Pretty much every photographer starts off with a 50mm prime. At least that’s how it was back in the day when film cameras were shipped with a kit lens.
We’re taught that 50mm is close to what the eye sees. Actually, the eye takes in around 17mm, which includes peripheral vision, but in full frame terms the subject in focus is around 43mm (50mm only became the ‘standard normal’ focal length thanks to Barnack). Anyway, 50mm makes for a great compromise on focal length. Enough subject separation for portraits and far enough away to keep your distance from your subject, especially when shooting street.
Being forced to shoot with a 50mm was the best thing that happened to my photography. It taught me the wonders of shooting with a fixed focal length which, once you get used to it, actually makes photography easier. You know where you are with a prime, and your back will thank you for the drop in weight.
But I stopped shooting 50mm when I discovered 28mm. Overnight this became my preferred lens, especially for street photography. 28mm throws you right into the action, forcing you to get close to your subject. I realised that 50mm was creating too much separation between myself and my subject. It made me feel more voyeuristic and less in the moment, so I rarely shot with a 50mm again until I picked up my Leica M3 with the Elmar 50mm 2.8 many years later.
Roll on a decade and I have gone through several cameras, not to mention lenses, and yet here I am, shooting with 50mm once more. And the irony is that, despite using a Sony body, I have mounted on it the very same Canon EF 50mm 1.8 lens, courtesy of the Sigma MC-11 adapter.
The Sigma MC-11 is a well-regarded adapter, allowing full electronic connection between the Canon lens and Sony body, and capturing all EXIF data, including the focal length. If there are any drawbacks it’s that the AF suffers, but only every so slightly, and not something I noticed. There’s a little vignetting when shot wide open but I suspect this is as much to do with the lens itself as the adapter.
I’m not sure why I opted to stick this lens on my camera on our recent trip to Kuala Lumpur. I packed my 35mm and never used it once, and a 28mm that only saw one outing. Sometimes I like to mix things up to keep me motivated.
The difference between a 35mm and a 50mm is significant, changing the subject and the scene I was shooting for. Because of that subject isolation, I felt less inclined to try and fill the lens with an entire scene and concentrate more on a single subject. And even though I felt less connected to my subject, I was rediscovering the benefit of that separation.
Sometimes I don’t feel the urge to get in amongst the action and I realise that I should be packing that 50mm lens more frequently when going out shooting. I feel like I’ve reacquainted myself with an old friend.
