well, since we are all talking about the 50mm prime here...

[andylawcc]

i just got a 25mm pancake prime for my olympus, and find myself rarely using it.

it is because I can only use it in certain, specific situation (landscape and close-up-shot-on-inanimate-objects are the two cases I have used the prime), where as the 14-42mm deem much more useful in most circumstances.

so what & how you guys use your 50mm prime?

 

[jpeyton]

Low light.

Sharpness on a budget.

More control over DOF.

 

[Deadtrees]

I used to use 50mm f/1.4 as my walk around lens for many months. Though it was annoying from time to time, it was always great for the most of the time. Mostly, I loved the bokeh it offers as well as what 'jpeyton' mentioned.
However, on your system, it's more like having 50mm f/5.6 lens in terms of bokeh which doesn't sound interesting.

 

[punchkin]

The experience of shooting with a prime is different. If you view your goal as capturing images you see with the most convenience possible, a zoom is for you. If your goal is to capture some great images and engage in an artistic process, a prime may be for you. A prime imposes greater restrictions on framing and perspective, but working within these can be more satisfying in my experience and lead you to shots you'd otherwise miss if you stood in one spot, zooming at everything around you. You should realize that you can "zoom with your feet" as well, and that a little judicious cropping can effectively duplicate part of the range of a zoom.

I find shooting with a prime to be a much more engaging process. It really gets you out of snapshot mode.

 

[corkyg]

Fully concur with Punchkin. A prime 50mm is one of the most versatile lenses around for serious photography. Look at all the great work by people like Ansel Adams - he never used a zoom lens. You learn to use your body and zoom with your feet.

 

[AndrewR]

I typically reserve my 50mm prime for portraits or just capturing people. While I can capture portraits with some of my other lenses, the 50mm is the perfect focal length, and the sharpness and bokeh render very pleasing images. It's also a very light and unobtrusive lens, unlike any of my zooms.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: punchkin
The experience of shooting with a prime is different. If you view your goal as capturing images you see with the most convenience possible, a zoom is for you. If your goal is to capture some great images and engage in an artistic process, a prime may be for you. A prime imposes greater restrictions on framing and perspective, but working within these can be more satisfying in my experience and lead you to shots you'd otherwise miss if you stood in one spot, zooming at everything around you. You should realize that you can "zoom with your feet" as well, and that a little judicious cropping can effectively duplicate part of the range of a zoom.

I find shooting with a prime to be a much more engaging process. It really gets you out of snapshot mode.

I gotta agree here. There's just a different feeling shooting with primes. Combined with the fact I like shooting flashless I like the speed.

However, I like my 30mm prime on the crops 😉

 

[ThePresence]

Originally posted by: punchkin
The experience of shooting with a prime is different. If you view your goal as capturing images you see with the most convenience possible, a zoom is for you. If your goal is to capture some great images and engage in an artistic process, a prime may be for you. A prime imposes greater restrictions on framing and perspective, but working within these can be more satisfying in my experience and lead you to shots you'd otherwise miss if you stood in one spot, zooming at everything around you. You should realize that you can "zoom with your feet" as well, and that a little judicious cropping can effectively duplicate part of the range of a zoom.

I find shooting with a prime to be a much more engaging process. It really gets you out of snapshot mode.

I agree with all the above.

 

[virtuamike]

I only have one zoom to shoot with. The rest of my lenses are primes. I used to think a lot before I took the shot about how I wanted things to look, but now I don't have to think as much.

 

[OdiN]

The "killer" prime set:

Canon 35mm L
Canon 85mm L
Canon 135mm L
Canon 200mm L

I really really want an 85mm and 135mm L.

 

[punchkin]

Originally posted by: OdiN
The "killer" prime set:

Canon 35mm L
Canon 85mm L
Canon 135mm L
Canon 200mm L

I really really want an 85mm and 135mm L.

I've never had the 85L and don't really want one due to the autofocus. The AF on the 85mm f/1.8 is blazingly fast and very accurate. I would only use the 85L for extreme separation shots from middle distances, which I don't do that often.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: punchkin

Originally posted by: OdiN
The "killer" prime set:

Canon 35mm L
Canon 85mm L
Canon 135mm L
Canon 200mm L

I really really want an 85mm and 135mm L.

I've never had the 85L and don't really want one due to the autofocus. The AF on the 85mm f/1.8 is blazingly fast and very accurate. I would only use the 85L for extreme separation shots from middle distances, which I don't do that often.

I've used one and it did fine with AF. But I thought they fixed it with the newer version.

It's best used as a portrait lens, and has one of the best bokeh's I've seen. The 135L is also excellent for portraits.

 

[andylawcc]

cool, I am using my prime as my primary (no pun intended really) lense now.

it's like driving a stick all over again.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Fully concur with Punchkin. A prime 50mm is one of the most versatile lenses around for serious photography. Look at all the great work by people like Ansel Adams - he never used a zoom lens. You learn to use your body and zoom with your feet.

Bear in mind that a 50mm on film captures the same FOV as a 33.33mm lens on Nikon crop sensor cameras and a 31.25mm lens on a Canon crop sensor (Nikon, Sony, and Pentax use an APS-C sensor that has a 1.5x crop factor, Canon's APS-C sensors are 1.6x). To get essentially the same field of view with an APS-C camera you need a 35mm prime or a 30mm prime for a slightly wider FOV (45mm FOV when using 135 film).

Honestly, on an APS-C sensor I find 50mm to be one of the least useful lenses (on a 1.5x crop it has the same FOV as a 75mm lens on film). It's not wide enough to get enough into the shot if you want to go wide, but it's not quite long enough for portraits (I tend to prefer a 135mm lens on film for portraits, or at least 100mm). On a crop sensor camera a 35mm lens would be much more useful IMO.

