Why I still love my nifty-fifty

left: Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 USM IS (f/2.8 is the fastest they make zoom lenses till date)

right: Canon 50mm f/1.8 (popularly called the nifty-fifty)

Although I recently got an AWESOME Canon 17-55 f/2.8 constant aperture zoom lens (which allows f/2.8 regardless of how much I zoom in, unlike other typical zooms [eg canon 18-55 f/3.5-5.6]), I still love my 50mm lens. Here's why:

1. Size: See the comparison picture above!

2. Weight: the nifty is just 130g in weight, while the 17-55 weights 645g, which is heavier than my 400D body!(and can get quite tiring if used over long periods of time)

3. Speed(aperture): The nifty can take in more than double the amount of light than the 17-55, when both apertures are set wide open( f/1.8 vs f/2.8), effectively allowing higher shutter speeds to be used with the same ISO thereby reducing motion blur, or alternatively lower ISO to be used with the same shutter speed thereby reducing noise.

4. Price: Primes are cheaper than zooms(especially large aperture zooms). Period!

5. No Zoom!- Zooms tend to make me lazy. The nifty makes me walk around searching for the best vantage point to shoot from.

6. DoF: The shallowness of the depth of field at f/1.8 is enchanting!

The nifty is also more flair resistant and suffers from less chromatic aberrations (like purple fringing at high contrast edges)

I've tested the sharpness of both lenses @ f/2.8 and found them very similar. I surprisingly found the 17-55 slightly sharper, but just by a hair, probably because of the USM accuracy. Both these lenses blow away normal zoom lenses in terms of sharpness.


Depth of field example @ f/1.8

I highly recommend buying the 50mm f/1.8 (or the f/1.4 if you can afford it- 3 times the price of the f/1.8). It should be the 2nd lens you own (the first being the kit lens that comes with your DSLR). I guess the 35mm [f/2(canon) or f/1.8(nikon)] is also great for non full frame DSLRs.

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