Nifty Fifty Club

[AnzacPride]

Its time to start hinting to Santa what I should get for Chistmas,

At work and AP I keep hearing about the nifty 50's. But before Santa comits I would love to hear why you folk love em so much. And would love to see a few shots showing their various uses.

Cheers Dan

[CraigPauli]

I recently only bought one of the nifty fifties and found it a great lens, the extra sharpness in the photos is noticeable. You do have to work harder to get the composition but it is worth it. The following is one from testing it out on doing night photos. Looks much better full size though.
http://image.wetpaint.com/image/1/AECnYdmWWSrJJNlOOR0gFQ886201

Cheers

[ricktas]

The nifty fifty is cheap, compared to other lenses of f2.8 or larger. So as far as wide open apertures go, the f1.8 50mm is a good all round versatile lens. It isn't the sharpest lens on the block, nor is it the sturdiest constructed (don't try dropping one), but it can produce some truly excellent photos in the hands of a photographer who can give it a good work-out. The 50mm is not a bad addition to anyone's kit.

[William]

Great little lens Dan, It's also great for doing Hi-Res Pano's , Did this one last year when I first got mine , This shot was taken using 13 images in Portrait and stitched in CS4 , The other shot is a 100% crop of some cars parked on the other side of the Creek under the bridge, BTW The Tiff file for this is 15,811 pixels by 3699 pixels and 167 mb

[William]

Another way I use mine is for doing Macro work using a Hoya Close up screw on lens kit , Just another couple of ideas for the 50 mm 1.8 , Hope this info helps :)

[Tikira]

As others have said, these are a great affordable lens with a useful focal length. I don't know about Canon, but on Nikon the 1.8 won't autofocus on some camera's, so check first if you are considering that option.

I am looking forward to seeing the competition entries on the 5th December, this should give us all a great idea of the lrens capabilities.

Di

[cinvala]

The nifty fifty was the first lens I brought for my 450D, (I brought a kit with two other lenses). I think it is a great lens for what it is. I use mine mostly for portraits. The good photos it takes are very good.

[ving]

its just a really handy length... of course the wide aperture means for a nice shallow DoF too. mine is an old manual lens, which one day i'll replace. I bought a 35mm/1.8 to replace it but while its a great lens it is really too short to fully replace the 50. I am thinking of a 85mm/1.8 instead of a 50mm now though... they rock!

2 shots with my 50mm. this one won a comp here (see link in signature)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv203/davidwhall/DSC_0422.jpg

this one is the 50mm with a pk3 extension tube attached. (love this shot)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv203/davidwhall/DSC_4520daisy.jpg

[rellik666]

I love my NF.....great little lens and gets you into the primes without too much spending!

A selection of mine....always at 1.4.... :D

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4744892475_7e7168bae9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pommi/4744892475/)
Day176 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pommi/4744892475/) by australianminiadventure (http://www.flickr.com/people/pommi/), on Flickr

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/4884939150_21495b604f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pommi/4884939150/)
Day216 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pommi/4884939150/) by australianminiadventure (http://www.flickr.com/people/pommi/), on Flickr

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4115/4944242075_b280f157d7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pommi/4944242075/)
Day240 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pommi/4944242075/) by australianminiadventure (http://www.flickr.com/people/pommi/), on Flickr

Roo

[AnzacPride]

Thanks Heaps guys,

We have one left at work at the moment, I think Ill put it aside first thing in the morning and with the upcoming comp theres even more incentive,
Some great examples, I particularly like Ving's, the light in the background really grabbed me

Thanks again Dan

[Danielle10]

great thread, was thinking of posting one like it myself!
Yes I am thinking of getting one of these babies!
I have seen some on Ebay for my sony a200 (I think they are Minolta ones?) Do you reckon its ok to buy from ebay? or where do you suggest is good to buy lenses from?
Sorry to hijak your thread Dan :o

[LJG]

Every Canon owner should have one :th3:

http://i915.photobucket.com/albums/ac352/LJG_photo/Test2.jpg

[ving]

Do you reckon its ok to buy from ebay? or where do you suggest is good to buy lenses from?
Sorry to hijak your thread Dan :oI have bought quite alot thru ebay with no problems. :) just take all the usual precautions: good seller, buy new if you can, look at picture and ask seller questions... etc

[HayTay]

I purchased my nifty-fifty f/1.7 lens off an eBay seller for $78.00 (US), delivered, and use it as my default lens.

Danielle, and others, if you decide to go the dBay route, don't just jump in and overpay for the first 50mm prime lens(es) you see. Bide your time, set the maximum price you're willing to pay and stick to it, ask questions of the seller(s), request additional information from the seller(s), watch the shipping & handling charges, make sure the lens(es) you're going to bid on will fit on and work with your camera body without having to use a bunch of adapters, make sure that the lens is 'clean' (no mold or fungus should be growing inside the lens), etc. Remember, buyer beware!

