ugh im getting so annoyed trying to pick a prime for my 90D. I keep seeing people rave about the Nifty Fifty but then other sites say on a crop sensor it acts like an 80mm which is way too tight for what I need.
I'm trying to shoot my brother's graduation indoors next month and I'm worried the 50mm will just be his face and nothing else. Then I saw the 24mm pancake lens but some people say the bokeh is weak? My logic was that I need something fast for low light but I'm just stuck and my budget is strictly $300. Is there a middle ground or should I just risk the 50mm?
Re: "Honestly, stop stressing because the answer is staring..." - yeah, listen to that advice because I learned the hard way at my nieces ceremony a few years back. I brought a 50mm thinking it was plenty, but I spent the whole time literally backing into people trying to fit her into the frame. It was a total nightmare. Honestly, be careful with the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM pancake. Its cheap and sharp, but that f/2.8 might struggle if the gym lighting is as dim as I suspect. If you can find a used Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM it might be your sweet spot, tho even used it might push your $300 limit. Just a quick thing... do you know where you are sitting? If youre stuck way in the back, even a wider lens wont save you from a sea of heads.
Honestly, stop stressing because the answer is staring you right in the face! You are totally right about that nifty fifty being too tight for what you need. On your 90D, that Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM acts like an 80mm lens, which is fantastic for tight headshots but a total nightmare for an indoor graduation where you want to actually see some of the stage or the people around you. You need the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM Art for your kit. Seriously, it is an amazing piece of glass and basically lived on my crop bodies for years!! The 30mm focal length on a 1.6x crop sensor gives you about a 48mm equivalent field of view. That is the absolute gold standard for a natural look! It is wide enough to capture the scene but tight enough that you arent getting tons of distortion like you might with the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM pancake. Plus, that f/1.4 aperture is a complete life saver in those dim graduation halls. It creates beautiful, creamy bokeh that the 24mm just cant touch. You can find these used all day for under $300 easily. I love it because it feels solid and the autofocus is snappy enough for those quick moments when he is walking across the stage. Get the Sigma and dont look back, it is a total game changer!
Regarding what #2 said about "Re: "Honestly, stop stressing because the answer is..."
- I feel that frustration in my soul. Honestly its such a scam how these companies treat us crop sensor users. It drives me crazy that we're basically forced to choose between a lens thats too tight or one thats way too slow because the decent middle ground stuff is priced like a luxury item. i remember when you could get solid glass without selling a kidney but unfortunately those days are long gone. It really sucks because:
- the build quality on new affordable lenses feels like literal plastic toys
- prices just keep going up while the actual tech stays exactly the same
- brands have totally abandoned the budget enthusiast who just wants a nice photo i had issues with my last gear purchase and it was just so disappointing to see how much the quality has dipped across the board. it really feels like they dont care about anyone who isnt dropping thousands on a professional setup. trying to find a fast prime for under $300 like the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM or even the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM shouldnt be this stressful but the options are just not as good as expected anymore... basically we're just being squeezed for every cent while they give us the bare minimum.
