07.Mar.2011 I ♥ my 50mm lens

Since the day I put my 50mm f/1.8 lens on my Nikon D90, it has been the only lens I’ve used (until this past weekend when I used my kit lens to play with some filters I don’t have for my 50mm yet). I love shallow depth of field, it functions great in low light and produces minimal lens distortion. When I picked up my D90 (my very first DSLR), it came with the 18-105mm kit lens and a 70-300mm zoom lens. Prior to picking up the 50mm lens, the only way I could achieve a great blurred background on photographs was with my zoom lens.

Before learning about what a 50mm lens could do for me, I had convinced myself that the only lens I needed (other than the kit and zoom lens that came with my camera) was a wide angle lens. I read different blog and twitter posts for months about how much people love their 50mm lens and I was convinced I needed one. From the first shot I took with the 50mm lens, I knew it was the start of a great love affair.

The first thing I shot was a bowl of mixed nuts on a table about four feet away from the Christmas tree. The contrast from the plane of focus to the bokeh of the background makes the image pop. From there I photographed Christmas decoration, fruit and finally my cat Cleo. Each photo I took made me love the 50mm lens more. Now instead of looking forward to a wide angle lens, I am looking forward to more prime lens at some point in the future.

I question I get most from other photographers who don’t use prime lenses is, “Don’t you miss being able to zoom in and out?” To that I answer, not very often. Even though I have to physically move closer to zoom in, the quality of image my 50mm produces compared to my kit lens is impressive. A kit lens is great if you are on a budget or enjoy photography as a hobby, but I recommend the 50mm lens to anyone who takes their photography seriously, you will not be disappointed.