7 Reasons to Buy a 50mm Lens
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- Photography Tips
Many photographers who are planning to switch from a point-and-shoot camera to a DSLR as well as those who already have one but only with a kit lens wonder what lenses they should buy. Should it be a zoom lens or maybe 35mm? Or something else?
We bet that you heard a phrase ‘nifty-fifty lens’ that means any 50mm prime lens in photography slang. Today we are going to talk about the advantages of having a nifty-fifty lens in your bag and will give you 7 reasons why you should get yourself one.
AWESOME FOR LOW LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
A 50mm prime lens is a fast lens with a wide aperture, which ranges from f/1.8 to f/1.2 in comparison to kit lenses that have the aperture of about f/3 to f/6, that allows you shooting in poor light conditions. And why is it called fast.
Such wide aperture lets you use really fast shutter speed, which will prevent camera shake and help you avoid making blurry photos. You can also try lowering your ISO since the aperture is so wide and make your photos ever sharper.
CHEAP
The majority of 50mm prime lenses are really cheap—which doesn’t mean that they are not good—and can be purchased for as less as $100 for a f/1.8mm lens. Mind that f/1.4 and f/1.2 50mm lenses may cost you a lot more.
LIGHT
50mm lenses are not hybrid, unlike telephoto ones, and are really small. On the average, a lens like this weighs about 5 oz or less than 200 grams so you can simply sneak it into your pocket before going out. Easy!
PERFECT BOKEH
As you remember, creating perfect bokeh is mainly about the focal length of your lenses, which should be large, as well as the wide aperture. 50mm prime lenses fuse it all together and that’s why they are used so ubiquitously for creating nice-looking blurred backgrounds.
VERY SHARP
As we already pointed out above, wide aperture allows you to use fast shutter speed and low ISO, which both help you avoid camera shake and make your photos less grainy. That’s what gives sharpness to your pictures.
Apart from it, all prime and fixed focal length lenses generally produce sharper images since they are built in a simpler way without so many mechanisms and parts inside of the lens.
VERSATILE
50mm lenses may be used both for street and portrait photography because they are neither wide nor long. This focal length is really universal and overall it helps you create better images irrespective of the photography style unless it’s not wide-angle photography.
EXCELLENT FOR TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY
Just try to remember all of the abovesaid and think about it. A lens that weigh less than 200 grams, gives you great bokeh and sharp images, lets you shoot in low light, is great for both street and portrait photography, and costs only 100 bucks?
It will be really easy to bring it along when you are travelling and even if something happens—say you lose or break it—it’s not really a big deal. So then what are you waiting for? Go for it!
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