Nifty Fifty Lens

Term: Nifty Fifty Lens
Description: A nifty fifty is the nickname for a 50mm prime lens. The “fifty” points to the 50mm focal length, and “nifty” highlights the large and fast f/1.8 aperture. That wide aperture lets you shoot in low light and gives you a shallow depth of field that creates a nice blurred background. This lens gives you a perspective close to the human eye with minimal distortion, which is very useful for portraits, street photography, and everyday shooting.

What Is a Nifty Fifty Lens Good For?

If you are new to photography, the nifty fifty lens should be your first choice, and there are solid reasons for this claim. Let’s find out below:

What is a nifty fifty lens good for

1. Price

Nifty fifty lenses are usually dirt cheap. They are a bit plasticky, but the image quality is fantastic, and they are available on every single mount. Each camera has one of these nifty fifties or one of these 50mm f/1.8 lenses that you can buy. So it does not matter if you are shooting Lumix, Sony, or Canon because they are available on all systems.

It can usually work out cheaper to buy a slightly more expensive body and get the nifty fifty lens than it would to get the body below and then get the series of kit lenses that usually come with these cameras. So, for example, if you were looking at getting something like an R10, you could actually potentially get an R7, get the nifty fifty, and it would probably work out the same price as an R10 with all the kit lenses. 

Even better, get the R8, which is a full-frame camera, if you were looking at getting the R7, because full frame is always better than a crop sensor in your opinion anyway. Alternatively, just save the money and get the R10 with the nifty fifty lens because these variable zooms are not really worth the money, and it is not advisable that you get those, especially as your first lens.

So that is reason number one. It is the price. Because the nifty fifty lens is so cheap, it could allow you to upgrade your body before you have even started, if that is a thing.

2. Focal Length

The 50mm focal length in the nifty fifty lens is excellent for starting out in photography. It is called the normal focal length because it matches the human eye and the perspective you see in real life. Having a zoom lens might seem more versatile, but it can hinder your progress.

With a zoom lens, you get lazy and cheat by standing in one spot and zooming. With a 50mm, you are restricted. It forces you to move, think about composition, and improve your skills. You no longer worry about focal length choices like 24, 35, 50, or 105. 

Nifty fifty lens focal length

Instead, you can concentrate on learning exposure, aperture, metering, and other basics. That is why reason number two is the focal length that these lenses offer. 

3. Aperture

Most people get into photography because they see images with sharp subjects and creamy background separation. A 50mm f/1.8 gives you this. 

If you choose a 50mm, you will not have that issue because you cannot zoom in or out. It allows you to learn the basics of photography first, grow with your kit, and then decide to move on to your next level and upgrade to different lenses. 

You also get background separation and can shoot in low light with much better results. All in all, this lens allows you to enjoy photography more quickly.

Obviously, once you have learned everything, you start to progress. But when you are beginning, a variable aperture zoom lens, like f/3.5 to f/7.1, is confusing and irritating for you as a beginner.

4. Image Quality

Prime lenses give far superior results compared to zoom lenses, and many photographers agree on this. But believe it or not, these little nifty fifties give excellent image quality even at a low cost.

So if you have a budget in mind and you are getting carried away chasing specs, you should honestly stay away from the kit lenses and get something like a nifty fifty to start you off. You’ll avoid frustration and enjoy crisp, sharp photos with great background blur. 

5. Investment

It is an investment if you stick with photography, of course. You could find that you buy all this expensive gear and then hate it. But let’s just say that you actually enjoy photography and stick with it. What you will find is that by buying the nifty fifty lens, you will not need to replace it for a long time. You might not even ever replace it. Instead, any lens that you decide to buy next will be in addition to this lens.

At that point, you can add better lenses. The nifty fifty remains useful all the way. 

What are the Disadvantages of a 50mm Nifty Fifty Lens?

So, are there any limitations of the nifty fifty lens? Are there any issues if you buy this as your first lens? Obviously, there are. There is no such thing as a perfect lens. If you keep going into photography, you will discover that you need to keep buying more and more lenses. But there is definitely one downside, and that is the choice of focal length.

Just having a 50mm focal length eventually becomes an issue. Hopefully, by then, you will have developed your skills and know what lens you need to buy next. That next lens becomes your secondary lens.

Not having alternatives when it comes to focal length does become a problem at some point. For example, if you want to do a family portrait in your living room and you cannot step back any further because of a brick wall, you may need to step into the garden and shoot through the window to fit everyone in, which is not ideal. So, yes, there are times when you need different focal lengths. Hopefully, by that time, you have saved enough money to buy a better lens than the variable aperture kit lens that comes with combos.

Other than that, the only real downside is focal length. That is the only issue you need to consider.