I fancy a prime lens - is the Canon 50mm F1.8 a good buy?

[Chris71]

I've got a Canon 7D2, which is currently fitted with the EF-S 17-55mm. I've always fancied a prime lens to play about with - not really with any specific subject in mind, but to experiment and improve my photography.

Last time I looked everyone was raving about the Canon 50mm F1.8, which seemed to be regarded as a very good lens for the money. Is that still the one to go for if we're talking about a budget prime lens? Is there anything I need to bear in mind about compatability/fitment for a 7D2?

[Chris71]

fido said:

Just to add, on a crop sensor 50mm might be too narrow.

Compatibility is the main thing I'm worried about (well, not worried, curious...) That said, it was an old housemate who I first heard raving about the 'nifty fifty' ages ago and he didn't take photography that seriously, so I'd be surprised if he had a full frame camera.

I don't have a specific requirement for it - I just like the idea of playing around with some arty low DoF shots
- so not looking to spend very much. The 50mm F1.8 appealed because you can get them so cheaply (at least, last time I looked).

Going off-topic, what I could use is a wide angle lens for shooting cars up close indoors, but I presume that that would be a rather more expensive proposition?

[Chris71]

fido said:

Chris71 said:

Going off-topic, what I could use is a wide angle lens for shooting cars up close indoors, but I presume that that would be a rather more expensive proposition?

My favourite lens (ever) was a 24mm 1.4 which I spent close to £4500 on! That had minimal depth of field and took fantastic car, landscape, close-up portraits. I think you need to decide what you want to take photos of - the nifty 50mm is a great way to learn before you start spending some serious wedge. I still have a fifty (or 25mm on Micro-Four Thirds) and it does get used now and again, though most of the time I use a 28mm (which happens to match the field of view for a camera phone).

The nifty 50 was just for fun. I occasionally take the camera if we go for a walk and just play around taking shots of anything I think might make an interesting photo. My 17-55 is quite a hefty lens to carry round on the off chance and I like the idea of a prime lens - crisp image quality, but very basic functionality so have to be a bit more creative.

The wide angle lens is a different matter. I'm by no means a photographer, but I write about cars for a living and sometimes take my own photos. It struck me that a wide angle lens could be useful for cars that are stuck indoors in a workshop or museum. I probably wouldn't use it often enough to justify the money involved, but every so often I wish I had one.

[Chris71]

rich888 said:

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 costing approx £100 was one of the first lenses I purchased for use with my crop-sensor 700D and is absolutely superb for DOF plus it's damn fast and sharp so great for working in lower light situations, however, if space is tight you might not get the whole car in the frame, is also fantastic for use as a portrait lens, is equivalent I think to an 85mm on a full frame camera. You can use this on a full frame at a later date should you decide to make the leap though the 7D2 is a pretty impressive bit of kit so I guess you will be using it for quite a few more years.

I enjoy attending classic car shows and found that when using the 50mm lens quite often I couldn't back up far enough away due to other cars being in the way so needed something a bit wider so purchased a Canon EFS 24mm f/2.8 lens which costs approx £125 so isn't a lot more money but it does allow for quite a bit more to be pulled in to the frame, and being f/2.8 is still a pretty fast lens. It's so tiny when stuck on the front of your DSLR folks hardly notice you. Depth of field isn't so good but at least you can photograph the whole car without having to stand back 20 feet!

For the money these two lens are excellent choices.

Now I also went a bit mad and bought a Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 which I happen to like an awful lot and was my favourite choice for when attending car shows or using indoors but it does cost far more money. It also weighs substantially more and is comparable in size and weight to the Canon 135mm f/2 lens so is no lightweight, unfortunately it's not compatible with full frame cameras which is a bit of a blow for me because I now have a 5D3 which I'm getting to grips with. I knew this when I bought it I just didn't realise that I would be ordering a 5D3 so soon!!!

Hope this helps.

Some very good points. I hadn't thought of the 24mm f2.8 - it's virtually the same price as the new STM fifty, by the looks of it.

Forgive my naivety here, but would that go wider than my 17-55 lens zoomed right out?

Car photos was actually a separate requirement to a general play around lens, though. I don't know if I'd use it enough to justify it.

To give you an idea, here are the sort of confines I usually find myself squeezing into: