nifty fifty

canon 600d and i want a lense to help take better pictures in low light. Mostly live music band situations, flashing coloured lights ect. Have read about focusing issues in low light. any help would be great. not got lots of £££ the nifty seemed good.

how much is you budget

the 50mm 1.8 sounds like a cheap option

where abouts will you be compared to the band - you may need a wide angle to get all the stage in
or if a distance away and longer lens then 50mm ( 80mm on the 600d )

I am the sound guy so have full access to stage area. Looking for individual shots of the band more than whole stage.

wow - then i would think the 50mm (80mm) would be ideal

what lens do you have now ?

Just the stock lense that came with camera.

any thoughts on the Samyang 35 mm f/1.4, as i video a bit too.

not sure what kit cameras came with the 600d - but you should have a 50mm option - so you could try that setting and see what the focal length is like - also not sure what F stop you have at 50mm maybe F4

so F1.8 will give you a couple of stops better than F4

what ISO have you been using - not sure how good the higher ISOs are on 600D

If you have a lot of shots now - take a look at the focal length you used on the exif

whats the budget ?

sorry never heard of

18/55 is standard lense and yes f4 at 50.

so how did you get on at the top end 50mm with that lens ?
also I believe that is considered a good IQ lens

Have you used the lens at gigs at all

just looked at some pictures and the close ups are around the high 40,s so the fifty looks good. it just i have iso 3200 to get a liight enough pic, and its a hit and miss affair.

soyou will have 2 stops - f1.8 (and little DoF though http://www.dofmaster.c​om/dofjs.html about 10" @ F1.8 around 10ft away )
so ISO = 3200 / 1600 / 800
so 800ISO @F1.8

what shutter speed have you been using

whats the hit and miss - IQ, Noise, blur
or hit and miss - because of the lights changing from lighter to dark ( I have not photographed a band - but have taken a few stage shots at plays - as a member of audience
perhaps a mono pod would help

The 18-55 isn't f4 at 50mm...

Focal length 18mm 24mm 28mm ​35mm 55mm
Max aperture F3.5 F4.0 F4.0 F4.5 F5.6

The 50mm f1.8 will be sharper than the 18-55, especially at comparable apertures. But you are right that the focus of the 50mm 1.8 isn't that great in low light. Having said that, you need more light, so it's a good cheap solution to your problem!

mkfs9 wrote in post #14623885
any thoughts on the Samyang 35 mm f/1.4, as i video a bit too.

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1043327

mkfs9 wrote in post #14623885
any thoughts on the Samyang 35 mm f/1.4, as i video a bit too.

Samyang 35mm 1.4 (aka Bower, Rokinon) is a superb lens, especially for video, especially when you are shooting in low light, especially if you look at the alternatives Buy a de-clicked version.
It doesn't have autofocus, but manual lenses are better for video anyway.

To shoot better video's, you need a follow focus, and a shoulder rig though. Also install Magic Lantern software on your 600D, helps a lot when shooting video.

50mm can be tight sometimes, so 35mm is a better all purpose focal length on a crop sensor.
But do get a 1.8 - it's a bargain.
I had 50mm 1.4, but it had some serious focusing issues, in low light anything below 2-2.8 would be out of focus. What's the point of having a 1.4 lens, if you cant's use it below 2.8???? Also, 1.4 has a very shallow DOF. Not on 35mm though.
I heard 1.8 focuses better, even wide open.

Niffty Fiffty is a great lens