50mm - A must have Lens for Outdoor Photography?

Great video… I have the 33 Fuji and love it… but many years ago, 30+ my old photography lecturer said the 50mm is almost equivalent to the human field of view, if you only have one eye 👁️ is how he finished the sentence 😂

My go to lens for landscape is a 28mm pentax prime on the Pentax k3 crop. If I have to I'll use a 10-20mm but only if I have to.

I enjoyed the video and I do enjoy my 50mm

Love that 4 shot pano in B&w. Tenby is a fav of ours but tricky to get some nice shots. Need to pull my nifty fifty out of my kit bag more often

Nice to see the former lifeboat building that was converted into a house on Grand Designs getting a quick snap in the video! Lovely stuff as always Ian.

Fresh Hot Doug Nuts

Always the focal length you come back to. Improves ones technique especially regarding composition. It would be so much better if new cameras were sold with 50mm lenses straight out of the box imho.

Nice photos Ian

What a great video! Could you please do the same for other focal lengths?

Hi. Long-time follower and have learned a lot from your landscape expertise. But, must say, I enjoyed your street work in this video. Yes, I would seeing more of it. I used to shoot wide landscape shots, but recently discovering the almost more interesting tighter compositions. In addition to my Fuji X-T1, just purchased the Ricoh GR III for my emerging street photography. The smaller camera puts me more a ease around people and the fixed lens makes me work for my compositions. Cheers.

50mm is an amazing everyday carry lens. Viltrox 50mm f1.8 is my favorite

Thank you for your wonderful video. I usually have 2 lenses in my everyday camera great bag and it is a Nikon 50 f/1.8S and a Voigtlander 40 f/1.2 manual focus lens when 50 isn't wide enough. while I have a 35mm lens, I am not a fan of the 35mm field of view and find it too wide for me.

Sorry aber ich bin der Meinung, dass die50mm die langweiligste Brennweite Ever sind.

I always enjoy your inspiring videos. Beautiful shots! Time to get my 50mm out again! 😊 Thanks so much!!

I really liked your video.

In my photography, I absolutely love the 50mm. I also like cropping, but I prefer to cut the 28mm to make it a 36mm and the 50mm to turn it into a medium telephoto.

Yes i Like

Currently i have no Prime lens in the range of 35-50, but i'm thinking about to add one. The big question for me is 35 or 50 or 42, as i'm using Fuji cameras its between 23-27-33. Maybe time to think less and decide more....
As always, it was a very nice video. This coastal town looked very very nice and your photos were excellent. Such a pleasure to watch your videos, get inspired while relaxing a bit from the day.

Some really nice shots Ian. Loved the 4 shot pano and generally liked the colour in your shots, not washed out or too saturated and looked very natural to me, which is the look I like.

I have a 50mm and enjoy using it but tend to agree with you that it is often a little too tight and would say I use my 30mm more often, allowing me to crop if I choose. I use a zoom often and find I'm shooting within the 28 to 34 range a lot. Enjoyed your video. 😊

Took me back to my roots with this one Ian - I grew up in the film days (a Canon shooter) from the FTb (my first), through all the A series up to the F1. They all had one thing in common: a 50mm 1.4 or 1.8 prime. Zoom lenses were almost a novelty, relegated to the upper telephotos, like the 70-210 or the 100-400. Good old days for sure, but that’s how you saw the world then: 50mm at a time!!

I often shoot with the Fuji 27mm… it’s tiny though a lot slower (f2.8) …. I prefer the 40mm FF equivalent focal length. I agree that shooting with a prime helps challenge you to think more about composition rather than just adjusting a zoom to fit your subject

Good old fashioned photography bud 👏👏

Nice video! 50mm may seem like a "trivial" lens, but its power is to be found in its brightness and above all in its versatility.
After having learned and shot for years only with the fifty, a few decades and several zooms later, I have rediscovered its power and now I see it as a point of arrival, not a passage.

If these photos are taken with a niffy fifffy they are good photos

Hey Ian, cool video 🙂 I really love my 50mm f1.8 STM from Canon. I also use it with the Raynox dcr-250 for macro photography. Even it have the look of a 85mm on my APS-C Sensor.

My 50mm F1.8S has been boxed and ready to go for sale. When I bought it the voice in my head said “You hate 50, get the 35”. I ignored it, yea I still don’t get along with the 50. I can’t afford the 35. But that new 35mm 1.2 S lens looks really sweet.

I like the 50 on apsc (75mm equivalent)

I’ve got the Fuji 35 1.4, original, and it’s my most used lens.

I love Your Pictures. Yes, I Like to use 50 mm lenses, especially vintage lenses.

50 years from now the mini will set the place and time,

Hi Ian, Thanks for another great video. Could you clarify whether you were shooting with a 50mm for a cropped sensor camera like, say, a Fuji XT-5. Recently I got a Viltrox Fuji-compatible X-mount F1.7, 35mm lens (50-53mm in full frame). I consider this the equivalent of a 50m in relative terms. Am I right? Cheers, Fred Jansohn

Back it the early days of detachable lens SLRs the 50mm came with most camera brands as the default ‘normal’ lens.

