p.1 #1 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
I promise this is not a troll post. tl;dr: for those who get a lot of value from a 50-55mm prime, what situations does it excel at?
My 35mm GM order got delayed a second time, which caused me to ponder my two open pre-orders for the 35GM and 50GM f/1.2. In my kit, if I'm going to take primes with me, I will generally pick things at differing ends of the spectrum, such as pairing the 24GM or CV40 with an 85.
This review (linked at the bottom) that someone linked to in another thread had similar thinking and put into words something I hadn't been able to put my finger on. Whenever I feel like I'd want something in middle range where a 50mm might be appropriate, I'd probably opt for a 24-70 and maybe one extra fun prime.
While the Zeiss 55mm was one of my first lenses when I moved to the E-Mount ecosystem, it rarely gets used despite having not a single bad thing to say about it. I just haven't ever had the heart or urge to sell it, other than the allure of the 50GM because I never wanted to play roulette on the quality variation of the Zeiss 50. Also, as someone in an apartment, 50mm is sometimes too challenging for tighter indoor spaces.
So, my question is: for people who use and like a 50mm for things other than landscapes, what types of shooting does it excel at? What makes you pick it over other focal lengths?
p.1 #2 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
50mm is my favorite focal length to document life - be it my family or street or anywhere else I might photograph people. There’s no objective reason I like it more than 35mm or other focal lengths. I’ve just found that I almost always prefer images taken at 50mm.
It may be because 50mm says “true life” to me. No distortion to add drama. For me the drama comes in creatively using large or small apertures on a 50mm to record scenes in daily life.
The 50mm is (to me) the Goldilocks of lenses - not too wide, not too tight, but juuuust right.
p.1 #3 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
This boils down to personal preference. Like mudlake, I feel like a 35mm and a 50mm can be great for many occasions. For me, the 35mm is more for tighter indoor space, wider street view or landscape, sizable group pictures, etc. I do prefer a 50mm over a 35mm.
p.1 #4 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
You may have heard the old expression that your are either a 35 or 50mm person. The fact that I have 2 prime 35mm lenses and my 3rd, the f1.4 GM is on the way this week, yet I don't own a 50mm, tells you on which side of the fence I stand
I do have the 55mm f1.8ZA and I don't plan on selling it either, it is a great lens. Just like with my Nikon gear, I went with the 58mm f1.4G, but had a couple of 35mm prime lenses. I use the 55 and Nikon 58mm mostly for closer cropped 3/4 or full body portraits. As @hiepphotog said, it is a personal preference.
p.1 #5 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
I think both 35 and 50 fill the same need. 50 is for people who prefer slightly tight normal. 35 is for people who prefer slightly wide normal. Lens Gap: 50 fits better in 24/50/135 kit. 35 fits better in 20/35/85 kit. That's about it.
Most of my photography is indoors running behind my kids, so I prefer 35 over 50, but 50 was my main focal length for several years on Nikon and I enjoyed it a lot. I picked 20/35/85 kit when I moved to Sony and picked a manual CV Nokton to fill in the 50mm void; I see it as a solo alternative to my main kit and honestly I prefer the images from Voigtlander more than my AF lenses.
p.1 #6 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
SpecFoto wrote:
You may have heard the old expression that your are either a 35 or 50mm person. The fact that I have 2 prime 35mm lenses and my 3rd, the f1.4 GM is on the way this week, yet I don't own a 50mm, tells you on which side of the fence I stand
I do have the 55mm f1.8ZA and I don't plan on selling it either, it is a great lens. Just like with my Nikon gear, I went with the 58mm f1.4G, but had a couple of 35mm prime lenses. I use the 55 and Nikon 58mm mostly for closer cropped 3/4 or full body portraits. As @hiepphotog@ said, it is a personal preference....Show more →
And I have 4 50mm, and received my first 35mm with the GM
It definitely is a matter of taste. It really shines (for me) for portraits, when you don't want any distorsion in the edge, but don't want to be far from the subject. (I do a lot of portraits while talking with the person in the meantime, like in a cafe...)
It just look "natural" to my eyes, not too wide and distored, nor too compress.
