50mm: made in the past, ready for the future

January 8, 2011 @ 10:21AM

50mm: made in the past, ready for the future

The old 50mm lens deals better with today's sensors than many modern zooms

By Jose Antunes

The best lens all photographers should buy will never break the bank: it costs around 100 dollars and will last for ages.

That’s the conclusion you get from a recent DxO report on the normal, old 50mm lens. This focal length, which was many years ago the first and in many cases only lens people would use, is today almost forgotten. But it should not. Keep reading to discover why.

I remember when I had my first reflex camera: it came with a 50mm. I think I used just that lens for some two years before getting a converter that doubled the focal… and I discovered the joys of 100mm. Many years ago a 50mm normal lens was the kit lens for any reflex, and many people would never buy a second or third lens. Then zooms started to get interesting in terms of quality and camera makers discovered that they could fit a 28-70, 28-105 or something like that in cameras… and make everybody pay for that.

The old 50mm could not win that war and was soon forgotten. People enjoyed the option to zoom in and out instead of going two steps further or back, so the zooms stayed. And soon there were lots to choose from, not just on the wider end of the focal lenght, but also on the other side. Photographers stopped thinking about 35mm, 50mm, 135mm or 200mm and talked about 28-135 and 70-300mm. And when APS-C sensors came we discovered, on the wide angle side, the 10-20mm a.s.o. We gained more choices in terms of subject coverage without having to walk around much, but we lost other things: amongst them the joy of using a 50mm and the fantastic light gathering of such a lens, even the cheapest of them.

I always tell people at my workshops – and anyone else, really – that a 50mm is a lens they must have. My experience is from Canon, as I am a Canon user (have been since the very first day, although I’ve cameras from other brands), but I think a 50mm is a 50mm no matter what letter of the alphabet you sign under. So, go for N, P, O or S (previously M) to refer only the most well known, and you must have a 50mm.

In fact I should say… a 75 or 80mm, depending on which APS-C sensor crop factor you have. For me, on Canon it’s a 80mm f/1.8 I get from my cheap EF 50mm f/1.8 II. Yes, I do know some people will tell you to go and buy a more professional – and expensive – version, like the f/1.4, f/1.2 or even the “no lights” f/1.0 that will make you mortgage your house – but for me the “nifty fifty”, the nickname by which the f/1.8 is known, is just enough to do the job. Your mileage may vary, but use this as a reference point…

Now, what is so interesting about a 50mm (or a 80mm if you fit it on a Canon APS-C sensor)? The light gathering qualities, that let you handhold the camera when the lights are dim, and also, because of the wide aperture, the capacity to play with planes of focus. That’s something we’re not able to do with the common zoom solutions we’ve in the market. Try it and you’ll become a fan of the 50mm.

Besides that, the old 50mm is still one of the best built lens you can buy today. Not on the outer shell, the cheap Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II feels like a toy lens, all plastic (I still have some old metal 50mm Canon from the FD bayonet times, and they’re something else), but inside. In fact, the DxO tests refer that “globally, 50mm lenses are quality optics, and even if their optical formulas are not particularly new, they are good performers.”

But they do say more, and that something that will surprise some people. DxO states that “while certain optics, notably zoom lenses, have some difficulties adapting to the latest sensor definitions, the 50mm lenses more successfully answer the challenge. And in fact, if you look at the results of the Canon 50 mm f/1,8 II on such camera bodies as the EOS 40D, 50D and 7D (which with their APS-C sensors at 10Mpx, 15Mpx, and 18Mpx, respectively, represent a significant evolution of definition), you will see that that its limiting resolution has similarly evolved. In terms of optical resolution, the 50mm lenses respond well to the APS-C sensors’ most stringent demands.”

So there you have it. A lens built in the past is ready for the future. I now understand why I always carry my 50mm with me, and why it is mounted on my APS-C EOS 50D most of the time. Go get yours from the shelf and try it out today…

Tagged with:
50mm
dxo
nifty fifty
normal
zooms

Comments

Chris Johnston

1 year ago

I have one of these and it was my second purchase after my kit lens. I hate putting the kits lens on since this purchase. I'm looking on to my next purchase a 70-200 or 70-300L series but until then I am loving this.

