Set the standard
It’s the focal length that sees the world like you do – and it’s an essential optic to include in your kit bag
While the extreme ends of the focal range might get more attention, standard lengths that sit between 35 and 70mm are an important part of any lens line-up.
One of the most popular standard lenses is the 50mm prime: it provides excellent resolving power and fast maximum apertures. With sensor crop factors to consider, a 30mm or 35mm focal length could effectively be a standard focal length on your camera. A 35mm wide-angle lens becomes a 52.5mm lens on a APS-C Nikon (1.5x) or 56mm on an APS-C Canon (1.6x). A standard zoom with a 28-70mm range is also a useful option with great flexibility, but doesn’t have the fast aperture offered by primes. 1 Fast and cheap
A 50mm prime (or its focal length equivalent for those not shooting with a full-frame camera) is one of the most cost-effective ways of having a fast and versatile lens in your kit bag. It’s possible to buy a 50mm f/1.8 lens new for under £200, although the price starts to climb if you want an even faster prime, so be prepared to raid the piggy bank for an f/1.4 or f/1.2 lens.
There are several reasons why having a very wide maximum aperture is useful. It’s great for capturing creative shallow-focus images with very diffused backgrounds, although you do need to be ultra-careful with focusing, as one tiny error can ruin your shot. And being able to open up to wider apertures in low-light situations means that you can carry on shooting without necessarily needing to push the ISO higher, which runs the risk of image noise spoiling your shot.
A standard lens is one of the most versatile optics you can own. It can be used for everything from landscapes to portraits, with a variety of social shooting such as weddings and concerts benefiting from its low-light capabilities. 2 As the eye sees
A standard focal length gives you a perspective that’s as close to how the human eye sees the world as is optically possible. While a wide-angle lens will often cause some image distortion, and a telephoto will compress scenes, when you use a standard lens, what you see is more or less what is going to get captured on the camera’s sensor.
To check this for yourself, fit a 50mm lens or zoom to a 50mm focal length. While looking through the viewfinder, keep your other eye open. You’ll notice the magnification is about the same in both views. This means that the perspective on the world from a 50mm lens is the same as from the naked eye; that’s why a standard focal length is popular with reportage photographers who want to capture the world as it is.
3 Flattering portraits
A standard lens is a great tool for portrait photography. The fast maximum aperture allows you to blur backgrounds, letting the subject stand out, and the optics within are famous for lack of distortion.
This means a portrait taken on a standard lens can actually be quite flattering, since it’s free of defects – provided you don’t get too close to your subject!
On a full-frame camera it’s ideal for half-length or full length portraits, but don’t shoot tight headshots, or you’ll enlarge the nose and chin. However, with an APS-C format camera the extra length created by the crop factor means that tight headshots without distortion are quite possible. When you take your portrait, the focus must be on the eyes (or the lead eye if the head is angled slightly to one side). The wider your aperture, the more obvious any mistakes with focusing will be, so take your time to get it right.