Well, the f1.8 is ~$80, the f1.4 is ~$300, and the f1.2 is like $1500. Given you're just starting out, go with the $80 50 f1.8..
The 50 f1.4 has nicer build quality and better focusing, but quality wise I've never really liked it at f1.4. Not worth it in my opinion, although I'm sure others will disagree..
But in any case, since you're just starting out, the 50 f1.8 is a great lens and will give you all the image quality and smooth background blur (bokeh) you need...
Out of those three, get the 50mm f1.8.
Best bang for your buck by a mile, and even very experienced photographers will use this lens - it is not just for beginners..
For your extra money the f1.4 you will get only marginally better background blur. The f1.2 is a specialist lens with a price to match..
Before you go out and get this lens, do question your friends recommendation..
Is this your only lens? On your camera it will effectively be a 80mm in terms of field of view (not 50mm) - a short telephoto lens that is great for portraits of one or two people, but not wide enough for landscapes, wide scenes, catching groups of three or more people, and a bit tight for indoors unless you have room to step back. It is a bit limited if this is your only lens..
Better options if it is your only lens....
A 35mm f2 is much more versatile for general use..
A zoom lens is even more versatile..
Some photographers are snobs about zooms because years ago the quality was rubbish. But these days the quality is very good and often it is impossible to identify a picture taking by a zoom lens and a fixed lens. If your into casual/general photography I would always recommend getting a zoom lens as your first lens..
For your canon the 18-55 kit lens is the best first lens you can get for the money...
Thanks for the great info!.
Will the 18-55 kit lens give me that blur effect? I am fixing to go to the beach to take pics of my kids and would love the blurred background. I have no idea how to make it blurred? Can any one tell me? I guess I thought the 50mm would give me that blurred effect..
Thank you!..
You need a new friend..
That's a terrible suggestion, assuming that is the only lens this friend said you should have..
Blurred backgrounds are a function of shooting at wide apertures..
The concept is related to depth of field. The smaller the apperture (f11 and f16 are small apertures) the greater the depth of field, and the larger/wider/bigger the apertur (f2.8, f3.5 are wide apertures) the less/shallower the depth of field..
The great the distance between what you fiocus on and the background, the blurrier the background will be..
Kid sharp, background five feet is vastly different than kid sharp, background 100 feet..
If you are new to photography, you7'd be better off worrying about a lot of other things instead of blurry backgrounds..
How rich are you? The lower the number, the blurrier the background and the more expensive the lens is..
In really bright beach light, you can't shoot wide open anyway without adding filters to the lens to reduce the light, but these make it hard to see the subject so you know when to take the shot..
A 50mm lens is a telephoto lens, designed to get small amounts of content into the shot, or let you stand further back. Both are specialized applications..
Your friend may not understand focal lengths on digital single lens reflex cameras. On a 35mm film camera, the friend's suggestion is pretty good..
BAK..
Wow...I have so much to learn! I am so confused. I really appreciate every one tying to help me. I guess I am just going to have to do lots of reading. I thought that I could learn how to shoot the blurry backgrounds before I went to the beach...does not look like that is going to happen. THANK YOU!..
Well I wouldn't say that's a *terrible* suggestion. I think a 50 f1.8 would be the second recomendation for every new user, right after a standard zoom..
If you want that smooth background blur, a 50 f1.8 is the cheapest way to get it..
Getting a standard zoom like the 18-55 is definitely a lot more versatile. However, if you look at the aperture (f3.5-5.6), it's too small (f-number too big) to really give you what you're looking for..
If you have the budget, I'd pick up the 18-55 (~$100) and the 50 f1.8 (~$80) for your first two lenses..
If you have an even larger budget, I might look at the Sigma or Tamron 18-200 lenses (~$200?) and then also the 50 f1.8 (~$80). The 18-200 lenses are far more versatile (you get a 200mm, which is a telephoto (high "X" zoom), and quality wise they're on par with the 18-55...
