sharpness/colour of the 85L.....magical!
Loved the post on 50mm twitter link posted at the front end of this discussion. For anyone who needs the formal definition of BOKEH...new work to me..and can't wait to try it out with a photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh
The 50mm f/1.8 Canon prime is so sharp, but I find that it doesn't always auto-focus particularly well... if you don't mind manual focusing sometimes, then it is great. And yes, the build quality is so-so but not god-awful. As long as you look after it as you would any lens it'll be fine. For the price you can get it at though it's excellent.
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Does anyone have an opinion about the choice between The Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM (~$350) and the canon EF 50mm f/1.8 (~$100)? I'm wondering if the improved image quality with the 1.4 USM is worth the price?
If you really want a nice lens, look at the canon 50mm f/1.2 :drools: lol
"Get a less shitty camera and then we'll talk"
Thanks Dan from Henry's.
I'll probably start looking into it again. Thanks for the link though
I use a Nikon D40x and have been using the 50mm f/1.8 and 35mm f/1.8 primes for a few weeks now. The 50mm pretty much lives on my camera at the moment. It's definitely worth getting prime. The images are much sharper than anything I've taken with a zoom lens.
Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with the D40x. Sure, I'd love a D3 but that's definitely out of my price range :-) Obviously a case of camera snobbery at Henry's.
Sorry if my previous comment came out as a rant ^^;;
I've always heard awesome things about getting a nifty 50. I just haven't gotten one yet
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmakerf/4216613069/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emmakerf/4354715714/
As he's black, it's usually impossible to shoot him at night :)
also, cute cat ^_^
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh
great at isolating your subject.
I shot my latest photo with a 50mm: http://365project.org/vikdaddy/365/2010-06-14
And one of my faves with it too: http://365project.org/vikdaddy/365/2010-05-28