When I first got my camera for Christmas last year it came with two lenses, the 18-55mm and 55-250mm kit lenses. These lenses have been great lenses to learn photography but very quickly I was looking for something that was a little sharper and a larger aperture (greater depth of field). Well there are lots of lenses that are a lot sharper and have a larger aperture than the two lenses I started off with but most cost an arm and a leg. If only I had $1,000 or more lying around. Anyone have a $1,000 they can spare?
One lens that I read quite a bit about that has received great reviews and doesn't cost much is the 50mm f/1.8 which some have coined the "nifty fifty". Most reviews have been very good for this lens because of the combination of how sharp it is and the affordability. This lens is about $100 which is VERY cheap when you start looking at getting a new lens. The one downside is that for $100 you're not getting the most sturdy lens. The lens is built with a plastic mount versus a metal mount. Additionally the focus is very loud compared to more expensive lenses. With a max aperture of f/1.8 I was very anxious to test it out. You can see more about the lens here. After reading a ton of reviews I decided to go for it. Overall I've been very happy with it and it's amazing how sharp my photos are with this lens. As the reviews said the autofocus is very loud and the hood that goes with it doesn't attach very easily. Even with these issues I would definitely recommend this lens to someone who is learning photography and is on a budget. Below is one of my first pictures with this lens of my friend Jed. One of my previous posts, My big brother Paul, also used this lens. I think Jed kind of looks like a Viking with the beard and tassels on his hat. This was taken at the inaugural game for the Seattle Sounders FC season. Hope the Sounders win on Sunday!
Taken: March 19, 2009
Focal length: 50mm
Shutter speed: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 800