50mm

Michael Zhang

This is the Upcoming Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 for Nikon

We reported at the end of last year that Yongnuo was planning to expand beyond Canon lens clones and begin offering thrifty lenses for Nikon DSLRs by the end of 2015. It looks like the lenses are just around the corner: Yongnuo is already showing off the new lenses over in China, and here's a first look at them.

Carsten Schlipf

Battle of the Nifty Fifties: Canon’s 50mm f/1.8 Lenses

This year, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, also called the "Nifty Fifty" celebrates its 25th birthday. Yes, that's right: this lens was released back in December 1990 and is the second oldest lens that's still in production. Yet it still dominates the list of the most popular Canon lenses, and for good reason: it's cheap, it's fast, it's small and lightweight, and it offers good performance for the price, which makes it the first prime lens for most Canon owners.

But of course, being such an old lens does have its downsides, so Canon has just released the successor to the old Nifty Fifty: the new Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM.

Darren Huski

Testing the Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 with Nightscape Photography

February has brought back the galactic core of the Milky Way into the sky. It is now rising in the east just before sunrise. Each week it will rise a little bit earlier in the night.

I have a trip planned for this spring and have been thinking about some of the shots I want to do. One of them is one where I think a lens longer than the 24mm might be useful to really bring some mountains and the Milky Way together.

Jay Leavitt

Comparing the Optics of the $40 Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 and the $125 Canon 50mm f/1.8 II

I recently did a simple review that compared Yongnuo's new $40 clone of the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II. Today I will dive a little deeper into how the two lenses stack up optically.

There’s only so much that can be tested in home without fancy gear (MTF charts and the like) so I did a few tests that gauge common aesthetic qualities, using techniques that are often recommended for testing at home.

Michael Zhang

Yongnuo Expanding into Lenses, Shows Off a Canon 50mm f/1.4 Clone

Yongnuo is a Chinese company that's known for making cheaper third-party alternatives to pricier camera gear. While they've focused on lighting equipment and various accessories up to this point, the company is now branching into a bigger and better market: lenses.

The first product announced is the Yongnuo 50mm f/1.4 (shown above). If you mistook it for the Canon 50mm f/1.4, you're not alone.

DL Cade

35mm or 50mm: Deciding On Your First Prime

In one of those rare more-informative-than-funny Top Gear DigitalRev episodes, Kai tries to help beginners decide what they should buy for their first prime: a nifty 50mm, or a more versatile 35mm.

Colin Peddle

Review: Sigma’s 50mm f/1.4 is Simply Stunning, Stunningly Simple

In a world where there's an always-on march of forward progress driven by the notion that bigger is better, I find it refreshing to see that at least one company is keeping things simple.

Sigma is rumored to be releasing three new primes in the coming months: a 24mm, 85mm and 135mm. These would add to an already amazing set of standard prime lenses for full frame cameras, the superb 35mm f/1.4 and the 50mm f1.4. And it's that 50mm that I've been positively loving for the past month and is our focus today.

DL Cade

Sigma 50mm Matches the Otus in Almost All Tests, Said to Cost One-Fourth as Much

Just days after publishing their glowing review of the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art series lens that ranked it leaps and bounds ahead of the Canon and Nikon competition, SLRgear finally got their hands on the ZEISS Otus for comparison.

And it seems ZEISS will have to work hard to justify the rumored price difference between those two lenses...

Gannon Burgett

First Sigma 50mm Art Lens Review Claims Nikon and Canon Aren’t On the Same Level

When Sigma announced their 50m f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens, they included some extremely dramatic statements. Not only did they say that they wanted to beat out Canon and Nikon, they intended to blow them out of the water, stating that they were aiming to make the lens as good, if not better, than the $4,000 Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus Distagon T*.

Last month we shared a somewhat shady review of the lens, which came with plenty of skepticism, so today we're sharing with you a review from a much more reputable source, SLR Gear.

DL Cade

50mm Tele Conversion Lens for the Fujifilm X100/S Spotted at CP+

CP+ is throwing quite a bit of gear news our way, and one find that caught our eye has to do with the immensely popular Fujifilm X100s and its older sibling the X100. According to Patrick over at Fuji Rumors, X100/s users will soon be able to extend their fixed lens' reach to 50mm (35mm equivalent).

