The Joy of a 50 mm Lens

Copyright 2011 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

Please allow a moment for a reflection on camera equipment.

I am an avid gear junkie trying hard to wean myself from this affliction.  For years I carried two camera bodies, an assortment of lenses, flash equipment, and a tripod.  The lenses varied, but usually consisted of a wide-angle zoom, a mid-range zoom, and a telephoto zoom.  Most often these were of professional grade, so they were quite large and heavy (not to mention expensive.)  Quite tiring for a day of shooting.

Copyright 2011 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

It is also important to note that this was overkill for most of what I was doing at the time-natural history photography with 35mm SLRs.  As I was using smaller apertures (f/11-f/16) in order to maximize depth-of-field, using fast-aperture (f/2.8) zooms was ridiculous.  These lenses excel when there is a need for those apertures and the flexibility of multiple focal lengths in one lens-as in photojournalism.  The build quality is certainly unparalleled.  However, as I began to change my subject matter (inner city debris) and style of work (shallower depth-of-field to isolate said subject matter and sans tripod), these lenses became more of a liability due to their weight and size.

Oh, I also began to fly more and airline travel is decidedly not photographer-friendly when lugging large amounts of gear.

As a result, I no longer have any of those lenses.

Copyright 2011 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

And that brings me to the humble 50 mm lens.  When I first started taking (not making) pictures all those years ago, a 50 mm lens was what came with the camera body.  Usually these were the f/1.8 variety and so were small, light, and quite sharp.  More importantly, that f/1.8 aperture allowed for a great deal of control over depth-of-field.  That is precisely what is compromised with the 18-whatever f/3.5-4.5 zooms of today, which are yes, convenient.  However, it is harder to achieve that portrait-like separation of subject and background with the smaller apertures that accompany these lenses.

And so for the past year or so, I have been mainly carrying a small 20 mm f/3.5 prime lens and a 50 mm f/1.8 prime lens (which is the one used for the photographs included in this post) on most of my forays.  I still carry two bodies and using those lenses on my full-frame digital body gives me those focal lengths from which to choose.  On my sub-frame body, the lenses provide effectively 30 mm and 75 mm focal lengths.  This package is quite functional and much lighter in weight.  When I want to really pare down, I use the sub-frame body and the two lenses.  If I need more reach, I add an 85 mm to the mix.

I have not found this minimization of equipment to be a major hurdle for what I am currently photographing.  And it certainly is a lot easier to move around.

Take care.