The term ‘normal’ is based human perception of near/far nose/ears size relation with human faces which is similar with any focal length lens from a distance of eight feet. Move closer and the nose appears larger than ‘normal’ compared to the ears and that’s the problem with 50mm focal length on a full frame (35mm film dimension) sensor if shooting people and wanting them to appear normal WITH A TRADITIONAL HEAD AND SHOULDERS IN-CAMERA CROP.

When shooting traditional portraits the workflow should be: 1) find the most flattering distance for the nose/ears size relationship,then 2) select the focal length needed at that distance for the desired in-camera crop.

Based on that methodology an 85mm focal length winds up the better choice for head & shoulders in-camera crop and 105mm the ideal choice for tighter ‘head shots’. If wanting to shoot full-length to head-shots of the same person without any change in nose/ears size relation the ideal lens for full-frame body would be a 24-105mm zoom.

I started out in photography by way of SCUBA diving back in 1969 using a Nikonos II underwater camera which had a 35mm f/2.5 lens and when I started doing photojournalism at college the following year I added a Nikon Ftn body with 85mm f/1.8 and a second Nikon F with 35mm f/2 after getting selected to document an off campus ‘farm term’ learning experience where I had to shoot in B&W and color.

I didn’t get round to buying a 50mm until 2004 for use with my APS-C Canon 20D which had a 1.6 crop factor giving it the same in-camera crop as an 80mm on a full frame — ideal for the type of H&S studio portraits I was doing at the time. I also bought an 85mm prime (136mm crop factor) for studio work the lenses I carried in my shoulder bag were the APS-C “Holy PJ Trinity” of EF-S 10-22mm, 24-70mm 2.8, and 70-200mm f/2.8 giving me and effective FL range of 16mm - 320mm.

When doing PJ style storytelling I follow the method used in cinematography when changing scenes: 1) wide POV shot of the environment; 2) Medium POV crops to show how the actor or focal point related to the context of the environment; 3) close-ups of hand action and facial reactions, and; 4) “cut-aways” showing the POV of the subject. But not necessarily in that order.

For example if walking around seeing a person working I will usually first grab some totally candid shots from a distance with my 70-100mm then approach the person and ask to set up the others to put together a story about what they are doing, offering to share the photos with them allowing me to get better lighting and facial angles.

Currently I shoot mostly wildlife with a pair of R6mkII bodies suspended on each hip at hand level with DIY shoulder harness I created with a pair of $20 cross body straps, some 3/4” webbing and snaps. I will nearly always have my RF100-500mm on one of them and either my RF10-20mm f/4 or EF 24-70mm f2.8 with VND EF-RF converter on the other.

I shoot with a 25mm prime on my micro four-thirds OM. I love using it.

I love the challenge and restriction of going out with one prime lens. One of my favorite combos is my 5D Classic with a 50mm f/1.4, in spite of having a lot more modern and versatile gear at my disposal.

I've reduced my kit to only a 50mm lens. i do intend to buy a 70-200mm at some point, but for outdoor/landscape photography, the 50mm is superb for the majority of scenic shots.

I love using my 50mm prime. It makes ME move to get the shot I want.

Great video, The d850 and 50mm f1.4 is my walkabout gear, started way back with 35mm film camara and "50mm standard" lens does just about everything I want.

Great video Ian, my father gave me a camera when I was 7 years old, have now just retired, my main passions are landscape, portrait, some street and macro, so always something to challenge me. I don’t actually own a nifty 50, but for some time have been intending to add it to my kit. Good tip to stick my 24-105 on fifty for a day to get the feel. Thanks again, look forward to following your videos.

I am a amateur just for hobby so prime Len are to expensive for me.

Hi, Where can i get the 33mm viltrox lens for my gfx 50s from.?

I love the location, colourful and unique.

Hello jordan

Thanks again Ian for sharing your experience with some great photos...yes I agree the 50mm lens is a fantastic lens for its weight & performance... cheers from Australia 🦘🦘😊

I love the 50mm prime that and an 85mm prime ,they are my favorites to use for landscape and portraits , i enjoyed your video .

Just wondering what sling that was that will cope with your Xh2. I have an xh1 and haven't found a suitable one yet.
I like my 35mm f2 fuji 😊

Great vid Ian, love the street photography.

I'm like you in that the 50 is a little long and the 35 a little wide. try the Viltrox 27 f1.2. While it is a large lens the focal length is bang on for me and image quality is wonderful. Love the channel!

Bought my first camera this momth at 30yrs old. I got myself the sony a6400 and a 50mm lens. Loving it

Is it a full frame lens?

Ive got various focal lengths that I use with my Sony A6400 but haven't ever shot with a 50mm equivalent. That's about to change. My Viltrox 35mm Air has just arrived. So it's a 52mm equivalent. We are off to the Lake District for a long weekend an it is the only lens I will take. That gives me time to get used to it without the temptation of swapping lenses part way through.