As you grow as a photographer, you’ll experience a lens outside of your kit lens (the lens that comes with your SLR). Well, my first experience outside of my kit lens was with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. A great beginning photography lens as its relatively cheap, and it takes great shots.
That being said, I branched out – as you will too. And I bought a Canon 85mm f/1.8 prime lens. It never comes off my Canon T1i! Well, I was in the market for a new lens and was considering a faster 50mm lens.
My sister liked the way my 50mm lens shot on her camera, so I was thinking about giving it to her (50mm f/1.8 also known as a ‘NiftyFifty’). But that is after I read some reviews and thought – for $90 and the quality of shots I have had with the 50mm, why should I get another 50mm lens? Its fast enough, its a little loud, but it doesn’t bother me too much.
Well, based on reviews, I might not really need a faster lens (50mm f/1.4). So, to fall back in love with the NiftyFifty, I have left it on my camera for two weeks and have never taken it off.
The bokeh – the out of focus/blurry parts of the picture – mostly background, is awesome on the 85mm f/1.8. And pictures are really sharp wide open. The quality of the bokeh on the 50mm isn’t as great – but pretty darn awesome for my purposes.
I am currently looking for another ‘prime’ lens – and the Canon 35mm f/2.0 might be the way I go. I’m partial to Canon. I’m going to continue researching, but the sample pictures I’ve seen on the Canon 35mm f/2.0 are really sharp and colorful. I’m not too impressed with the Canon 28mm f/1.8, so I am swaying toward the 35mm.
To check out how these lenses shoot, visit the Photography-on-the-Net forums and the Sample Lens Archive.
That being said – here are some pictures taken these past couple of weeks with the NiftyFifty.
If you are looking for a great starter camera, you might want to look into the Canon T1i! The Canon T2i just came out so you might find good deals on the T1i!
Visit B&H Photo and shop around!
You’ll find the T1i, the Nifty Fifty, and my new future lens: The Canon 35mm f/2.0.
Glenn is a former financial analyst, close-up magician, and hockey player. He is now a writer, novelist, screenwriter, 
