From The Keppler Files: April, 1991

My advice is generally to depend on large-aperture, single focal length lenses indoors and let the zooms run wild where they do best: outdoors. I've never met a photographer who shoots indoors who was sorry that he owned a single focal length 24-, 28, 35-, or 50mm f/2; an 85 mm f/1.8-2 ; or a 100-105 mm f/2.8 lens. Another advantage of the single focal length: less probable distortion than a zoom lens.

So I'd suggest that anyone buying his first good SLR should stay away from the zooms and buy a 50mm lens. Today, 50 mm lenses of f/1.7 or f/1.8 aperture are surprisingly inexpensive. Do you need an f/1.4? I've seldom taken a picture at f/1.4 that couldn't have been done just about as handily at f/1.8. And f/1.4 lenses are usually not as sharp as f/1.8 and f/1.4 lenses are far more expensive.

Comments

[Stratocaster]

Mr. Keppler’s comments are a time machine. This was still an interesting issue in 1991, but with the explosion of digital SLR cameras, the use for a single-focal-length "normal" lens as a primary lens is somewhat antiquated. And what IS a "normal" focal length? Depends on the camera and its associated "lens factor".

P.S. I do own a 50mm f1.8 lens for my film SLR, which I bought with the camera XX years ago. For my DSLR, it makes a nice fast short telephoto.

[Joey]

Well then in that case get a 30mm which is about 50mm on a 1.6x body...

A 50mm lens on a 35mm camera will always be *the* normal lens, to get a normal lens on a crop dSLR just get a lens with an equivalent view of 50mm

[Stratocaster]

I have been shooting long enough to remember (as I'm sure the late Mr. Keppler would) when certain camera manufacturers listed 55mm and 58mm lenses as "normal" (for 35mm film).

DSLRs can range from no conversion factor for the top-end Canons to 2x for the "four-thirds system" cameras from Olympus. There is no one right answer. Most DLSR kits ship with an 18-50mm or thereabouts zoom as standard equipment.