Get Yourself a "Nifty Fifty".

“Nifty Fifty” is the pet term photographers have for what is often called a “standard lens”. That term resulted from 50mm lenses being the lens that usually came along with 35mm rangefinders and especially 35mm slrs. The term “standard” also refers to the idea that a lens in that focal length range closely approximates the angle of human vision. In other words, a photo taken with a standard lens is going to look most like what you remember the scene looking like when you viewed it with your naked eyes.

“Nifty Fifty” came about because the lens is, well, nifty. It can be the most inexpensive lens you can buy that still offers top optical quality. It's often small in comparison to other focal lengths, relatively fast so it can be used in a wide range of lighting conditions, and is free of some of the idiosyncrasies found in other focal lengths.

It can also be the best lens to use if you want to really work on your skills when it comes to composition and “photographic seeing”. It's almost counter-intuitive that a lens which gives photographs a “normal” look can force you to look beyond the normal into what makes for an effective photograph.

An added benefit is that unless you buy a fast, premium grade “Nifty Fifty” the lens can also be very lightweight and compact, lending to an easier walk-around kit to carry with you more often.

Keep in mind that 50mm is the “Equivalent Focal Length” of a variety of lens types. That 50mm is “standard for Full Frame cameras such as the newly announced Nikon D850 and other cameras that have sensors the same size as a 35mm film frame. If you are using APS-C, then a 35mm lens is going to be closer to the “Nifty Fifty” range due to the crop factor. For Micro Four Thirds it would be a 25mm lens.

At this point you may be asking why bother with a fixed focal length (prime) lens in an age were zoom lenses offer outstanding quality and versatility. Why deal with having to walk back and forth to get the right framing when a twist of a zoom ring can do the same thing more quickly and easily?

Technically, there is the fact that a typical standard prime is at least 1 stop faster than a zoom lens covering the same range. If you're using a kit zoom, which typically has a maximum aperture of f3.5 to f4, your talking about 2 stops, maybe more. That is enough to make the difference between a messy, blurry shot in low light and one that is clear and lower in noise.

Also, that larger aperture is going to lend itself to the shallower depth of field and out of focus background that is a popular aspect of portraits. So if you want to achieve that look without paying a lot of money for fast zoom lenses, a 50mm EFL lens is a good way to get started.

Remember I said the “Nifty Fifty” is a good lens to use if you are wanting to hone your skills? Those few seconds it may take you to get the right framing may also lead you to think a bit more about how to make sure the photo turns out best. We live in a fast-paced world and our cameras are designed for that. However, there are times where the best photographs result from taking some time to previsualize the final result, and even whether or not the photo is worth taking.

That's one of my main reasons for recently buying a small, fully manual 25mm f1.8 lens (50mm EFL on my Micro Four Thirds cameras). I've started a personal project that is intended to expand how I “see photographically” and explore new territory when it comes to the sort of images I want to produce and sell. It's a gem of a lens made by a newer company called “7 Artisans”. Right now they only offer 4 lenses, but it looks like they tapped right into the recent trend of offering small, manual prime lenses with solid performance. (The 7 Artisan lenses are only available for certain mirrorless systems right now, so if you own a dslr you will need to take advantage of the many good lenses available from other companies.)

As I walk around with this lens, I take more time to really look at things I am about to capture with my camera. The very act of taking the extra time to focus and make exposure adjustments also gives me time to look at what is in the viewfinder and consider how it's going to look as a photograph. This has led to me being more thoughtful in choosing and composing photos. I'm finding myself deciding not to capture some scenes that I would have just grabbed in the past and then decided in post processing whether the image worked or not.

It's taken me back to the old days when I could only afford so many rolls of film a month and so had to make sure every shot counted.

The lens also has its own “look” that is subtly different from my premium grade zooms. Part of this is the 12 bladed aperture which gives almost perfectly round out of focus highlights and introduces a star effect on light sources even at large apertures. A lens like that promotes a particular style, and that's actually what I'm looking to do.

Whether you own Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, Panasonic, Fuji or any brand of camera (whether digital or film) you should invest in a “Nifty Fifty” if you haven't already. If you have one and haven't been using it, dust it off and try going on photo forays with just that 1 lens. It may be a bit frustrating at first, but eventually you'll find yourself doing a lot more “photographic seeing” than simply trying to capture a nice photo.