Lens News

We’ve sung the praises of using a 50mm lens for a while now including in this Shutterbug video that’s racked up nearly three million views on YouTube. Now another photographer has published his ode to the beloved “Nifty Fifty.”

In the clip at the bottom of this post, Matt Granger shares ten reasons why he says every photographer needs a 50mm lens.

#1 Versatile

“They’re not too wide for portraits, they’re not too long for street photography,” Granger says. “You can use them for product photography, you can use them for landscapes. They are really versatile and flexible.”

#2 Bokeh

“Everybody loves a nice, dreamy background. 50mm lenses tend to have relatively fast apertures like f/1.8 and even faster. They also tend to let you focus nice and close. The combination of close focus and fast aperture means super creamy bokeh.”

#3 Value

“Because they’ve been making them for so long, there’s a great selection of them available used at really bargain prices.”

#4 Standard

“50 mil is called the standard lens for good reason. 50 mil roughly replicates the field of view of the human eye, so when you’re taking a shot, it doesn’t look exaggerated.”

#5 Options

“There are so many different 50mm lenses out there. You can just wet your toe with the 50mm 1.8 and then start looking into vintage lenses.”

#6 Character

“50mm lenses have character. There are some many options when it comes to character with 50mm lenses.”

#7 Compact

“They tend to be nice and small and light. 50mm is a sweet spot.”

#8 Creativity

“Limiting yourself can be a great creative challenge. Even if you’ve been shooting for decades. Going out with just one lens, a 50mm, can be a great way to stimulate new ideas.”

#9 Nicknames

“They have the coolest nicknames. The Nifty Fifty, the Plastic Fantastic, the Bokeh Master etc.”

#10 Fun!

“They’re fund for all the reasons that I listed above; 50 mils are just fun!”