# Playing with nifty fifty



## NeilG40 (Jan 1, 2009)

Just washed the car so I decided to see what I could get with the nifty wide open at f1.8


----------



## Lloyd71 (Aug 21, 2008)

It's a cracking lens this, I love mine to bits. I prefer using it for closeups on cars or portrait work.


----------



## V8burble (Jul 3, 2007)

I agree, with such a short focal length the distance to the subject is hugely important for DoF management. At head shot distance it is a very shallow DoF that is far more effective at separation. At those sort of distances you need a tele (say 200mm) to give you effectively shallow DoF. The 50mm f/1.8 is fun though for sure and nice around f/2.5-f/2.8 for portraits, a tad soft wide open at f/1.8.


----------



## gt5500 (Aug 6, 2008)

I really do have to get one of them lenses, only criticism for your shots is watch your focus point in the first shot it seems the decor birck in the wall is sharp but the car is soft, unless that was what you wanted.


----------



## GJUK (Aug 7, 2007)

great lens...as the sun is out once I get the car clean I try and get some shot with my nifty fifty


----------



## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

nifty fifty is really a nifty 85 on modern DSLRS though, unless you get a full frame sensor body. That makes it best as a portrait lens really. What you have there is a short telephoto lens really.

If you want to know what the original 'nifty fifty' was all about then grab a 35mm f2 or similar depending on your body manufacturer and walk about with that. Canon 35mm f2 can be had cheaply 2nd hand, I got mine on the bay for little £, and Nikon do a f2 as well IIRC.

The point of the 50 is a viewing angle almost exactly the same as the human eye, which is NOT what you get when you stick it on a camera with a sensor smaller than 35mm film. Try it and see


----------



## gt5500 (Aug 6, 2008)

Bigpikle said:


> nifty fifty is really a nifty 85 on modern DSLRS though, unless you get a full frame sensor body. That makes it best as a portrait lens really. What you have there is a short telephoto lens really.
> 
> If you want to know what the original 'nifty fifty' was all about then grab a 35mm f2 or similar depending on your body manufacturer and walk about with that. Canon 35mm f2 can be had cheaply 2nd hand, I got mine on the bay for little £, and Nikon do a f2 as well IIRC.
> 
> The point of the 50 is a viewing angle almost exactly the same as the human eye, which is NOT what you get when you stick it on a camera with a sensor smaller than 35mm film. Try it and see


All the points you raise are very true, however the reason that many people use the nifty fifty's on APS-c cameras is because they are cheap, sharp and hand have big apertures for their price. But you are right about the original use of them, i didn't realise that 35mm was the equivalent for APS-C cameras.


----------



## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

I've said it elsewhere and I'll say it here, too; though the "eye" isn't really usable on a APS-C (the smaller sensor common in most "entry level" DSLRs), it's a good indication anyway. I like mine and also have an 85 on the way from Canada for portrait work. More for the effect of the lens rather than the effective mm, whatever they may be.

Bret


----------



## NeilG40 (Jan 1, 2009)

gt5500 said:


> I really do have to get one of them lenses, only criticism for your shots is watch your focus point in the first shot it seems the decor birck in the wall is sharp but the car is soft, unless that was what you wanted.


Yeah I see what you mean, I think I focussed on the number plate but that's not showing seeing as I blanked it out.


----------



## smalltrees (May 7, 2009)

*this may solve the confusion... or add to it... wink/smile...*

the 50mm lens, does not change it's angle of view, it will always be a 50mm lens... example... if you photograph a building with the same lens, film and digital... the building would measure the same size, what would change is the "Field of view" not the "Angle of view" the optics of the lens will not, cannot change... calling a 50mm an 75-80mm is both confusing and wrong...

the more correct way of thinking about this difference, is to make 2 8x10 prints, on one, take your "crop factor" and use it correctly, and crop one of the prints to the correct size... the optics did not change, the image did not change, the 50mm is still a 50mm, but the end result is a different "Field of View" not a different "Angle of View"

optics are optics, they will not change... I hope this helps...


----------



## giarc (Feb 8, 2006)

Love the dof there, the first picutre also has a taste of tilt and shift to it for me.