On the other hand, the 50mm lenses are good, fast, relatively cheap, and plentiful. Can't beat that combination with a stick. 🙂

ZV

 

[jdwright]

I got the nikon 50 1.8 for my d80 just a few weeks after my 18-200vr. Now I find myself wanting to use the 50 all the time. My ratio of keepers with the super sharp prime lens is MUCH better than the 18-200. In fact, I've been considering selling the 18-200 and scoring a 180/2.8 prime, which I've heard is one of the sharpest lenses out there. And, with a little effort and creative focusing, should be able to take some good indoor sports shots with either one. Oh, and since I'm pretty thrifty (read cheap), this combo won't break the bank.

 

[jpeyton]

If you sell your 18-200mm, skip the 180mm f/2.8 and pick up a 80-200mm f/2.8. You'll find yourself using that lens quite often.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: punchkin

Originally posted by: OdiN
The "killer" prime set:

Canon 35mm L
Canon 85mm L
Canon 135mm L
Canon 200mm L

I really really want an 85mm and 135mm L.

I've never had the 85L and don't really want one due to the autofocus. The AF on the 85mm f/1.8 is blazingly fast and very accurate. I would only use the 85L for extreme separation shots from middle distances, which I don't do that often.

I've used one and it did fine with AF. But I thought they fixed it with the newer version.

It's best used as a portrait lens, and has one of the best bokeh's I've seen. The 135L is also excellent for portraits.

the 85L is so damn expensive though, heh. And I was unaware of them fixing the focus, do you have a link anywhere? I really like the idea of the 135L, but it's seemingly too long for me to use on a crop body.

 

[punchkin]

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: punchkin

Originally posted by: OdiN
The "killer" prime set:

Canon 35mm L
Canon 85mm L
Canon 135mm L
Canon 200mm L

I really really want an 85mm and 135mm L.

I've never had the 85L and don't really want one due to the autofocus. The AF on the 85mm f/1.8 is blazingly fast and very accurate. I would only use the 85L for extreme separation shots from middle distances, which I don't do that often.

I've used one and it did fine with AF. But I thought they fixed it with the newer version.

It's best used as a portrait lens, and has one of the best bokeh's I've seen. The 135L is also excellent for portraits.

the 85L is so damn expensive though, heh. And I was unaware of them fixing the focus, do you have a link anywhere? I really like the idea of the 135L, but it's seemingly too long for me to use on a crop body.

It is IIRC about twice as fast as the old version, a major improvement but still not good for tracking action. Still greatly improves its usefulness as a portrait lens, I'm sure. I had the pleasure of using the Mark I for a weekend but not the Mark II yet.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: punchkin
It is IIRC about twice as fast as the old version, a major improvement but still not good for tracking action. Still greatly improves its usefulness as a portrait lens, I'm sure. I had the pleasure of using the Mark I for a weekend but not the Mark II yet.

hrm. still excessive for me, heh. That and I can't imagine using f/1.2 on any lens.

 

[jdwright]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
If you sell your 18-200mm, skip the 180mm f/2.8 and pick up a 80-200mm f/2.8. You'll find yourself using that lens quite often.

I'm definitely interested in the 80-200, since it would clearly offer some flexibility. It's one of the 2 that I've been considering. Well, those and the 70-200vr that is WAY out of my price range =(. You think I'd be happy with the sharpness, color, bokeh across the zoom range?

Thanks for any input - this is a really tough call for me...

J

 

[Deadtrees]

Originally posted by: randomlinh

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: punchkin

Originally posted by: OdiN
The "killer" prime set:

Canon 35mm L
Canon 85mm L
Canon 135mm L
Canon 200mm L

I really really want an 85mm and 135mm L.

I've never had the 85L and don't really want one due to the autofocus. The AF on the 85mm f/1.8 is blazingly fast and very accurate. I would only use the 85L for extreme separation shots from middle distances, which I don't do that often.

I've used one and it did fine with AF. But I thought they fixed it with the newer version.

It's best used as a portrait lens, and has one of the best bokeh's I've seen. The 135L is also excellent for portraits.

the 85L is so damn expensive though, heh. And I was unaware of them fixing the focus, do you have a link anywhere? I really like the idea of the 135L, but it's seemingly too long for me to use on a crop body.

Canon cliams 85mm mk2 AF is 1.8x faster than the original version but users have been reporting that it's around 50% faster at max (Shorter distance AF being about the same but full rotation being a lot faster)

 

[martensite]

I love using primes that are less than 100 mm, especially in the 30-50 mm range, I find it quite useful.
The Pentax
FA 31 mm f/1.8 Limited
FA 43 mm f/1.9 Limited
FA 77 mm f/1.8 Limited
are among the very finest AF lenses made for any SLR system. The 31/1.8 in particular is incredible.

The newer 'digital' Limited lenses are no slouches either.
DA 35 mm f/2.8 Limited Macro
DA 40 mm f/2.8 Limited
DA 70 mm f/2.4 Limited

The 21/3.2 is not supposed to be as great as it's brothers.

I have only the DA40/2.8 'pancake' from the list, but if finances permit, I hope to get a 31/1.8 in a couple of months. I'd love to have every lens in the list.

The bigger ones don't interest me as much, except for the DA*300/4.

 

[joutlaw]

I just got the Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime and I am in love with this lens. I read on many sites how when you get another lens you will really see what D-SLR is all about. That is indeed true.

It shot great shots out of the box with little effort. I'm taking it this week to the country to take some outdoor-sy type shots.

Pics are in this thread if you're interested. Keep in mine these are taken by a DSLR noob and it was my first few minutes with the lens.

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