![]() ![]() The 50mm lens allows the photographer to make creative images inside a familiar field of view. The approximation of the cone of visual attention lies between the field of view of the 35mm and 50mm lens.ĭoes this mean that the 50mm, because of its familiar perspective, prevents the photographer from exploring the world with creative vision? Definitely not. Because they do not bend light from wide angles, or zoom in to a smaller part of our eye’s image, these lenses provide our photographs with a familiar aesthetic-a realistic representation of the world that we all see when we open our eyes. Basically, both the 50mm and 35mm lenses see the world the way our own eyes do-give or take a few degrees. If you do the math, the circa 45° field of view of the 50mm lens is a bit narrower than the approximated 55° cone of visual attention and the 35mm lens is a bit wider at about 63°. There is some conjecture on whether it is the 35mm lens or the 50mm lens that closest approximates the field of view of the Mark 1 Mod 0 human eyeball-minus the peripheral vision. So, what makes the 50mm the one single lens every photographer should own (and use)? Field of View Now it is the zoom lenses that are keeping areas of my bookshelves from getting dusty. But, years later, when working on my master’s thesis, I rediscovered the lens for many reasons (see below) and have since gravitated back to a battery of prime lenses. Soon, the 50mm f/1.8 was doing nothing but keeping a small circular region of my bookshelf from seeing light.įor decades, the zoom lens served me well. It wasn’t long before I had recycled enough soda cans to buy a cheap 35-70mm zoom lens. I wanted to get closer to things without moving my feet. He insisted that the 50mm was the best lens with which to learn.īut this 50mm prime lens felt limiting. When I started my SLR photographic journey, he bought me my first “real” camera, a Nikon N6006, and a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens. ![]() He has wielded a Leica rangefinder since long before I was brought to life. ![]() He grew up working in a camera store in New Orleans. As the reader, please press the “I believe” button and keep on reading. More on that later but, for now, I will be referring to full-frame digital and/or 135 format film. But, before that, know that in the world of different sensor (and film) sizes, there are different focal lengths that produce a field of view equivalent to the 50mm lens on a traditional 35mm film camera. Why? Before I tell you all the reasons, I will tell you a sea story. The 50mm prime lens, or “Nifty Fifty,” is the one lens every photographer toting an interchangeable-lens camera should own… and use. If you are stranded on a desert island and can only have one camera lens with you, which lens would you choose? If your answer wasn’t, “A 50mm (or 50mm equivalent lens),” then you might be wrong. ![]()
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