Classic 50mm “Normal” Lens

Title should be "The Forgotten Lens" though as a fan of the 50mm just "The" Lens works for me :)

The 50mm f/1.8 Z lens for Nikon is really magical, I love any chance to use it.

These aren't dead! You can still find a variety of fast 50mm lenses, from a cheap f/1.8 for like $150 (which is still way better than most kit lenses) to a very nice f/1.4 upgrade at like $400 all the way to absurdly expensive ones.

https://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/comparisons/premium-50mm-le...

Their primary advantages:

* Amazing "bokeh" -- the quality and look of the background blur that modern phones mostly try to emulate using computational photography and maybe lidar depth sensing; but the blur effect is simulated in software vs being an actual artifact of the lens construction and aperture

* Incredibly fast, good for dimly-lit conditions or action photography

* Fine-grained control over depth of field makes the subject stand out beautifully

* Teaches you to move your body and camera around to find the perfect framing, instead of standing still in one place and using the zoom. This can often make for more interesting compositions and angles.

* Usually much lighter, especially if you go with an APS-C sized sensor in a mirrorless

Negatives:

* No zoom means you have to be able to get close to the subject. Hard to do with wildlife, some sports, etc.

* One more lens to carry around

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The 50mm is so much fun to shoot. Get one!

If I had only one lens, it would be a 50mm prime. I have 3, mind you, a 35mm, 50mm and 90mm, but 99% of the time, I only attach the 50mm to the camera; zero regrets.

50mm was pretty much the only lens I used for ages when I was shooting film. I had an old Pentax KX SLR (like the K1000 but with a few more bells & whistles), and a regular f/1.7 50mm manual focus lens -- and I loved it. Shot rolls and rolls of film.

I highly recommend shooting old-school like this, as practice. After a while, you stop needing to meter, even, because you understand the light conditions and can pre-emptively configure the camera to do exactly what you want. Then, focus and shoot.

The other thing shooting on film taught me is that one perfect photo is better than 100 bad ones. I find that digital photography natives tend to rely on burst features in an attempt to capture the right moment. But in my experience, especially with portraiture, waiting and then grabbing the precise moment can produce better results.

It's basically everyone's first lens for the bokeh craze, and then you just keep hunting for even creamier bokeh, until you're broke and wondering where all your money went.