There is something special about it.

Not so very long ago I was incredibly ignorant about photography and cameras and lenses.  I had no idea that there was a difference between DSLR’s other than the price. Some were affordable and the others required a massive bank loan. I knew nothing about crop-sensor cameras and full-frame cameras. I didn’t even know that the starting price for cameras referred to just buying the body and that a lens was an extra.

Lenses……..LOL!!! I didn’t even know what a prime lens was! The only lenses I saw advertised were part of the camera purchase price and they all had varying focal lengths. I thought that was how they came. 18-35mm and 55-200mm or 55-300mm.

I was a thick as two bricks.

I’ve come a long way since then. (Thank bloody Christ)

I remember my excitement at the purchase of my first new lens. A prime lens. The Nikon 50mm f1.8. The 50mm is also referred to, in camera circles, as the Nifty 50. And it truly is a nifty little lens. It’s small, lightweight and a really good starting point as a first prime lens purchase. But the best thing about my Nifty 50 is the clarity of the images it produces.

See, that’s the thing with prime lenses, they have one job to do……….. shoot really well at a fixed focal length. They don’t have to worry about the mechanics of changing from on focal distance to another and being good at every step and every f-stop. Prime lenses only need be concerned with being amazing at their chosen distance and at each f-stop.

Once I bought it, my nifty 50 lived on my first camera. When I upgraded to a full-frame body, the Nifty 50 lived on her until I was able to afford my next lens which was the 24-70mm.

Now I do love my 24-70mm. This lens is the one I used while on holiday in New Zealand. It enabled me to shoot landscapes as easily as portraits and it’s is a really good ‘workhorse’ lens. But I’ve recently had cause to put the 50mm back on my camera and she has brought me a special joy. She takes such a glorious photo!! There is a clarity and crispness to the images that I just can’t see in the shots from the 24-70mm. I just ‘know’ the photos that I have taken with her.

And now I have another prime lens. My Nikon 105mm macro. I haven’t taken many shots with her yet, but the feedback from fellow photographers for the couple I have already shared has been very positive. This new baby is showing the potential that can only be achieved with a prime lens.

My my my………… how far I have come in just a few years.