KitZone

50mm prime lenses are perennially popular optics. Here are our best buys

Standard zooms like a 24-70mm offer great convenience for everyday shooting, but a standard prime lens brings something extra to the table. On a full-frame camera, you get an entirely natural viewing angle that equates to a lifelike perspective; on a cropsensor body, it makes a great short telephoto for portraiture and the like.

Standard primes also typically have a faster aperture rating. Compared with, say, an f/3.5-5.6 standard zoom,an f/1.8 prime is around three f-stops faster. This enables faster shutter speeds for freezing action under dull lighting, and delivers a much tighter depth of field for blurring the background, so you can really isolate the subject.

This class of lens has a fixed focal length, so it lacks the versatility of a zoom lens, but there’s a lot to be said for ‘zooming with your feet’ to attain the optimum shooting position. 50mm is the classic focal length for a standard prime, so let’s check out the best buys.

Matthew Richards

The contenders

7Artisans

50mm f/ 1.05

£450/$486

Feel the need for speed?

Lens mounts See table, page 130

Ultra-fast primes generally equate to big, heavy glass and preposterous prices.This lens from 7Artisans rewrites the rule book: it has an astonishingly fast aperture, but weighs in at just 606g and costs less than some f/1.8 lenses, which are about 1.5 f-stops slower. It’s available in a wide range of mirrorless camera mounts.

There are no built-in electronics, so aperture adjustment is via the onboard, stepless control ring. The focus ring operates with smooth precision, and the build is generally robust.