Nifty 50 lens for baby's first trip

[littlebittyhouse]

After doing some exhaustive research I still can't decide if I am making the right decsion - I need your help!

I have a Canon DSLR (Rebel) and so far only the kit lens. For our first trip with our little one who will be 16 months old I think I want the 50mm to catch those priceless reactions to the characters, parades and rides.

Is the 50mm the right choice?!

I am not looking to have a ton of the 'iconic' photos - more capturing the magic from his eyes. Will the 50mm do that? I am thinking that the 50mm will be great on rides like Its A Small World and the Tea Cups.

How much work 'on my feet' will I have to do? To get the types of shots I am looking for?

Any assistance would be great!

T minus 16 days!

 

[mom2rtk]

There was a lot of discussion about using a nifty fifty at Disney in this thread.

Everyone has to decide individually which focal length works best. I'm not a big fan of 50mm at Disney because it's so hard to back up without a bunch of people squeezing in between you and your subject. I would think this would be even harder with a 1 year old and characters. They might be a little spooked and need you very close by. But you can't be really close and take photos with a 50mm lens.

If you are doing character meals, I would think you'd have to be sitting at the next table to get your shot with a 50mm lens, unless you only want closeups.

Regardless, it's such a small lightweight lens, I'd probably be tempted to just throw it in and see once you get there.

 

[MedicBill]

I prefer a fast 35mm for shots like you're describing. You'll be packed into tight spaces on the tea cups and IASM and its much easier to lean forward and get closer than it is to get further away from your child on those rides.

I brought 6 lenses with me on my last trip to Disney. After the first day I realized that I could get 90% of what I wanted with the 35mm.

 

[SplashMo]

50 mm was too long the time I tried to do this (My 35mm broke on the trip). The kit lens will work when there is enough light (which is often).

 

[traylorc]

Everyone has to decide individually which focal length works best. I'm not a big fan of 50mm at Disney because it's so hard to back up without a bunch of people squeezing in between you and your subject. I would think this would be even harder with a 1 year old and characters. They might be a little spooked and need you very close by. But you can't be really close and take photos with a 50mm lens.

I concur with mom2rtk...I think there are better focal lengths for taking shots at Disney. I like the suggestion of a 35mm lens...I will definitely bring mine for our impending trip.

 

[MAJPLO]

You will be too close to your little one to get shots like what you are talking about with a 50. Think about how close you would sit next to each other on a ride or for watching a parade and practice with you kit lens. I used a 24-70 on my last trip and shot mostly between 24 and 40 of my kids on rides, with characters, and during parades.

 

[PrincessInOz]

It depends on your budget.

The nifty fifty is a great lens for the price. You'll get nice close-ups of your child. My 17-55 mm lens stopped working on my latest trip and I ended up having to resort to using the 50 mm for the indoor shots. I'm with the others....the 50 mm is a bit tight for Disney.

But if the price is right and you don't have wriggle room with the dollars, then it might suit your needs.

The Sigma 30 mm, f/1.4 is an option if you have a bigger budget; or the Canon 28 mm, f/1.8.

The other alternative is to consider the Canon 40 mm, f/2.8 pancake lens.
It's around the $200 mark and whilst there are other better lenses around; it may provide you with a happy medium. I don't know if there is anyone on these boards that has one of these lenses or even if anyone is using it to shoot at a Disney park. Happy for someone to come along and point out the pitfalls (and stupidity) of suggesting this lens.

 

[Cafeen]

It depends on your budget.

The nifty fifty is a great lens for the price. You'll get nice close-ups of your child. My 17-55 mm lens stopped working on my latest trip and I ended up having to resort to using the 50 mm for the indoor shots. I'm with the others....the 50 mm is a bit tight for Disney.

But if the price is right and you don't have wriggle room with the dollars, then it might suit your needs.

The Sigma 30 mm, f/1.4 is an option if you have a bigger budget; or the Canon 28 mm, f/1.8.

The other alternative is to consider the Canon 40 mm, f/2.0 pancake lens.
It's around the $200 mark and whilst there are other better lenses around; it may provide you with a happy medium. I don't know if there is anyone on these boards that has one of these lenses or even if anyone is using it to shoot at a Disney park. Happy for someone to come along and point out the pitfalls (and stupidity) of suggesting this lens.

Like the others have said, the 50mm f/1.8 is great for the price and does work fairly well at Disney. However, it is a bit tight for several situations, especially those that you describe where you'll be only a few feet away from your little one.

I'll second the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 recommendation above. This lens was my workhorse on the latest trip after I noticed an interior crack in my 18-55. It worked great pretty much everywhere that I used it. I wouldn't have minded a bit extra width in some spots (but less than the 16mm that my UWA ends at), or a bit more reach in others (but less than the 55 that my telephoto zoom starts at), but overall it was a champ.

Since you have the kit lens already (I'm assuming it's the standard 18-55, though the 18-135 would also work for this), you can get a general idea of what 50mm looks like using that lens. Just set it to 50 (I can't remember if there's a mark for it, if not, just go a bit under the 55 mark) and use that to judge how the focal distance works. Minimum focal distance will likely be different, as will exposure settings and depth of field due to the wider aperture, but it'll give you a good idea of how tight it will be.

 

[wiigirl]

I concur with mom2rtk...I think there are better focal lengths for taking shots at Disney. I like the suggestion of a 35mm lens...I will definitely bring mine for our impending trip.

 

[littlebittyhouse]

You guys are so great! $100 is really my budget for renting and/or buying. I am thinking that I will use my kit lens that I am really comfortable with and buy the 50mm to bring with me - seems light and small enough to toss in my bag right?

I should mention that my husband and mom will both be going so there will be lots of help to wrangle the baby and for me to switch my lens heh heh heh

 

[bob100]

You guys are so great! $100 is really my budget for renting and/or buying. I am thinking that I will use my kit lens that I am really comfortable with and buy the 50mm to bring with me - seems light and small enough to toss in my bag right?

I should mention that my husband and mom will both be going so there will be lots of help to wrangle the baby and for me to switch my lens heh heh heh

the 50mm 1.8 is small, light and inexpensive - definitely small enough to toss in the bag