50mm Prime lens is also known as natural lenses as they let you see the world as-is in a full-frame sensor DSLR.
A prime lens is a lens with a fixed focal length and used to be the norm before the digital camera world was flooded with the zoom lens.
Zoom and telephoto lens offer the best convenience but it is hardly the best lens for a Digital SLR enthusiast trying to learn the ropes in photography.
Yesterday, I found the Canon’s nifty-fifty 50mm f/1.8 prime lens at an incredible price and that’s what prompted me to write this post.
Here are 10 reasons why every first time Digital SLR camera owner or a Digital SLR enthusiast photographer should buy a 50mm prime lens.
- Prime lens offer the best possible image quality at a focal length as there is less glass and hence low loss of image quality. They are known for sharp image quality and the bokeh effect.
- Cheapest prime lens like Canon f/1.8 50mm prime lens comes as such a fast lens – helps you shoot in low light because of the wide f/1.8 aperture letting in a lot of light!
image credit: gjeewaytee - Opportunity to lean photography – with a fixed focal length, prime lenses make you work the subject you are shooting. Without a zoom, you have to move farther and back and they make you think about your shots!
- Wide angle lenses could be expensive but you can use your prime lens like a wide angle to get sharp pictures of landscapes by moving farther and using a high f stop.
- Street Photography – With the prime lens offering closer to what human eyes sees at 50mm or 35mm focal length (full vs cropped sensor), most people prefer prime lens for street photography.
- Bokeh or Shallow depth of field effect – you can use the wide apertures offered by the prime lenses to get great shallow depth of field as well as with lights in the background create interesting bokeh effects.
image credit: fRandi-Shooters - Again the Canon nifty-fifty is so inexpensive, light-weight and portable. However this wouldn’t apply to all prime lenses.
- Just get up close to your subject and shoot with your aperture wide open – you can get the same effect as a telephoto lens with your subject up close in the picture and the background totally blurred!
- Portait pictures often come out the best with prime lens as they give you the nice blurred background when shooting with your aperture wide open like at f/1.8.image credit: floodkoff
- Macro on the budget – just get a reversal ring and use your prime lens as a macro lens on a budget.
I hope these reasons were convincing enough to make you consider adding a prime lens to your digital SLR arsenal.
Canon’s EF 50mm f/1.8 Lens offers such a great bang for the buck for beginner and serious amateur photographers costing less than $100. ($89.99 in this cool deal)
Let’s look at some of the 50mm prime lens available and their price range
50mm Lenses for Canon DSLRs
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II ~ $100
- Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM ~ $350
- Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM ~ $1600
- Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
50mm Lenses for Nikon DSLRs
- Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor ~ $125
- Nikon 50mm f/1.4G SIC SW Prime Nikkor ~ $450
- Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras ~ $500
50mm Lenses for Sony DSLRs
- Sony 50mm f/1.8 SAM DT ~ $150
- Sony 50mm f/1.4 Lens
~ $370
50mm Lenses for Pentax DSLRs
~ $500Panasonic doesn’t seem to have a 50mm prime in their offering. But, as you can see most DSLRs offer the f/1.8 nifty fifty at a great price point!
Now that you are convinced that you need a prime lens, the next logical question would be should I get a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens or f1.4 prime lens?
Check out and bookmark our Camera deals section for regular camera related deals we hunt and share it here. In fact, check out this DSLR accessories deal including 10% sigma lens that’s going on right now.
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Saw you mentioned on iffles. Popped over to take a peek. Love your work, and thanks for posting info on Pentax. (Sometimes I feel left out…haha)