Filming & Production
Nifty fifty
Also called: 50mm f1.8, fifty
Canon, Nikon, Sony and the rest all sell one, and it is the cheapest fast lens in the range: 50mm at f/1.8, sharp, light, and a fraction of the price of anything else that opens that wide. The aperture is the appeal. It gathers light in a dim room and throws the background out of focus in a way no kit zoom manages.
One catch decides whether it suits you. On a crop-sensor body it frames like a 75 or 80mm lens, so a talking head shot means standing well back and in a small room you end up against the far wall. On crop, a 35mm gets you the same look with room to breathe.