----------



## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

smalltrees said:


> the 50mm lens, does not change it's angle of view, it will always be a 50mm lens... example... if you photograph a building with the same lens, film and digital... the building would measure the same size, what would change is the "Field of view" not the "Angle of view" the optics of the lens will not, cannot change... calling a 50mm an 75-80mm is both confusing and wrong...
> 
> the more correct way of thinking about this difference, is to make 2 8x10 prints, on one, take your "crop factor" and use it correctly, and crop one of the prints to the correct size... the optics did not change, the image did not change, the 50mm is still a 50mm, but the end result is a different "Field of View" not a different "Angle of View"
> 
> optics are optics, they will not change... I hope this helps...


all true - my choice of terminology was poor...

the key is the resulting image is pretty much the image you would see if you used a 85mm on a 35mm film camera NOT that of the famed 'nifty fifty'


----------



## NeilG40 (Jan 1, 2009)

giarc said:


> Love the dof there, the first picutre also has a taste of tilt and shift to it for me.


I thought that too, it wasn't intentional though.


----------



## gt5500 (Aug 6, 2008)

Bigpikle said:


> all true - my choice of terminology was poor...
> 
> the key is the resulting image is pretty much the image you would see if you used a 85mm on a 35mm film camera NOT that of the famed 'nifty fifty'


Is that right though? I am not sure since as mentioned the viewing angle is not changed only the field of view. An 85mm lens will produce a flatter looking image then a wider angle lens.


----------



## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

But the optics of the lens have not changed, you simply don't see the corners. 

I don't see a way to prove this 100% without taking an 85 or so and an FF / crop and seeing what happens. You could argue that you get the same effect with a 24 whether it's on an FF or crop, simply because the lens doesn't care, it simply lets the light through in a specific way. Whether this falls on a sensor or not is irrelevant, the lens does nothing different, therefore your "flat" image (sure about that, I would have thought peaky...) will be the same on an FF or crop sensor. This is another reason that the "new" mm numbers are disingenuous. But how to explain it otherwise to a n00b?

Bret


----------



## siphoto (Apr 20, 2009)

I quite fancy a Nikon 1.4 50mm, anyone got one? If so whats it like?


----------



## gt5500 (Aug 6, 2008)

bretti_kivi said:


> But the optics of the lens have not changed, you simply don't see the corners.
> 
> I don't see a way to prove this 100% without taking an 85 or so and an FF / crop and seeing what happens. You could argue that you get the same effect with a 24 whether it's on an FF or crop, simply because the lens doesn't care, it simply lets the light through in a specific way. Whether this falls on a sensor or not is irrelevant, the lens does nothing different, therefore your "flat" image (sure about that, I would have thought peaky...) will be the same on an FF or crop sensor. This is another reason that the "new" mm numbers are disingenuous. But how to explain it otherwise to a n00b?
> 
> Bret


Thats what I was saying, Bigpikle said that a 50mm lens on a crop sensor gives the same image as an 85mm lens on a full frame. This is not quite accurate as the 50mm is a wider lens so despite the cropping the image will be slightly different to the 85mm on the full frame.


----------



## smalltrees (May 7, 2009)

*50mm is a 50mm...*

it will always have the same characteristics... an 85mm lens can be a portrait lens, because it will compress the depth of field... much different than a 50mm...

your 50mm lens, on a cropped sensor, will not be a portrait lens...

the sensor is cropping the image, not changing the lens, or the optical characteristics... note: they are called "cropped sensors" the sensor is the difference... optics cannot change ( unless you drop them... wink/smile...)

while saying it will "look" like a 85mm, is only slightly true, but, mostly false and very misleading, especially to someone new to cameras...

the 50mm and the 85mm are different lens... and not the same... just like... Ford and BMW are both cars, yet they are also different


----------



## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

I don't think the average user of a dSLR will really, honestly, see the difference unless someone tells him it's there.

I can demo this, as it happens; I have a 24, 50, 85 and 135 here right now and a PC that's busy processing... something with visible depth, I think. Maybe some lego....

Done. I'll post the pics up shortly and we can try and attach a length to a pic, OK? 

Bret


----------



## NeilG40 (Jan 1, 2009)

bretti_kivi said:


> Done. I'll post the pics up shortly and we can try and attach a length to a pic, OK?
> 
> Bret


Looking forward to seeing the results.


----------



## bretti_kivi (Apr 22, 2008)

here you go, to keep this even remotely on topic  http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=121612


----------

