Stephen Chinnadorai

I’ve asked a lot of people the same question for the past month or so: “Which lens should I upgrade to?”. Most of them responded with the Canon 50mm f/1.8 — a fast, small and affordable lens.

This is the first prime lens I have ever used, so I felt limited to a single focal length, compared to the 18-55mm zoom lens I was previously using. For those of you that don’t know, prime lenses do not have the ability to zoom in or out – they’re fixed to a particular length, in this case: 50mm. Zoom lenses can have different ranges in focal lengths, but are often more expensive, heavier and don’t produce the same quality of image you get from a prime lens.

The 50mm prime is undoubtedly one of Canon and Nikon’s best selling lenses — the price makes it very attractive for newcomers to digital SLRs. I can definitely see why this lens has been recommended. Although I haven’t taken it out much yet, this lens is bringing sharp photos in the darkest situations; and provides beautiful blurred-out backgrounds (bokeh) on portrait photos.

I haven’t had a chance to use the 50mm f/1.4, but it is supposed to be even better than this lens. I highly recommend anyone new to SLR cameras like me to give this lens a try; especially because its cost is low for the photos you get out of it.