First Impressions of the 50mm f/20.0 Macro

[erikzen]

For a beginner, the 50mm f/2.0 macro lens is at once both extremely impressive and somewhat disappointing.

The build quality, focus speed, use of available light, and absolute clarity is so much better than the lenses that came with the camera, not that I thought they were bad. Putting this lens on the E-510 takes this camera to another level. The added weight is quite comfortable and makes the camera feel like a well made tool, instead of of a sophisticated toy.

It is also somewhat disappointing, but only becaue of my lack of experience and understanding of how this lens works, and my lack of skill in executing what I do know works. To clarify, I thought I could use this as an all around lens, but I found that it takes a lot more skill to create true macro shots and sometimes 50mm is too close in tight quarters. However, the lens is so good that for portrait shots it's almost impossible to take a bad shot if you can get the lighting right (and it's not very hard with this lens).

This flower looks nice, but if you look closely the focus is a little off. The better the Macro lens the more skill is needed to set up the camera.



I was interviewing my father at the StoryCorp booth and I really couldn't frame the shot the way I wanted becaue the room was fairly small.



You can see the microphone off to the right.

Still, I took it as an opportunity to measure the depth of field, which as you can see is quite impressive.






And it does work well as a portrait lens if you want to really get close to your subject.

[Greg McCary]

The shots look great. I think you will find the 14-54mm a great macro lens. It would be the first lens upgrade I would recommend. I am sure you will be happy with the 50mm. It takes a little getting use to a fixed focal length.

[erikzen]

The shots look great. I think you will find the 14-54mm a great macro lens. It would be the first lens upgrade I would recommend. I am sure you will be happy with the 50mm. It takes a little getting use to a fixed focal length.

Just so it's clear, I am very happy with the 50mm lens. It is an awesome addition to my kit. It's just that the superior optics and design really expose my shortcomings as a photographer. I'm sure I will get better using it, especially with support from the forums.

The funny thing is, I am more comfortable with a fixed focal length lens than a zoom lens, at least I thought I was. When I was taking photos with my 35mm SLR I only had a fixed lens. It was the zoom lens that at first I found took some getting used to. I think I've made something of a turnaround now that zooms are more affordable and of high quality. The 14-54mm is definitely on my short list!