that would be a flash bracket

 

50 1.8 is a must have starter lens, if you dont want the 1.4 version.

its a good all around lens, a bit tight for portrait use on a cropped sensor like the 40d. you need a bit more room between your subject if you want head torso portraits. but yea, 50mm 1.8 is a good close up portrait lens. because of its slight tight framing on a cropped sensor its not that good for across the table type portraits, for something like that you should look at 35mm. as a walk about lens its pretty good not ideal, imo a 35mm prime would be better suited for cropped cameras as a walk about lens.

I use the 50 1.8, not very much though, only in low light indoor when flash isnt permited(its the only fast lens I own), but find that 50mm which translates to 80mm doesnt leave much flexibility in framing candid and loose compositions if you dont have the leg room and distance.

for $80 however its an incredible value and worth a lot more than $80 for the type of photos the lens produces.

50 1.8 is a very good lens to start with if you want to see what primes are about.

for photographing cars and such, 50mm would not be my first choice of focal length, you'd have to stand pretty far back to get the car in the frame.

 

Yes, the 50 1.8 II is a great lens lens to start off with.

However, in my stupidity, I sold mine to Ro_Ja, lol. TOLDJA I'D REGRET IT, ROBERT!

I'll be getting another one soon.

 

speaking of new lenses, did anyone notice that the 35 f2 is sold out everywhere for quite some time?

rumor has been buzzing around that canon might finally upgrade their archaic 35mm f2 lens (old style no coatings and old version of auto focus) and release a version II.

I hope this is the case. Id rather much have a 35mm prime for a daily walk about/portrait lens than a 50mm.

 

^Same thing happened with Nikon's 35mm 1.8.

 

yea, canon seems to have stopped sending out 35 f2 units at the same time nikon decided to release their new 35mm lens coincidence?

anyhow, heres a video that some may find interesting

kiss kiss kill may like it because it interviews a female photographer and their perspective on the industry

and mike tf1, the video has a sample of a flash bracket, in response to you asking if there was something that can hold a remote flash to the side.

she also comments about the 50 1.4 as her personal favorite lens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmPMgFb7HEw

 

It's all a conspiracy. I've had my camera all of 4 months and I'm already looking to upgrade.

 

i lasted two months before i went from my d60 kit to a d90 with a new lens..

 

to be honest, the ST-E2 is a waste of money as it is IR so you need a direct line of sight or it won't fire your flash.

pick up one of these instead
http://teamspeed.ecrater.com/category.php?cid=397989

much cheaper and RF

 

too late

st e2 has ettl and doesnt need to be in direct line of sight however, the IR bounces all over the place. I did a lot of reading up on this from user reviews and the only time it seems to be a problem is people that hide flashes around the wall or behind trees, or use it in direct sunlight far away like farther than 30 feet. Outdoors the ir bounces off your subject or you point the flash sensor towards the camera if you really want to shoot far away. Even in really bad situations you can just use your hand and bounce the ir to the flash.

aside from that it seems to be a winner, I dont plan to hid flashes behind walls or use it farther than 10 feet from my subject. ettl is a plus too for candids, and not to mention AF assist when mounted on the camera.

ill use this for now and eventually just get pocket wizards when I can no longer find use for the st e2.

 

EVERY photographer should have the 50 1.8 II lens. It is a must have cause it is surely the best bang for the buck.

U get a very sharp lens with great low light capabilities and awesome bokeh. And if ur doing portraits 80mm should be the ideal focal length anyways. 80mm is right when there is no barrel distortion or vice versa.

I promise u will love the lens or u can send it to me free of charge.

I own a 24-105 f4 L lens and a 15mm f2.8 fisheye lens and i actually keep the 50 attached most of the time.

 

what would i know? i only have one and have used it dozens of time...

 

agreed its a good value, not sure 80mm barrel distortion applies to this case however, its still a 50mm lens with a cropped view equivalent to an 80mm on a full frame. its still inherently a 50mm lens physically.

 

but Don, it says Canon on the front and costs 10 times more. So it has to be better than what ur saying would be better. as long as I stay in a certain SHORT range distance and hope the signal bounces all over the place.

 

nah i wasn't saying the 50mm would have the same effect. Just saying that 80mm is the ideal focal length for portraiture.

 

I suppose if theres room to move around.

I know the 50mm however is very popular in photography world, but they use full frames. I dont really see many raving about the 85mm primes. However on a cropped sensor a 50 mm would be equivalent to roughly the 35mm prime.

Just my opinion, I do find the 35mm focal length much more ideal for walk about and portraiture. again this is my opinion.

but the 70 200 2.8 seems to be a popular lens also for portrait photographers.
Id say 70mm on a full frame would be great also. 70 mm on a cropped sensor way too tight.

 

um actually the 85mm prime is a darn good lens that a LOT of photographers have. Go to www.fredmiranda.com have a look around.

 

I dont doubt that there are people that like it, its one thing to read reviews written only about a particular lens by its users, but its different when you ask a photographer what their favorite lens is.

on fred miranda, you'll find focal lengths of all types with positive reviews, simply because its a review of that one focal length used for a purpose by an individual based on sharpness, color, contrast.

however it's different scenario with you ask which is your fav out of all of them.
50mm and 70-200 come up quite often.

 

yeah ur prolly right. Just forget ALL of the photographers on fred miranda that use the lens ALL the time and love the lens and the ones that sell them that say they hate to even get rid of it but just need the money.

 

is it their favorite lens? I can see uses where 85mm would come in handy, I just think 50mm would be more useful as a standard lens.

didnt mean to upset you.
Please dont take it offensively

cheers