Shorty Forty

One of the things that every photographer suffers from at some point is gear lust. You want to buy every piece of gear available, more lenses, perhaps a better body, lots of accessories. I am no different. 
 

Underground
Canon EOS Rebel T3i, EF50mm f/1.8, f/1.8, 1/60s, 400ISO, 50mm

My first photography purchase was actually the Nifty Fifty, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens. I used this lens with the company's Canon Rebel T2i, before I had purchased my first body, the Rebel T3i. It was great, I could shoot wide open (aperture at f/1.8) to get that oh so desirable bokeh. It is a cheap lens, I picked it for $109 before tax.
 

Fallen Wood
Canon EOS Rebel T3i, EF50mm f/1.8, f/2.8, 1/250s, 100ISO, 50mm

The Nifty Fifty, and the Shorty Forty, are both prime lenses, meaning that they have a fixed focal length. Prime lenses are great photographers of all skill levels. They usually have faster apertures than a zoom lens, lighter, and cheaper as well. One of the things that a fixed focal length also forces a new photographer to do is think about composition. Zoom lenses allow you to be lazy, all you have to do is zoom in or out from your same vantage point. A prime lens forces you to zoom with your feet. If you want to get more of the scene in the frame, you have to physically walk back, if you want to fill the frame with your subject, you have to get closer. Sometimes, you are not able to physically get closer or further, so you will have to change your framing to compensate, look at the scene in a new way. 
 

From the Hip
Canon EOS Rebel T3i, EF50mm f/1.8, f/1.8, 1/60s, 100ISO, 50mm

I believe on of my best investements was a prime lens. Of course, when I first obtained my Nifty Fifty, I was shooting everything wide open, which at f/1.8, allows more light in, allowing for faster shutter speeds, but will create a shallow depth of field, so the part of the image in focus was minimal. When you move from a kit lens that only opens to f/3.5, you can't help yourself.

When my Rebel T3i was stolen, I had the Nifty Fifty mounted. I was glad that it was the cheap lens, though I was still bummed about the whole camera gear being stolen, I tried to look at the bright side of things and realize it could have been worse. The Rebel was replaced by a Canon 60D, so my primary lens was the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens that was purchased with the now stolen Rebel. After Christmas about 8 months later, I had some gift cards, and decided I wanted a prime lens again.

Having owned the Nifty Fifty, I knew it was cheap, but there were somethings about it I didn't like. It felt cheap, the AF motor was noisy. My budget was low, as I only had a couple gift cards, so the EF 50mm f/1.4 was too expensive as were a few other primes.

Canon had released a pancake lens, called that because of how flat it was, and my interest was piqued.The pancake lens, the Shorty Forty, or EF 40mm f/2.8, was a little wider than the 50mm, but since I shoot on a crop body, I thought that would be fine. Many sites have said that 50mm on a full frame camera is about the equivalent of what your eye sees. On a Canon crop body, the 50mm is about 80mm, while the 40mm is about 64mm.

I ended up purchasing the Shorty Forty. Though the max aperture is f/2.8 as opposed to f/1.8, you end up stopping down the aperture anyways, so that wasn't too big of and issue. Reading reviews, time and time again they discussed how sharp it was for the price, even wide open. I decided to purchase it and am very happy I did.
 

Sunset over Manhattan from Queens
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/1000s, 100ISO, 40mm

One of the things I like most about the Shorty Forty is how small it is. I can leave it mounted to my 60D, and the camera isn't large or cumbersome to carry around when I go out with my family, or even if I just throw it in my bag on the way to work. I found myself wanting to take my camera more places. When shooting for work, I sometimes would just throw the Shorty Forty in my pocket while the camera body will have the wide angle attached, and it allows me to capture some details shots, as the minimum focusing distance is pretty close for a non-macro lens. 

Signs of Spring
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/125s, 160ISO, 40mm

There is one thing that I don't like about the lens. The lens focusing mechanics only work when the camera is on. This means that if you leave the lens protruding, though it doesn't that much, you can't manual focus it back when the camera is off. This also means that the lens can't focus when used with cheap macro extension tubes since those tubes don't have electrical contacts. Other than that though, this lens shines! 

Auburndale Snow
Canon 60D, EF40mm f/2.8, f/8, 1/50s, 640ISO, 40mm

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for their first foray outside of the kit lens their camera came with when purchased. It probably is attached to my camera more than any other lens at this point.