[Jeffbridge]

Here are top five reasons why you need to have a 50mm in your camera bag.

http://www.photographytalk.com/photograp...50mm-prime

[MrB]

It seems likely that the majority of DSLR users will have an APS-C sensor camera, so an important sentence in the article is, "If you have an APS-C DSLR then of course you need the 35mm prime to get the same angle of view." - although the 50mm lens can also be good to use.

A lens of focal length near 35mm is the "standard" lens for an APS-C DSLR, (25mm for micro 4/3), so-called because it gives a standard view of the scene being photographed. i.e. When an image is viewed from an appropriate distance (e.g. about 50cm away from a typical full-screen laptop image), the part of the scene displayed in the photo will appear very similar to the way it looks when the same scene is viewed directly by the eyes.

It is enjoyable to use prime lenses, and I often take with me only the camera and one lens. My most commonly used prime lenses are the 28, 35 and 40 - all being close to the "standard" focal length for an APS-C camera. As the article states, it does make you concentrate on your position and composition but, of course, it is also important to be aware of how far it is safe to move in each direction while looking through the viewfinder!

Cheers.
Philip