It is also Henri cartier bresson's favorite lens and I grew up with this way of seeing the world :-)
But as it's been said the most important is to find the focal length that fits your eyes!
p.1 #7 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
If you find the 50mm FL less than compelling so do I. I don’t even own a native e mount 50mm lens after I bought several CaNikon over the years 50s that I never used. For some reason it’s difficult/ expensive to make a F1.4 (and faster) fifty. So even for low light use you have a lot of $$$ tied up in a less used/useful FL. Where I find a 50 FL is on my 24-70mm F2.8 but not consciously. YMMV
p.1 #8 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
My 55/1.8 is the lens I usually use when out and out in urban areas. I find 35mm too wide for street stuff, and 85mm usually too much of an in betweener — if I want something longish for street photography I’ll use a 135.
p.1 #9 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
Sometimes it has little to do with the focal length and everything to do with specific qualities of a specific lens, such as unique rendering, ultra-smooth bokeh, etc. There are quite a few "magical" or special-purpose lenses in and around 50mm: the Zeiss C Sonnar T ZM, the Voigtlander 50mm 1.2 Nokton, the Mitakon 50mm 0.95 "Dark Knight" for just a few examples, plus plenty of vintage lenses in and around 50mm that can be easily adapted to Sony.
p.1 #10 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
Never got to terms with 50mm FL and most likely never will, 90% of the time I was finding myself feeling either too tight or not tight enough for the vision I have in front of me. The RX1 then sealed my 35mm-fate for good (actually more 32mm and in fact almost always I crop its pics a bit, almost unconsciously ).
No doubt the GM 50 1.2 is an exceptional lens, but luckily also the GM 35 1.4 looks to be
p.1 #11 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
If where you shooting is tight, then simply take 3 or 4 steps back to get the same FL as a 50mm. That's the only reason I haven't purchased one for my Canon mirrorless. However, the 50mm f/1.2 and the minimal crop give me better compression and much nicer rendering for environmental portraits.
p.1 #12 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
I prefer 50 mm prime lenses which give me the benefit of being faster than 50 mm within a std zoom lens - for example f/2 or f/1.4. Where do I use faster lens speeds with 50 mm? For example to be able to take close ups wider open with blurred out background, for portraits, and other kind of fine art photography. 50 mm is a very interesting focal length since it is so flexible - I currently have six 50 mm prime lenses from different brands and vintage to modern I am using between f/1.2 and f/2 lens speeds, and each provides me with a different look. 50 and 35 mm focal lengths are the ones I use most often (on FF or 35 mm sensor size). Often I venture out with three lenses - an ultra-wide, 35, and 50 mm.
p.1 #14 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
I'm in the same spot. I just got the XF 35mm F2 (52mm equiv.) and I'd been using the Sigma 45mm F2.8 for the last two months just trying to get a grip on ~50mm. I'm not sure why, it's such a standard focal length but I just never seemed to be able to make the most of it. I always feel I'm framing tighter than I want to but still don't get the subject separation that I want to (and can expect with a tighter lens). A 50mm F1.2 of course would go a long way on the last point.
HOWEVER reviewing images once I'm back home, I really do end up liking a lot of the photos I take with it. Since the focal length feels so natural nothing about it seems forced or off. It's like looking into a window of life.
p.1 #16 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
It's nice to mix things up. 50 though is pretty standard and hard to not like, maybe it's you. Then again, I have been fond of 24 for pretty much everything of late, and that's just me. I'll get bored and switch things up and I think one day you'll look at 50 and say, I like it.
p.1 #18 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
This will obviously vary from person to person. But for me it’s safe and versatile and there’s value to that. It’s also nice for some environmental portraits where 35 would put too much emphasis on the environment part of the equation.
p.1 #19 · What's the point of a 50mm? Or rather, where does a 50mm shine?
35 ZA used as one lens solution for travel but I dont like it for family portrait, too wide.. but shine in tight room.
55 ZA use it for family portrait outside and inside house .. but too tight in an a flat or for every day walks.
I just picked 45C to get the "Best of"... cant tell you yet if it worked out.
Another way to look at 50 FL is.. you miss wide and télé so it makes GAS more legit ..Wife acceptance factor
(actually more 32mm and in fact almost always I crop its pics a bit, almost unconsciously 