Fast Fifties: 5 Beautiful 50mm Primes That Are Niftier Than Most
There are some truly gorgeous 50mm primes on the market.
Thousands of photographers around the globe absolutely love 50mm primes, and for good reasons. These primes are incredibly versatile and great for many photography genres, including street, portraiture, documentary photography, and more. While you can get your hands on relatively inexpensive 50mm primes with decently fast apertures, the ones we’re looking at here today at the pick of the crop. After the break, we’re going to take a quick look at five ultra-fast 50mm primes that will allow you to work magic in low light situations and that will create beautiful bokeh.
Panasonic 50mm f1.4 Lumix S Pro
In our review, we said:
“The Panasonic 50mm f1.4 Lumix S Pro is a truly exceptional lens. It really delivers where it counts with image quality. This lens is not only very sharp but also delivers beautiful bokeh. Portrait photographers will appreciate the colors, as will wedding photographers and photojournalists.”
Chris Gampat – Editor In Chief
Buy now: $2,097.99
Leica Noctilux 50mm F1.2
In our review, we said:
“This lens is dripping with character, from the soft bokeh to the rich tones. That character is about as versatile as Eddie Murphy’s characters in The Nutty Professor. You can shoot wide open for a strong effect or step down to reduce vignetting and add sharpness.”
Hillary Grigonis
Buy now: $7,895
Canon RF 50mm f1.2 L USM
In our review, we said:
“This lens exhibits beautiful bokeh, sharp images, micro-contrast, a medium format look, weather sealing, fast focusing, etc. In many ways, this is perhaps Canon’s most perfect prime lens within a standard workable focal length that they’ve put out in years.”
Chris Gampat – Editor In Chief
Buy now: $2,299
Pro Tip: No matter what lenses you use, you’ll need to keep them clean to get the most out of them. Take your lenses out and inspect them before every shoot and give them the once over. Remove any excess dirt, grease, fingerprints, or dust that you can. This will prolong the life of your lenses and will save you time during post. You don’t need an expensive cleaning kit either? This one has everything you need.
Fujifilm 50mm F1 R WR
In our review, we said:
“Wide-open at f1, you’re going to get some of the best bokeh you’ll ever see on the APS-C platform. It’s a must-have for portrait photographers. Sharpness at f1 is great in the center of the frame, but stop it down a hair, and you’ll get edge-to-edge goodness. Portrait photographers will love the way the lens renders colors too.”
Brett Day – Gear Editor
Buy now: $1,499
Sony 50mm f1.2 G Master
In our review, we said:
“The Sony 50mm f1.2 G Master is a fantastic lens overall, objectively speaking. The autofocus performance is quick and accurate in lots of cases. It will serve street photographers, portrait photographers, and any other professional or passionate photographer well. As we saw, it’s going to also stand up to the elements pretty well. Within the FE lens lineup, it’s the fastest aperture lens. It also has incredibly smooth bokeh, sharp optics, and decent color.”
Chris Gampat – Editor In Chief
Buy now: $1,999.99