If you’ve ever wondered why photographers love the quintessential ‘nifty fifty’ more than their first born then you need to read on…
This little gem, the magical 50mm lens, captures scenes just like your eyes witness in the real world but without those weird bends and squeezes you might find on other lenses. From razor-sharp shots in low light to creamy smooth bokeh, the 50mm is a lens every photographer, pro or hobbyist, should carry in their backpack or even pocket.
Your Vision – Natural Field of View
The 50mm lens nails that mundane everyday view we all know and sometimes love. On a full-frame camera, it matches your eye’s viewpoint without any fish-eye twists or irregular background interference.
Think about it: a 50mm on full-frame gives you a 46-degree view, close to what we less than perfect humans capture naturally. Wider lenses stretch edges, often making a nice face look bizarre and almost Snapchat-esk. Longer lenses tend to compress things, while our prime 50mm keeps things straight and true, with virtually zero distortion for clean, real shots. Photographers love it for everyday scenes that require honesty.
Personally, I love it because it’s easy to achieve that natural perspective feel without fighting the lens, drawing your eye right into the frame. Its also boasts a Silent Wave Motor (SWM) which delivers whisper-quiet operation.
Portraits Are A Breeze
While they might not be everyone’s cup of tea, the 50mm can make difficult headshots an absolute breeze without distorting the features you’re looking to make the shot stand out for, really pop. Add some nice background, and before you know it your subject is part of the story you should be narrating through photography.
Environmental portraits? This amazing heavyweight performing lightweight lens lets you show context without chaos. Just stand normal, focus, shoot and it works straight out of the bag.
Top tip: Place your subject five to seven feet away and capture the frame from chest up with a natural pose and you’ll achieve a crystal clear shot with gorgeous bokeh.
Low-Light Mastery
When it comes to sharpness, clarity, and minimal aberrations, prime lenses including the 50mm really do make a difference; You’ll capture details others miss. Unlike ‘zoom’ lenses, the 50mm will reward your skills with edge-to-edge sharpness and no soft corners with high MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) scores hitting 4,000 lines per millimetre wide open. In a nutshell, a basic 50mm will often outshine a zoom costing twice the price. You get pro results without the hassle.
Wide Apertures (F/1.8 and F/1.4 Advantage)
Both Nikon and Canon’s 50mm give wide apertures such as f/1.4 or f/1.8 and allow you to shoot indoors or low-light without flash at higher shutter speeds meaning action or motion is frozen with the only thing nicely blurred being the background.
Gorgeous Bokeh and Subject Isolation
We all love a bit of creamy bokeh in the right shots so coupling the 50mm with a wide aperture makes complete sense if you’re looking to melt those backgrounds away.
At f/1.8, depth will drop significantly, eyes are focussed and sultry with the rest simply fading beautifully. Stop to f/5.6, and you’ll retain more focus across the whole image; you can experiment with it to create the mood that best suits your backstory.
Benefits: Portability and Value
The obvious winner is sheer weight, or rather lack of it. The 50mm is discreet and can easily drop into any pocket or small space as it’s so compact and weighs just under 8 ounces in most cases.
- Natural look with no distortion for true-to-life shots
- Wide apertures smash low light and blur wonderfully
- Versatile and affordable, perfect for any skill level
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Behind the Lens