Is there a need for a 50mm?

[ecka]

I'd just be interested in knowing of a fast zoom that's faster than f/2.8 regardless of the make/compatibility. I've never seen one to my knowledge.

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8...generally considered an excellent lens. It's for APS-C only, though.

Yeap, no need for fast primes on crop since 18-35/1.8 arrived, unless you have some kind of pocketability fetish .

 

[ecka]

I love walking around with my 70-200 with the 40 in my pocket.

You really need big pockets to put in the 70-200 should you want to switch to the 40, though.

That's doable, actually. All you need is a strap for your 70-200, instead of the body.

 

[e17paul]

If you feel the need for a big aperture 50, then keep it. Do you ever find yourself swapping it in place of the 24-70? If not, then you don't need it.

I prefer to zoom with my feet, using mainly 24 and 50 primes, but I recognize that sometimes you can't, and sometimes there is not time for changing lenses.

 

[RLPhoto]

Keep the plastic fantastic. It's cheap, light, and is always there if your 24-70 fails. 1.8 is very useful at times.

 

[jdramirez]

I personally like to have a good big aperture lens mixed in with my very good f2.8 and f4 lenses. The 50mm isn't that sharp until you get to f2.8... so I say get rid of it and consider a good f1.4 lens, but not the Canon 50 which ids also soft until you get to f2.8.

 

[Loswr]

I love walking around with my 70-200 with the 40 in my pocket.

You really need big pockets to put in the 70-200 should you want to switch to the 40, though.

That's doable, actually. All you need is a strap for your 70-200, instead of the body.

Exactly. At events where I know I'll primarily use the 70-200/2.8 II, I sometimes need wider than 70mm. I put the 40/2.8 pancake in my pocket, rather than wearing a belt with the 24-70/2.8. Since I carry the camera on a BR strap attached to the 70-200's tripod collar, I just leave the lens hanging from the strap when I switch to the 40/2.8.

 

[Sporgon]

so I say get rid of it and consider a good f1.4 lens, but not the Canon 50 which ids also soft until you get to f2.8.

The EF 50/1.4 may not be good on test charts wide open but it can do surprisingly well in practice. This was shot at f1.6, and it's good enough for me, unless you want sharp borders at 1.6, which is a rare requirement.

I really like the 40 STM as a 'walkabout' or landscape lens, but it can't hold a candle to the 50/1.4 for 'event' type work.

 

[mackguyver]

so I say get rid of it and consider a good f1.4 lens, but not the Canon 50 which ids also soft until you get to f2.8.

The EF 50/1.4 may not be good on test charts wide open but it can do surprisingly well in practice. This was shot at f1.6, and it's good enough for me, unless you want sharp borders at 1.6, which is a rare requirement.

I really like the 40 STM as a 'walkabout' or landscape lens, but it can't hold a candle to the 50/1.4 for 'event' type work.

That's a lot sharper than my 50 f/1.4 ever was. I didn't find it to be of much use until f/2.

To Jack56 - it doesn't hurt to keep it. You've got a great set of lenses that cover just about any situation, but sometimes only a fast prime will do. Since you don't seem to need one much, the nifty 50 is probably a perfect lens to keep in the bag.

 

[AcutancePhotography]

No, of course not. But, why keep stuff when you don't use it?

Because if you don't have it, you will never use it. It works both ways.

A 50 does not take up that much room. You don't have to carry it in your bag, but it can sit on a shelf quite happy.

Who knows, one of these days you might want to shoot with the 50. You have already paid for it, the resale value is pretty crummy. Why not keep it?

 

[jdramirez]

I was always extra careful not to drop the 50 f1.4 because of the auto focus issues that can result... I hated it about as much as I loved my 50 f1.8.

 

[mackguyver]

No, of course not. But, why keep stuff when you don't use it?

Because if you don't have it, you will never use it. It works both ways.

I think you just summed up my photographic life. Whatever it is that I don't bring, I need. If I had all of the shots I've missed because I left my flash, ND filters, polarizer, tripod, (wide angle, telephoto, etc.) lens at home, I might actually have a half-decent portfolio I can only blame myself for the other half of the shots I've missed - wrong f-stop, wrong lens on camera, timer, single shot instead of burst, one-shot instead of AI Servo, and the list goes on...

