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Lens Review | 50mm & 24mm

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Hey there! Thanks for stopping in. The first few years of changing lenses, it was challenging for me to know which lens to get for which occasion. Do I need a wide lens, or a zoom? Is this lens okay for inside a building? How much light will this lens actually let in? I have rented a wide variety of lenses from Fort Worth Camera, and I would love to help you find what lens you need for your next shoot!

In this post I am showing you a few comparisons between a Canon 50mm 1.4 lens and a 24mm 1.4. I have left these unedited and not color corrected, so you can see the true frame it will capture.

Lets start with the basics on what you’re looking for when picking out a lens to rent:

If a camera is listed as Canon 50mm 1.4, here is the breakdown of what all those numbers mean!

___mm = the focal distance of the lens. The larger the number, the farther the focal point is. The small the number, the closer the focal distance is. Aka: If you have a smaller number mm, your frame will be wider, and your subject will have to be closer than if you were using a higher number mm, and the subject was farther away.

Example: A telephoto lens has a longer focal length than a standard portrait lens, and therefore captures a more narrow angle of view.

the _._ = the lowest possible aperture of the lens. The aperture determines the amount the lens can open. The smaller the number, the wider the lens can open, the more it will only be focused on one plane and one small area. I will explain more of this later. (diagram below shows you a visual how much the lens is opened for different apertures)

basic-photography-iso-aperture-exposure

For these photo examples, I am going to be keeping my settings the same for every image: Aperture will be 1.4 on every image.

50mm 1.4 & 24mm 1.4 (comparisons)

2020-02-06_0001.jpg

Left 50mm, Right 24mm
Notice the focus on both of the lenses, its about the same. Specifically on the left, the little leaves that are not in focus are not on the exact same plane as the leaves I chose to focus are on. If my aperture was higher, I would have had every part of the plant in focus. 

I sat in the same spot for both images, and notice how much closer the 50mm is, and how much more of the background and foreground you get with the 24mm. If I would have scooted closer with the 24mm to achieve the same frame, I probably would have had even more distortion around the edges. 

2020-02-06_0003.jpg
Top- 50mm, Bottom- 24mm.

Same as above, I sat in once spot for both images and didn’t change anything about how I was shooting.

The top image (50mm) is a little blurry, and I bet it was for both how close I was to the subject + the lower aperture. I feel the 50mm 1.4 doesn’t always focus cleanly when its on a lower aperture. It really is hit or miss.

The bottom image (24mm) looks more in focus and has less distortion around the edges than It did in the image before.

2020-02-06_0004.jpg
Left-24mm, Right-50mm

Yay! Both were in focus, and both have a beautiful clean look. The left image (24mm) has some distortion again on the edges, but overall I actually love both of these. 

The right image (50mm) lost some of its focus around the edges of the subject, which I have noticed also happens some when I am at the lowest aperture possible.

2020-02-06_0005.jpg
Top- 50mm, Bottom- 24mm
First, I want to say that all of these were photographed with auto white balance. The problem with auto is that it will changed based on what It feels the light is outside. In a small fraction of a moment, my intelligent camera saw a light that was more yellow and balanced it by capturing more blue. Notice how the top image is more gray-blue in color than the bottom image. 

Top image, everything looks well balanced in terms of focus and i feel this was a successful focal length for that lens.

Bottom image, theres some distortion around the edges, and you can see more of the full image.

Conclusion:

I honestly think if I photographed at a higher aperture, I wouldn’t have had as many focal issues with the 50mm. However, if you’re looking for that dreamy bokeh look and more focused in one a specific subject, than the lower the aperture the better. I don’t feel like going up to 2.0 would be too much of a change in everything else other than clear focus.

I absolutely love the 24mm for shots of a large room, or a big party. It helps me tell a ‘bigger picture’ kind of story. Its lens distortion can be touched up some in light room with the help of the lens correction tool (chromatic aberrations and enabling lens correction), so if that doesn’t bother you I think its an excellent lens.

Over all, I love both of these lenses and would definitely rent this pair again. ( Link to rent: Fort Worth Camera Rentals ) https://fortworthcamera.com/rental-services

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