34 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
canoneosskills
Forget zooms, get the speed and quality
of a prime lens to improve your shots
ixed focal-length lenses (primes) may seem a bit
like dinosaurs in these days of image-stabilized
zoom lenses and the high-ISO capabilities of the
latest Canon DSLRs, but they still have a place in
your camera bag. The prices of extremely fast wide-angle
and telephoto optics are verging on lottery-win territory,
but there are more reasonable options around such as the
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM (below) for under £120.F
Prime lenses
Nifty fifty prime lenses
50mm prime lenses have
always been popular on full-frame
cameras as the focal length gives
a natural perspective and is ideal
for a variety of shooting scenarios.
With the 1.6x crop factor of
Canon’s APS-C format DSLRs, a
50mm lens has an ‘effective’ focal
length as using an 80mm lens on
a full-frame body. This can be
great for portraiture shots.Canon Ambassador and wedding
photographer Félicia Sisco took this
portrait on a Canon EOS R with a
Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens
at 1/1600 sec, f/2 and ISO1250Which prime?
Your choice of prime lens will
have a big impact on your
image. A 50mm lens captures
a more ‘natural’ angle of view.
While a telephoto 100mm lens
gets you closer for a more
intimate viewpoint, and also
captures a much tighter
depth of field. By focusing
closely on the subject’s
face, foreground and
background details
drop well out of focus.