Gordon Brown

1 year ago

I couldn't agree more,but let's not forget that the 50mm lens on an APS sensor is just using the "sweet spot" of the lens together with it best resolution and lack of fringe aberrations! How cool is that for the $$$$!?

Gordon Brown

1 year ago

Gordon Brown

1 year ago

Actually, I am going back to using non-zoom lenses to avoid aberrations!

Haje Jan Kamps

Pixiq Expert

1 year ago

Truer words were never spoken!

vwllss

1 year ago

"In fact I should say… a 75 or 80mm, depending on which APS-C sensor crop factor you have. For me, on Canon it’s a 80mm f/1.8 I get from my cheap EF 50mm f/1.8 II."

Eh, kind of. You've got that field of view we're used to on a 35mm with those lenses, but it doesn't magically transform into one. You still don't have the depth of field or compression of perspective benefits.

Most importantly people are kind of -used- to the APS-C perspective nowdays. We only ever said "35mm equivalent" as a "kind-of" measuring stick and help people who were just transitioning find their footing. Many people, like me, have been shooting APS-C for so long that imagining it in APS-C perspectives is the easier choice.

Jose Antunes

Pixiq Expert

1 year ago

well, I didn't feel I needed to go deeper into the explanation. This subject has been discussed over and over. In general terms the 50 looks like a a 75 or 80mm because of the crop. As you say, people is so used to the APS-C as "normal" nowadays that most of them don't see the difference between a FF and an APS-C. And I really don't think it matters, as I guess APS-C came to stay. I live happily with it, even if I used FF in film all the way from the seventies up to the year 2000, when the first Canon EOS D30 was launched and I bought one...

Anyway, we've to remember that the DOF story is not as linear as people sometimes put it. In fact, it you use the same lens on a APS-C sensor and a FF and crop the FF image to look the same as the crop from APS-C... the DOF is identical IMHO

vwllss

1 year ago

It certainly is an old topic. I just feel that people casually saying "a 50mm works as an 80mm..." can lead to a lot of confusion, and it's a point I've had to clarify when teaching newbies who got the wrong idea off the Internet. For example, once I mentioned how nice it is using an 85mm 1.8 on an FX camera and I was questioned "Why not use a 50mm 1.8 on a smaller camera for a fraction of the price when it looks the same?"

"In fact, it you use the same lens on a APS-C sensor and a FF and crop the FF image to look the same as the crop from APS-C... the DOF is identical IMHO"

This shouldn't even be an opinion because it does look identical save any resolution differences. That's entirely the point: a 50mm on a DX looks very similar to a 50mm on an FX just with a smaller frame. It doesn't "look like" an 80mm because it doesn't enjoy the other characteristics.

I get that you know your stuff, and I'm certain this was just a matter of pedantry and syntax. I just feel this is a point often throw around with no elaboration and it leads to a lot of confusion for the lil' ones.

keekimaru

5 months ago

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Bring small things into full-sized view with the Canon EF 60mm macro USM lens. Macro lenses can uncover detail that would be impossible to detect by the eye and give new perspective to extremely minute subjects such as insects or the petals of a small flower, and this lens is no exception. The 60mm lens offers an angle of view that's equivalent to a 96mm lens on a 35mm camera, along with a floating optical system that can focus down to life-size 1:1 magnification. The inner focusing system, meanwhile, is driven by a silent and powerful ring-type ultra-sonic monitor (USM), meaning the lens's overall length never changes during focus. Ultimately, the multi-purpose lens is equally at home shooting macro shots, portraits, or available-light photos. Like all Canon EF-S lenses, this lens is restricted to the EOS 20D, EOS Digital Rebel, and EOS Digital Rebel XT cameras.

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Product Description

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