23Experimentwith
acroppedsensor
Ifyouputa 50mmstandardlensona
DSLRwitha cropsensor,theeffective
focallengthwillbe75-80mm,
dependingonwhetherthecropfactoris
1.5xor1/6x.Thismakesthelensbetter
suitedtoportraiturethana 50mmfocal
length,asyou’llgetslightforeshortening
of perspective, which flatters features.ReduceDoF
Themaximumapertureof
a 50mmlensis handyfor
reducingdepthof fieldso
distractingbackgrounds
arethrownoutof focus.If
yourstandardzoomhasa
maximumapertureof f/3.5
orsmaller,forinstance,
you’llnoticea bigdifference
if youusea 50mmf/1.8or
f/1.4wideopen.Depthof
fieldwillbereducedtoa
fewinches,soyouneed
tofocuscarefully– on
thesubject’seyeswhen
shootingportraits.The
bokehis alsopleasantwith
most50mmlenses used
wide open.
Capturedetails
The50mmfocallengthis highly
versatileandcanbeusedtoshoota
widerangeof subjects.I regularlyuse
my50mmforlow-lightportraiture
whenI’mtravelling.Architectureand
landscapearealsowellsuitedtothe
angleof view,andtheperspectiveis
verynatural.It’salsogreatfordetail
shotsandwitha minimumfocusof
35-50cm,dependingonthelens,
allows you to get reasonably close.Smallandlight
Anotherreasonwhythestandardlensis easiertohandholdat slow
shutterspeedsis becauseit’ssolightcomparedtoa zoom.For
comparison,myCanonEF24-70mmf/4LIS USMzoomtipsthe
scalesat 600g,whereastheCanonEF50mmf/1.8STMweighs
only160g.The50mmis alsotinycomparedtoyouraverage
zoomandtakesupminimalspacein a backpack, so you need
never leave home without one.