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I have been frustrated trying to take pics of my kids around the house. Any indoor shots for that matter are difficult with my kit lens.  With a maximum aperture (f-stop) of 1:3.4, it’s not that fast, and it usually doesn’t let me stop it down below 4.   I have been considering a faster lens for some time, but never really decided on how or what to get.  Finally I bit the bullet and got a fixed-length 50mm lens that is about as fast as it gets.  Sporting a 1:1.4 aperture ratio, this baby is wide open, and has some good glass inside it.  It should prove to take some very crisp shots, and be interesting for inside pics.

I’ve only done a couple of test shots with it so far, and it’s pretty nice. One interesting note is that with such a wide-open aperture, it closes the depth of field dramatically.  Look at the pic of the Hydrangea flowers I took, and notice that only the center of the flower is in focus… with the edges (farther away) out of focus.  That’s a depth of field of like an inch or two!

I’m so used to a zoom lens, however, that the fixed-length thing might take some getting used to. But I have read a number of professionals recommend it as a great technique builder, forcing you to pay attention to angle composition because you have to frame it all up by moving around.   Regardless, I’m hoping to start producing some better indoor and lower-light shots in the near future.