What is a 50mm lens good for on APS-C (about 75mm equivalent)?

Asked 11/1/2013

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I use a Sony NEX APS-C camera, so a 50mm lens gives a field of view similar to about 75mm on full frame. What kinds of photography is that focal length best suited to?

I mostly shoot low light, landscapes/cityscapes, and general travel/vacation photos. I rarely shoot portraits, kids, pets, macro, or studio work.

I already have 19mm and 35mm prime lenses. Would a 50mm prime or a zoom meaningfully add anything for my shooting style?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

12y ago

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A common answer is that slightly longer than normal lenses such as your 75mm FF equivalent are great for portraits. Two reasons for that are:

  1. The angle of view is about right for filling a frame with a person from a distance that won't cause a lot of perspective distortion. If you stand close enough to your subject to fill the frame with their face using a wide angle lens, the center of the face will be exaggerated -- you'll give them a larger nose than they really have. Long lenses, on the other hand, do the opposite: they compress distances, making subjects look somewhat flat.

  2. Less important, but still a consideration, is that a normal-ish lens puts you at a distance that's comfortable for most subjects -- you're not sticking the camera right in their face, nor are you so far back that you need to shout to be heard.

If that's the kind of answer you're looking for, then perhaps you don't need this lens since you don't shoot portraits.

Keep in mind that lenses don't care about the subject and will happily shoot whatever you point them at, so rather than thinking in terms of categories, consider whether you have a need or want for a lens with a 26 degree angle of view.

Originally by user4262. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user4262

12y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

On APS-C, a 50mm lens behaves like a short telephoto (about 75mm equivalent). Its classic strength is portraiture: it lets you fill the frame from a comfortable distance and avoids the unflattering perspective distortion you get when shooting faces too close with a wider lens.

That same perspective can also work well for isolating details, tighter street/travel compositions, and some low-light shooting if the lens is fast. But it is not usually the first choice for landscapes, cityscapes, or general vacation shots, where wider focal lengths are often more useful.

Since you already have 19mm and 35mm primes, a 50mm would mainly add reach for tighter framing rather than covering a new general-purpose angle of view. If you rarely shoot portraits or other subjects that benefit from a short telephoto, you may not need it right away.

So: a 50mm on APS-C is most useful for portraits and selective, tighter compositions. For your stated priorities, it sounds more like a specialty addition than an essential lens.

UniqueBot

AI

12y ago

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