 

[jdramirez]

No, of course not. But, why keep stuff when you don't use it?

Because if you don't have it, you will never use it. It works both ways.

I think you just summed up my photographic life. Whatever it is that I don't bring, I need. If I had all of the shots I've missed because I left my flash, ND filters, polarizer, tripod, (wide angle, telephoto, etc.) lens at home, I might actually have a half-decent portfolio I can only blame myself for the other half of the shots I've missed - wrong f-stop, wrong lens on camera, timer, single shot instead of burst, one-shot instead of AI Servo, and the list goes on...

I get so mad at myself when I do those stupid errors. My nemesis right now is shooting with an on camera speedlite on Av and the camera reads the scene as an 8 second exposure. I change it to Manual, but that first shot... the one that got away.

 

[Hjalmarg1]

After a lot of research and hesitations, I think I've got the lenses that I want, for now
I own the 16-35 f/4 IS, 24-70 f/2.8 II, 70-200 f/2.8 II and the 100mm f/2.8 L.
And yes, there it is. The 50mm plastic fantastic. Still there. Would you sell this one or would you keep it or change it for the 50mm f/1.4?

Hi, I have almost the same zoom lenses and I owned all three 50mm lenses (1.8, 1.4 and 1.2L) and sold them all because I rarely used them and never felt confortable with this focal range. Because I needed something for low-light I bought the 35mm f2IS and no regrets at all, this is my most used prime, for street photo and landscape portrait.
If Canon brings a new 50mm with IS, I will probably give a try.

 

[LOALTD]

I love my Canon 50/1.4, but, as others have noted...the AF motor is fragile and breaks all the freaking time. And, it's pretty poor at f/1.4...but sometimes you just need the light gathering ability of f/1.4, so you deal with it.

I have sent it into Canon to have the AF fixed 3 times now, no exaggeration. I could almost buy another one with the repair costs. And I've never dropped it either!

I'm seriously considering the new Sigma 50/1.4 but I'm waiting to see how Canon updates its 50mm line. I'm much more into hand-held video now, and I'd really love IS on a 50mm since I really love the focal length.

 

[mackguyver]

No, of course not. But, why keep stuff when you don't use it?

Because if you don't have it, you will never use it. It works both ways.

I think you just summed up my photographic life. Whatever it is that I don't bring, I need. If I had all of the shots I've missed because I left my flash, ND filters, polarizer, tripod, (wide angle, telephoto, etc.) lens at home, I might actually have a half-decent portfolio I can only blame myself for the other half of the shots I've missed - wrong f-stop, wrong lens on camera, timer, single shot instead of burst, one-shot instead of AI Servo, and the list goes on...

I get so mad at myself when I do those stupid errors. My nemesis right now is shooting with an on camera speedlite on Av and the camera reads the scene as an 8 second exposure. I change it to Manual, but that first shot... the one that got away.

JD, there is a fix for that one, at least if you don't use HSS flash a lot. Go into the "Flash Sync in AV Mode" setting and change it from Auto (which allows it to go to 30s!) to 1/60s-1/200s. This makes sure that your flash exposures are never below 1/60s. You can switch to P mode as well if you don't have time to fool with the menu.

 

[jdramirez]

No, of course not. But, why keep stuff when you don't use it?

Because if you don't have it, you will never use it. It works both ways.

I think you just summed up my photographic life. Whatever it is that I don't bring, I need. If I had all of the shots I've missed because I left my flash, ND filters, polarizer, tripod, (wide angle, telephoto, etc.) lens at home, I might actually have a half-decent portfolio I can only blame myself for the other half of the shots I've missed - wrong f-stop, wrong lens on camera, timer, single shot instead of burst, one-shot instead of AI Servo, and the list goes on...

I get so mad at myself when I do those stupid errors. My nemesis right now is shooting with an on camera speedlite on Av and the camera reads the scene as an 8 second exposure. I change it to Manual, but that first shot... the one that got away.

