# New SLR? Get the 50mm

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/new-slr-get-the-50mm/249272>\
**Category:** Uncategorized\
**Created:** [January 17, 2008, 2:08am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/new-slr-get-the-50mm/249272 "2008-01-17T02:08:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![3d\_Nirvana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/a88e4f/32.png) [@3d\_Nirvana](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/3d_Nirvana)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2008, 2:08am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/new-slr-get-the-50mm/249272/1 "2008-01-17T02:08:55Z")

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Hi everyone. I was looking at some lenses today, and I always saw how people said such and such lens will produce “sharper” images. I thought I’d take a couple test shots and see if i could see the difference. I was amazed. This is the comparison between the Nikon 18-70mm (D70 Kit lens) and the Nikon 50mm, 100% crop. Everything was set to manual, so the aperture (f/4.5), shutter speed (1/160s), light intensity (from strobe), and exposure were all the same for both photos.

[Click Here (Large Image)](http://www.3dnirvana.com/Uploads/lens2.jpg)  
If you look at the strings, text, and emblem thingy in the 50mm shot, you can see its a lot sharper than the 18-70mm (at 50mm). The colors also came out looking a little muted with the 18-70mm, and it came out a tad bit darker every time (with the same settings). Pretty interesting i thought.

[Here’s another comparison shot](http://www.3dnirvana.com/Uploads/lens1.jpg) from a different angle and with different light. This isnt 100% and I messed up a little, the 18-70mm wasnt set at exactly 50mm. But you can still see the difference.

Anyway, moral of the story: the 50mm is a great little lens! The 18-70mm isnt by any means a bad lens, but the 50mm is even better! Another thing i like about it is it’s ability to take pictures in pretty dark environments, due to its significantly lower f/stop capability . Best of all though, the equally sharp f/1.8 version (I use the f/1.4 model) is only $110 on [Adorama](http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/5018daf.htm)! There are many people on here that just bought a new SLR, so i hope this is useful to some of you!