The 50mm 1.8G is a fast, lightweight, sharp prime lens (fixed focal length) with a beautiful bokeh. The 50mm is easy to take on a walk in a garden, the woods, the street and even in the airport for something to do while waiting for your flight.
A prime lens encourages the photographer to move their feet while considering different perspectives and composition.
The Night Moves image above glowed in my old hometown, Birmingham, Michigan around ten at night. Using a big aperture (f/1.8), the shallow depth of field, bokeh and desired sharpness all came together. No flash or tripod needed.
The sunflower above was captured with a 50mm. A shallow depth of field separated the flower’s face from the background.
Our photography and subjects evolve over time. However, I waited too long to add the 50mm to my arsenal. I recommend this as a must-have lens sooner versus later.
The 50mm is a photographer’s friend, offering speed, fun, creativity and awesome quality images.
At a very reasonable price point on Amazon, it’s a relatively painless addition from a cost standpoint.
At times, I forget this baby is in my toolkit. Every time I bring it back out, there’s moments of “why do I wait to use this?” Sure, there’s big advantages of zooms over primes, the biggest of course is flexibility.
At the same time, the 50mm encourages creativity when you can’t zoom in and out. Creativity in our shooting inspires, energizes and brings energy into our images.
Sometimes, I think that the phrase snap happy was generated by a photographer who shot with a 50mm prime!
For an art lens reviews: Lensbaby Velvet Review
