If you want to get better at photography, 50mm lenses are the way to go.
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the biggest fan of 50mm lenses. Sometimes they’re too long. Sometimes they’re too short. But they’ll take great pictures. And if you’re new to photography, you’ll probably enjoy your new zoom kit lens. But to actually become better, you’ll need a 50mm. From there, you can figure out if you need something longer or shorter. We went into our reviews index and found many 50mm lenses photographers should start out with. Now, mind you, they’re not perfect. But for the money, they’re doing a great job.
Table of Contents
Canon 50mm f1.8 STM
Why this lens? The Canon 50mm f1.8 STM is a pretty solid lens for your DSLR. It’s cheaper than a delicious bottle of whiskey. And unlike whiskey, you’ll be able to remember everything that happened when using this lens.
What’s it great for? The 50mm f1.8 STM is great for lots of general shooting situations. It’s been much improved over its predecessor in pretty much every way.
What makes it not so great? The build quality. Though this has also improved, I think that every lens these days should be weather sealed.
In our review, we said::
“Canon’s 50mm f1.8 STM is a great lens for the beginner, hobbyist, enthusiast, or even the professional who likes to rough and tumble their equipment.”
Buy now: $125
Pro Tip: Bring along some weather proof camera and lens covers if you’re going to go shoot in the rain.
Nikon 50mm F1.8 G
Why this lens? The Nikon 50mm f1.8 S lens isn’t the company’s sharpest; and honestly that’s the reason why. It delivers a character that when used with high megapixel sensors, many people try to make their images look like film.
What’s it great for? The thing about this lens is that it’s a sleeper hit when it comes to portraits.
What makes it not so great? The Nikon Z system still needs some work.
In our review we said:
“We subjected the lens through a slew of inclement weather conditions in and around New York City, as well as the inland shores of Cape Cod during late Fall/early Winter, and the lens never let us down.”
Buy now: $596.95
Sony 50mm f1.8 FE
Why this lens? The Sony 50mm f1.8 is a super affordable lens for those who buy older or used cameras and want a 50mm lens within reach of mere mortals when it comes to pricing.
What’s it great for? The 50mm f1.8 shoots pretty great photos during the golden hour. So if you’re just starting out, use it with the face/eye detection feature.
What makes it not so great? There are arguably better 50mm lenses in the lineup but none this cheap.
In our review we said
“Generally speaking in terms of nifty 50 lenses, you can’t really get much better here. Sony’s 50mm f1.8 is right up there with the Canon 50mm f1.8 in terms of image quality. It’s got great color output, is very sharp, very little chromatic aberration (and even then you’ve really got to look for it) and bokeh that isn’t bad overall.”
Buy now: $248
Pro Tip: Make sure you’re ready to shoot by keeping extra SD cards on your person at all times. And just for extra reassurance, ensure that the camera is writing to both cards simultaneously.
Fujifilm 35mm f2 R WR
Why this lens? This lens will give you most of the image quality of the 35mm f1.4 R lens, along with weather sealing and having a smaller form factor. Oh, it’s also pretty affordable.
What’s it great for? The 35mm f2 can shoot fantastic portraits, but there are better lenses for that. So I recommend it for street photography in the rain.
What makes it not so great? The fact that f2 on APS-C has more in focus due to how depth of field works, and sometimes I want more light-gathering abilities.
In our review we said:
“It is the fastest to focus Fujifilm lens to date and finally makes candid street photography with a Fujifilm camera really viable when it comes to using autofocus. For this reason alone, many photographers will greatly, greatly appreciate this lens and just how quickly it can perform.”
Buy now: $399
Olympus 25mm f1.8
Why this lens? The Olympus 25mm f1.8 is not only surprisingly sharp, but super fast to focus and renders gorgeous image quality.
What’s it great for? These lenses are typically over-engineered, so I’d recommend this lens for anything from portraits to everyday life.
What makes it not so great? There isn’t anything terrible about this lens, but I wish it had weather sealing.
In our review we said:
“The 25mm f1.8 is one of the most affordable and bang for your buck lenses out there for the Micro Four Thirds system. In general, we’re quite impressed with the sharpness, bokeh, fast focusing speed (coupled with accuracy), small size, and the overall feel that it is the single lens that you may want to keep mated to your camera forever.”
Buy now: $299