JD, there is a fix for that one, at least if you don't use HSS flash a lot. Go into the "Flash Sync in AV Mode" setting and change it from Auto (which allows it to go to 30s!) to 1/60s-1/200s. This makes sure that your flash exposures are never below 1/60s. You can switch to P mode as well if you don't have time to fool with the menu.

When I shoot with flash, I prefer being in manual, but I think that just might be worth doing.

 

[Khalai]

No, of course not. But, why keep stuff when you don't use it?

Because if you don't have it, you will never use it. It works both ways.

I think you just summed up my photographic life. Whatever it is that I don't bring, I need. If I had all of the shots I've missed because I left my flash, ND filters, polarizer, tripod, (wide angle, telephoto, etc.) lens at home, I might actually have a half-decent portfolio I can only blame myself for the other half of the shots I've missed - wrong f-stop, wrong lens on camera, timer, single shot instead of burst, one-shot instead of AI Servo, and the list goes on...

I get so mad at myself when I do those stupid errors. My nemesis right now is shooting with an on camera speedlite on Av and the camera reads the scene as an 8 second exposure. I change it to Manual, but that first shot... the one that got away.

JD, there is a fix for that one, at least if you don't use HSS flash a lot. Go into the "Flash Sync in AV Mode" setting and change it from Auto (which allows it to go to 30s!) to 1/60s-1/200s. This makes sure that your flash exposures are never below 1/60s. You can switch to P mode as well if you don't have time to fool with the menu.

When I shoot with flash, I prefer being in manual, but I think that just might be worth doing.

The main caveat is when moving indoors/outdoors frequently on this settings. I botched quite a few photos, when I ran out of dimly lit room outside and forgot about that settings - 1/200s is far from fast in midday sun

 

[Mitch.Conner]

I'd just be interested in knowing of a fast zoom that's faster than f/2.8 regardless of the make/compatibility. I've never seen one to my knowledge.

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8...generally considered an excellent lens. It's for APS-C only, though.

Wow. I'd love to see a trend towards zooms that fast for full frame and in more focal ranges. Thanks. With IS, of course. ;D

I know I ask too much for today, but maybe in 20 years.

 

[mackguyver]

No, of course not. But, why keep stuff when you don't use it?

Because if you don't have it, you will never use it. It works both ways.

I think you just summed up my photographic life. Whatever it is that I don't bring, I need. If I had all of the shots I've missed because I left my flash, ND filters, polarizer, tripod, (wide angle, telephoto, etc.) lens at home, I might actually have a half-decent portfolio I can only blame myself for the other half of the shots I've missed - wrong f-stop, wrong lens on camera, timer, single shot instead of burst, one-shot instead of AI Servo, and the list goes on...

I get so mad at myself when I do those stupid errors. My nemesis right now is shooting with an on camera speedlite on Av and the camera reads the scene as an 8 second exposure. I change it to Manual, but that first shot... the one that got away.

JD, there is a fix for that one, at least if you don't use HSS flash a lot. Go into the "Flash Sync in AV Mode" setting and change it from Auto (which allows it to go to 30s!) to 1/60s-1/200s. This makes sure that your flash exposures are never below 1/60s. You can switch to P mode as well if you don't have time to fool with the menu.

When I shoot with flash, I prefer being in manual, but I think that just might be worth doing.

The main caveat is when moving indoors/outdoors frequently on this settings. I botched quite a few photos, when I ran out of dimly lit room outside and forgot about that settings - 1/200s is far from fast in midday sun

Yes, that is the caveat of using that mode. If you need to go go over 1/200s (using HSS), this is no good. If you have a 5DIII or 1D X (or 6D?), the other option is to use Auto ISO and set your minimum shutter speed to 1/60 or (better yet) 1/100s. That way you don't have to deal with the 1/200s ceiling.

 

[jdramirez]

Yes, that is the caveat of using that mode. If you need to go go over 1/200s (using HSS), this is no good. If you have a 5DIII or 1D X (or 6D?), the other option is to use Auto ISO and set your minimum shutter speed to 1/60 or (better yet) 1/100s. That way you don't have to deal with the 1/200s ceiling.

This is fun. Just guys talking about gear. All we need is some beer, some comfortable chairs... And hell, a few strippers on the main stage.