The 50mm Challenge

Last week when discussing self-assignments, Bob (Wallyspop) suggested that maybe we should limit ourselves to a 50 mm lens for a day. So I accepted -- I actually love shooting with my 50 -- and used it for the weekend. Here are a few images from my weekend excursions.

One of the things I use my 50 for a lot are portraits, especially head & shoulders with diffuse OOF backgrounds. Here's a shot of my main model, Rowdy, taken on a small jetty at Lake Toho in Kissimmee.

If you're in the right place at the right time, you can even capture wildlife with it. Again, from Lake Toho.


Primarily, however, the 50 is a great walk-around lens because it's so small and light. Here I used it on the beach in Cocoa to capture a pile of flotsam.



And, when scouting out some abandoned buildings for possible portrait locations.



And, finally, for full-body portraits where you want to include more of the background. A shot of Rowdy at a Gazebo near the Lake.



Using a light, fast, sharp lens like the 50 makes you appreciate not only the qualities of a prime but also the way it makes you look at your subject matter more critically because you can't just zoom and crop. It was a fun exercise and I'd love to do something like this again.

Jim

Hey Jim,

50 being my favorite lens! I was not able to do this last weekend, but will definitely take a stab at it on Sunday. The question I have for you is - looking back at it, did you capture what you wanted, or were you looking for something else?

James

James,
in general, I captured what I wanted. I would have loved more time for a few more portraits and I would have liked to do some macro shots with the 50 and extension tubes but within the confines of trying to have a "normal" Mothers Day weekend, I managed to capture the versatility of the lens which was my objective.

I wanted to get some shots of Cassidy a week before she delivers but there just wasn't time. She's looking very pregnant at the moment! Again, the 50 is a great little lens and it is always fun to just carry the camera without battery pack and that light little 50 and act like a tourist at the beach.

I'll get a few more this week. It's still on the camera.

Jim

Hey Jim,

May I ask what you are shooting with for a body? I have the 20d, and find that the 50 is often just a bit longer than I want. Having said that, there is no question how versatile (sp) the lens is. I wish that other primes were as fast and cost effective (i.e. the 85 F1.2, for example).

Cheers
James

James,
I shoot it primarily on a 30D and out of the studio, it's fine as a portrait lens and pretty good for just about anything else. In a studio or somebody's home, I think you have to go with a zoom that gives you something wider. I usually use a 17-40L or the 28-135IS.

Having recently gotten the 85mm F1.8, however, I don't really think of the 50 as being too long. In 35mm days, it would be the ideal focal length on a crop body like the 20D/30D.

But beyond the IQ, which is very high, what I love is the size and weight. It makes for one remarkably light travel camera/lens combo if you don't mind not having the flexibility of a zoom. I'll use it with extension tubes for macro and with a Kenko 1.5X Telextender for medium telephoto (yes it actually will auto focus with that extender) and sometimes with both for major macro.

It's a nice, fun little lens that takes you back to the good old days when a 50 was perfectly acceptable for almost anything you needed to shoot.

Jim

"I'll use it with extension tubes for macro and with a Kenko 1.5X Telextender for medium telephoto (yes it actually will auto focus with that extender) and sometimes with both for major macro. "

Can you show some samples where you have done this as a macro?

Thanks
James

Very nice shots - Im still at very early stage of getting to know my new cam. But the time will probably come when i get another lens. Until then Ill keep to my standard 18 - 55.

Jim's previous post about self assignments caught my eye because I have been remiss about doing the work necessary to become proficient with my new digital equipment since returning to SLR Photography. I have been telling myself for quite some time that making up assignments for myself is exactly what I need to do to get back into some kind of creative form. Otherwise, I'll just end up with more expensive vacation snapshots.

When I saw this thread, I decided that now was a good time to do it. So, I pulled out the only 50 mm prime lens I own -- an f/1.4 SMC Takumar lens from my old film days, slapped it on my Olympus Evolt 510 dSLR, and trotted off to Saguaro National Park (East) to capture some images. (Its only about 15 minutes away from my house.) Like Jim, I left the two kit lenses (14-42mm & 40-150mm) and my 50-200mm zoom behind.

I had a very frustrating afternoon, but it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. I had a lot of trouble focusing accurately and eventually gave up trying to use low f/stops for selective focus. (The sun was too bright to use the live view magnification to focus with.) I ended up setting the lens on f/8 and focusing about 1/3 into the scene in order to come up with some useable images.

The second thing I noticed was that I had to think more about composition on each each shot, and of course I had to zoom with my feet instead of the lens.

When I first started doing photography in the mid-sixties, almost nobody had a zoom lens, and most folks thought of them as almost like cheating somehow. Now that I think back on it, I did do a lot more running around for each shot back then.

These images are not very good composition wise, but at least two of them are in focus.

Jim,

That Pentax SMC 50/1.4 is an awesome lens. I use mine on both my cropped and FF DSLRs. It has given me some really wonderful images.

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Jim,

That Pentax SMC 50/1.4 is an awesome lens. I use mine on both my cropped and FF DSLRs. It has given me some really wonderful images.

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Jim,

I think you are right. I'm taking it back out again this week for more practice.

Tucson Jim