Nifty Fifty?

Helium_Junkie

Helium_Junkie

Helium_Junkie

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When people talk about the nifty fifty, which seems to be an extraordinarily popular lens, do they mean the 1.4, or 1.8?
The 1.8 is in my price range, but is the 1.4 the popular one?
 
They mean the 1.8 because it's a fantastic lens and massively cheap.

The 1.4 stings the wallet a touch and as such isn't deserving of nickname status :p
 
if you want a very cheap fast prime to play with then the 50 1.8 is great

but if you can afford the 1.4 then i would get that, its a bit faster and at 1.8 it will be as sharp as its little brother, the build quality is also a lot better and it has usm, well worth the extra cash
 
philio16 said:
But yes, I've heard the Nikon one is just as good :)
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It's just as good in terms of picture quality, but it's less of a stunningly obvious choice than the Canon since it's slightly more expensive.

Still, both are excellent lenses and relatively speaking as cheap as chips.
 
How much of a price difference is there between the 1.4 and 1.8? I need a new bag, some other bits and bobs, and I wouldn't mind a cheap lense to play with on xmas day, taking pictures of the family etc ...


I wish I could afford one of these babies in L glass. I love my L glass, it's just so damn expensive and not viable for me to have too many lenses as a student!
 
I'd be interested in the difference as well. I'll be buying a D80 and one of the 50mms on Monday and was just going to go with the 1.8, but if the 1.4 really is superior without compromise then it might be a better choice in the long run.

How much better in lowlight is the 1.4 over the 1.8, and does it make any concessions as a normal use lens? It'll be my only lens for the first four months and I've heard it suffers from bad flare and ghosting?
 
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divine` said:
Aye, my Nikkor 50mm 1.8 was ~£85 iirc
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Yeah, mine was £79 in the summer.

Skullfish1 said:
How much better in lowlight is the 1.4 over the 1.8
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Work it out? f/1.4 to f/1.8 is two third-stops (1.4 -> 1.6 -> 1.8), so in a situation where f/1.8 will give you 1/30s f/1.4 will give you 1/50s, in a situation where f/1.8 will give you 1/80 f/1.4 will give you f/125, etc.
 
i've heard that the canon f/1.4 50mm is plagued by reliability issues oweing to its micro USM which is made of plastic?
 
I've got a Nikon 50mm 1.8D and what I prefer about it over the 1.4 is the fact that the lens is recessed a fair bit so it gets plenty of protection plus a hood isn't really required.
It's the only lens I have that I don't bother fitting a uv filter to because of that.
 
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