DL Cade

Rumor: Canon May Replace the 50mm f/1.4 with a High-End 50mm f/1.8

Canon's 50mm lens lineup is getting crowded... at least that's what Canon seems to think. According to a fresh rumor, the company has plans to replace the current 50mm f/1.4 USM. But it won't be replaced by another f/1.4. Instead, Canon might do away with the lens altogether and release a high-end 50mm f/1.8 IS USM instead.

Michael Zhang

Video: Torture Testing the Front Element of Canon’s ‘Thrifty Fifty’ 50mm f/1.8 II

Photographers commonly place UV filters on the front of their camera lenses in order to protect the glass front element. Aside from preventing dust buildup, the filter also takes the brunt of any impact seen by the front of the lens. If you have to have some glass shatter, you'd rather it be a relatively cheap filter compared to an entire lens, right?

But how easy is it to damage or destroy the front element of a lens? Photographer Richard Choi had the opportunity to find out a few years ago when he found a bricked lens on his hands.

Michael Zhang

Canon 50mm f/1.4 IS On the Way, Will Be Fastest Stabilized Lens in Lineup

Canon broke new ground in its lens-making this year by bringing image stabilization to non-L wide-angle prime lenses (the widest IS prime was previously the 100mm f/2.8 IS L). There are now three: lenses at the stabilized-wide-angle party: a 24mm and 28mm, announced in February, and a 35mm that was announced just last month.

According to new rumors, Canon will continue to spread its IS technology to non-L and non-telephoto primes next year. One that's on the way is a replacement to the popular 50mm f/1.4.

Michael Zhang

Two New Canon Lenses Coming Soon? 24-70mm f/4 IS and 50mm f/1.4 IS

Last week we reported on rumors of an upcoming Canon 24-70mm f/4 IS lens. The latest word is that the lens is "coming soon", and won't be announced alone. In addition to updating the popular 24-70mm focal range with image stabilization -- useful for video recording -- Canon may also be planning to announcing a second lens, reportedly an image-stabilized followup to the much-loved Canon 50mm f/1.4.

Michael Zhang

Using the Rare Canon 50mm f/1.0 and Its Bokehliciously Thin Depth of Field

The Canon 50mm f/1.0 was the fastest SLR lens in production before it was discontinued in 2000 and replaced with the f/1.2. There aren't too many copies of this lens floating around on the used market, so photographers who want to use the ridiculous aperture it offers must pay a hefty premium in order to purchase one; the lenses commonly sell for two or three times the original retail value.

When reader Bryan Soderlind switched from film to digital a while back, he decided to splurge and go "all the way" by buying a 50mm f/1.0 for a little over $3,000 -- a relative bargain. The lens was in "impeccable shape" and was in focus even when using the razor sharp depth of field at f/1.0. Here are some of his thoughts on what it's like to use the lens, and some sample photos from his shoots.

Michael Zhang

Use the Front Element of a Broken Canon ‘Nifty Fifty’ Lens for Macro Shots

Canon's 50mm f/1.8 Mark II is a terrific lens for its price, but its build quality definitely leaves something to be desired. Do a quick search, and you'll find legions of broken-hearted Canonites who had their 'Nifty Fifty' split into two pieces after accidentally bumping or dropping it. Flickr user tastygiant is one such Canonite, but he subsequently discovered an awesome use for the broken lens:

Being a geek, I figured I could use the broken pieces in the future, so I shelved it and bought a new 50mm 1.8 Canon lens. One day, while taking shots around my apartment, I stumbled across the broken lens again and decided to reverse the "barrel assembly" onto the front of my intact 50mm. Everything was blurry of course, but I noticed if I got very close to an object the detail came into view. After adjusting the aperture to around f5.6, I had a clear image.
It's important to note that you should switch to Manual focusing and rotate the focusing ring to "infinity".

Michael Zhang

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G Lens Becomes Official

After being accidentally leaked on Nikon's website a couple weeks ago, Nikon's new AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G lens was officially announced today. The lens -- compatible with both DX and FX DSLRs -- features an unusual aspherical element that typically isn't found in lenses like this. It will be available starting June 16th for $220, which includes a lens hood.

Michael Zhang

Using a Leica Noctilux on a Sony NEX

Darren Chan recently attached his $6,500 Leica Noctilux 50mm f/1 lens to his Sony NEX-5 camera using an adapter in order to test out the unique combo. As you might expect, the combo is great for creamy bokeh and doing nighttime street photography in areas with low light.