Guys, last week I spent a whole afternoon pouring over years and years of photos. I was specifically looking for certain photos. I was looking through all the photos I had shot with my 50mm lens and there are a ton. I spent all of last week thinking about what a great lens the 50mm has been, which is what lead to this post and one I'm working on for next week. Get excited guys, because I'm so stoked about these two posts. A lot of great things can be said about the 50mm lens and I'm here to share with you why it's a great buy.

The 50mm lens was one of the first lenses I purchased and at the time it took my photography to a whole new level. It was exciting, challenging and so rewarding. I have been shooting with my 50mm lens for about 5 years now, whew, can you believe it? I sure can't. So what are the 5 reasons to buy a 50mm lens? Let me tell you. ;)

COST EFFECTIVE

Seriously, out of all the lens I have purchased the 50mm was the cheapest and I have probably gotten the most mileage out of it. The cheapest of the 50mm is the f1.8 and at less then $150, you just can't go wrong. It's absolutely perfect for a first lens and it's easy on the wallet. If you're browsing for 50mm lenses you will also run into the f1.4 and the f1.2, these two beauties don't fall in the $150 range, whew. And for good reason, with the f1.4 and the f1.2 you get a crazy amazing low f-stop. But we're talking about the 50mm f1.8 which is still an amazing low f-stop, especially compared to a general kit lens which only has an f-stop of 5.6.

LIGHT WEIGHT

Soooooo so light weight and small. The lightness of the 50mm feels like a came changer to me because it's perfect for on the go and basically for carrying around every where. It's so small and dainty that when it's on your camera you can carry it around in your purse. And yes, I have totally done that. We shoot with a D300s and a D700 which are relatively heavy, so the fact that I can put a light weight and small lens on my cameras is pretty dreamy.

AMAZING QUALITY

There are so many amazing things that can be said about the quality of the 50mm. First let's talk about the amazing *bokeh you can get with the 50mm, which is all do to that f1.8, which is really one of the main factors for how amazing it is. The images below are great examples of bokeh, where the background is beautifully out of focus and dreaming, rendering specific bokeh shapes. The 50mm is also considered a fast lens. What makes the 50 fast is the f1.8, with such a low f-stop you are able to have a faster shutter speed. The 50mm also delivers amazing quality in low light, again due to the f1.8. With such a wide open aperture, you're able to get lots of light in.

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IT'S VERSATILE

The 50mm has great range in regards to what you can capture. The 50mm is amazingly versatile giving you the option to shoot portraits to landscapes, to on the go. Next week, I'll be sharing how exactly versatile the 50mm is and how you can shoot with it 5 different ways. Tune in next week, when I elaborate more on how amazing versatile the 50mm is.

IT WILL CHALLENGE YOU

One thing I love about the 50mm is that it's a fixed lens or a prime lens, which means you can't do any kind of zooming with it. Prime lenses are my favorite because they force you to move to get the angle or photo you want. You can't just take one photo and then zoom in to get a little closer, you have to walk around and see your subject in new ways. The 50mm will challenge you in new ways and will also give you lots of courage to experiment.

READY TO JOIN A THRIVING COMMUNITY OF OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS & SMALL BIZ OWNERS?!

So, what do you think? Are you ready to purchase your own 50mm lens? The 50mm really an amazing lens and I'm sure I will continue to carry one with me on all of our shoots. Now that I think about it, the 50mm is always on one of our cameras and we carry a 35mm on the other.

Are you currently shooting with a 50mm? What are some of your favorite things about it? Are you ready to purchase your own 50mm?

P.S. Don't forget, next week I'm sharing 5 different ways to shoot with a 50mm lens. Also, here's a break down of the current lenses I shoot with.

* Bokeh : The visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens. (google definition)

5 REASONS TO BUY A 50MM LENS