You may want to check out local camera shops, pawn shops, or yard/garage sales in order to pick up a bargain priced nifty-fifty lens. You'll be able to see the lens(es) and try 'em before you buy 'em to make sure everything works and looks okay. Good luck!

Here are a couple photos of mine taken with my nifty-fifty lens:

Faux Caterpillar on a Stick



http://www.magnacarva.com/Photos/2010/Faux Caterpillar on a Stick - ©2010 HayTay.jpg


Bored at the Pump



http://www.magnacarva.com/Photos/2010/Bored at the Pump - SM - ©2010 HayTay.jpg

[maccaroneski]

At 100 odd dollars for a brand new one (at least on the Canikon side of things), rummaging through garage sales and ebay might not be an overly efficient use of time.

I love the compactness, and the light gathering ability - I often head out for the evening with the camera and this tiny lens in a small bag (particularly handy when traveling too)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/5116499472_85dd21de2b_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4147/5116499190_ce83f9b121_b.jpg

Also very good as a "portrait" style lens for head and shoulders on a crop body camera:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4003/4671277296_044a29d24d_b.jpg

[AnzacPride]

The more examples I see the more I want one.
Danielle I am probably biased as to where Id recomend to buy lenses from as I sell them at work and get them at cost price.
I was actually going to put our last one aside today for myself, but my boss nabed it to use for our yearly Santa pics.

I dont know about Sony lenses but personaly the Canon 50mm 1.8 is cheap enough that I'd go for a new one over a possibly dodgey Ebay one.

Cheers Dan

[dulvariprestige]

This is probably one of my favourite shots from this lens, I was sitting on my bed playing around with the 5d, nissin flash and 50 1.8, my son came in and laid his head on my camera bag and this is the end result.
You can't go wrong for the money.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5168/5206434880_d50de998b6_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dulvariprestige/5206434880/)
reece (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dulvariprestige/5206434880/) by dulvariprestige (http://www.flickr.com/people/dulvariprestige/), on Flickr

[Rosh]

Mine is on my camera most of the time my zoom are my legs.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_xeyy1ehQMjA/TLwgTdGN9KI/AAAAAAAAACc/ifFC4W_o62M/s720/IMG_6896.JPG

[Cheach]

For kids indoor basketball and volleyball, is it worth the extra $ for the canon f1.4?

Sorry to jumping on this with my question. I was thinking about getting a 50 for kids indoor sports.

[dulvariprestige]

Definitely worth getting the 1.4 for that reason, that's why I bought the sigma 5Omm, for that and the sigma takes 77mm filters, seeing all my lenses are 77mm except for my 100-300 sigma which uses 82mm.
Plus the build is definitely better, 1.4 can help when needed, I'd say IQ quality is better, but there's not that much in it for the extra money.

[Pixley]

I have the Sigma 1.4 and an old Pentax A 1.7 50mm - both purchased second hand off ebay. The Sigma has procuced some lovely shots and of course will auto focus. I actually prefer the IQ I get out of the Pentax - but it is manual focus and you have to use it on manual - so not so quick for a newbie to take random shots of children. Unless I am shooting landscape one or the other is my default lens.

[darkbhudda]

I love my little Nifty Fifty - a Pentax 50/1.7 M lens. It's a corker in low light. There's a number of gig and portrait photos I wouldn't have been able to take otherwise. It's light and unobtrusive and its shallow DOF can help make a photo sing. Though it is manual I have used it for fast moving action photos such as sports.

[AnzacPride]

Finally got my 50 christmas Eve, I think its only come of once since then. I will post a few examples ASAP, have been busy with work
thanks again folks for youre advice

[Danielle10]

I forgot about this thread, here are some of my attempts.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5125/5340694061_de52890e4c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55116106@N08/5340694061/)
Cookie -o- Lurve (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55116106@N08/5340694061/) by Danielle _S (http://www.flickr.com/people/55116106@N08/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5129/5340685503_728015ef9c_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55116106@N08/5340685503/)
Pondering pug (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55116106@N08/5340685503/) by Danielle _S (http://www.flickr.com/people/55116106@N08/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5207/5340678441_89541307d4_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55116106@N08/5340678441/)
FFF = first fifty floral (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55116106@N08/5340678441/) by Danielle _S (http://www.flickr.com/people/55116106@N08/), on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5049/5340673347_018ae3a565.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55116106@N08/5340673347/)
First nifty fifty pic (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55116106@N08/5340673347/) by Danielle _S (http://www.flickr.com/people/55116106@N08/), on Flickr

[AnzacPride]

Here are a couple of shots from the 50mm. The pano was hand held, Obviosly would be better from a tripod and there seems a lighter bit of sky in one bit. Any advice on getting the best pano shots and what processes I should do b4 and after in CS4 would be helpfull.

Cheers Dan

[dannat]

to an owner on the sigma 50mm -is there any CA?

[Kuzzie]

Mmmmmmm, great pics guys. Looks like I better get one of these :)