If you are a beginner I'd suggest sticking with the kit ( 18-55 ) lens. Bought with the camera it's dirt cheap and it is a very versatile lens. I use a very similar kit lens on my K100D and am happy with it's results..
Yes, you can get fine blurred backgrounds with the 18-55..
It's a matter of technique. A prime or wide aperture lens ( aperture 2.8 say ) would be a little better, but not really much better. Prime are not really for blurring the background. Note you can also increase the background blur in post processing, although I personally thing it's worth the effort usually..
Prime lenses are really nice if, and only if, you want ultra sharp images. But the kit lenses produce fine images, and are, for a beginner, perfect. You could not tell the difference until you gain experience. In addition the kit lens lets you shot wide angle ( 28 mm equiv ) which the 50mm prime will NOT ). Starting off that's a pointless restriction..
And get a book ( I usually suggest Daniel Lezano's Photography Bible as a nice general intro to photography and technique which is not over deep, but not trivial either )..
Experiment, learn, have fun and don't worry about other lenses for a while..
StephenG.
Pentax K100DFuji S5200Fuji E900PCLinuxOS..
A couple of people have said how to get the blurry backround but I'm sure it went right over your head.You should get the.
~18-55mm f/3.5-4.5 Kit lens (this will give you wideangle so more stuff can fit in the picture).
~50mm f/1.8 ( this lens will give you great background blur).
How you achieve the backround blur is simple. Aperture is what gives you the background blur, apertures have numbers to show you how big or small the circle in the lens gets(larger circle=more blur, smaller circle=less blur), The larger the aperture meaning the lower the f/ number 1.2,1.8,2.8etc. results in more background blur. The smaller the aperture meaning the higher f/ number 8,16,22etc. results in more of everything in focus. hope this helps.
Raynes.
What came first, the chicken or the egg?..
Sjgcit wrote:.
Yes, you can get fine blurred backgrounds with the 18-55..
Prime lenses are really nice if, and only if, you want ultra sharpimages. But the kit lenses produce fine images, and are, for abeginner, perfect. You could not tell the difference until you gainexperience. In addition the kit lens lets you shot wide angle ( 28mm equiv ) which the 50mm prime will NOT ). Starting off that's apointless restriction..
These days, many zooms are just as sharp as primes. The real purpose of primes is for large aperture lenses. Most zooms are something like f4-5.6, and even the best are only f2.8. Many primes are at f2, f1.8, f1.4, which is signifcantly larger..
Here is an example of what the 50 f1.8 can do for background blur at f1.8:.
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The kit lens, however, is only f5.6 at the 50mm end, and you get significantly less background blur:.
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They're two very different lenses. The 18-55 is much more practical, since it's a zoom and covers more range. It's impossible, however, for it to produce the same background blur that the 50 f1.8 (or other large aperture primes) can...
Thanks Raynes for answering it on my level. LOL!.
I really appreciate every ones help. I will definately take everything every one has said in to consideration. I know nothing about photography and appreciate any help I am given. The Canon Rebel xti I bought does come with the 18-55 kit. We are going to the beach in a couple of weeks and I would like to take some blurred shot of my girls. From what I have gathered I need to stick with the kit lens if I want to photo more than 2 people.
THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU!..
Basically the more you open your aperture (1.8 is the max opening on 50mm 1.8, 3.5 is the max on the kit lens at 18mm, 5.6 at 55mm end - bigger number means less open!), the more shallow your depth of field will be - the range at which things are in focus will decrease..
This is what causes the blurring - face is in focus, but only few centimeters more and lenses go out of focus. There is a formulat that works with aperture, focal lenght and the distance from your object... the closer you are and wider aperture you use, the more shallow depth of field will be and you'll get more blurring...
To illustrate (shot handheld in a hurry so sorry about quality )Kit lens, 18mm, aperture f/3.5.
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18mm, aperture f/9.
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I hope that you can see that on f/3.5 the background is slightly more blurry. The closer to the object you are the more blurry it will be....