Going to an outdoor festival with 18-135IS. Should I get a nifty-fifty as well?

Family is going to the Maine Lobster Festival tomorrow. Forecast is partly cloudy.
Taking the T3i with 18-135 IS with me to do a lot of shooting. (I think my daughter will be hogging the camera, though). Will give the T3i's video legs some workout too. My kids are already laying out the script to document the trip using the Video Snapshot

For those unfamiliar, the ME Lobster Festival is held on a harbor overlooking a bay. Good sites for good photos. The town also has lots of historic sites {though not sure if we can visit lots of them}. Bands will be playing as well into the night. So there would be lots of photo ops.

I've only had the T3i for a few days so am still practicing. Don't have a nifty-fifty yet but really considering it since I shoot most of the video part of the T3i. Will it do me good to get one now and use it for the festival? I think the 18-135 is a great walkaround lens but when I see those shots taken with the nifty-fifty, I'm itching to get it tonight.

If we end up staying late and watch the bands play, the only lights available will be the stage lights. Wonder if the 50mm will work better?

*** I was given the advice to get the nifty-fifty and am planning to but not this soon. However if it will serve me well tomorrow, might as well get it now ***

You will be taking shots at night so go ahead and get yourself the nifty-fifty for those night shots. You will not regret it

get it now, you're going to kick yourself for not having those stops of light IMO. There's a good chance this event will be busy, so the more shallow DoF of the 50 1.8 will also serve you well in this situation

Thanks both. That's it, I'm convinced! I'm gonna get it later. Locally it's $110 new, guess not bad of a deal.

you won't regret it! such a sharp lil lens

francis_a wrote in post #14804734
Thanks both. That's it, I'm convinced! I'm gonna get it later. Locally it's $110 new, guess not bad of a deal.

$110 is a great deal brand new at a local retailer. I paid $120 on Amazon

francis_a wrote in post #14804734
Thanks both. That's it, I'm convinced! I'm gonna get it later. Locally it's $110 new, guess not bad of a deal.

plenty available here for a lot less!

Ya watt100. Saw the great deals here but I need it tomorrow.

I got one. And oh my oh my oh my!!! This thing is amazing! Unbelievable. Even the videos look amazing. The bokeh produced by this lens is just mesmerizing. My daughter's model, our dog , looks even much better with this lens.

Can't wait to use it tomorrow. I got a feeling that the nifty-fifty will have a lot of use tomorrow.

With my 1.7 lens I still have found some low light situations to be too dark for handheld shutter speeds when using ISO 100, so don't be afraid to bump up the ISO to have a faster shutter.

I remember the first time I shot with my 50mm 1.7 compared to my 4.0 Zoom, I had the same grin you did

By all means follow Maverick's advice and bump up that ISO to 400, 800 or even 1600 at nighttime if you want to avoid blurry shots.

francis_a wrote in post #14807673
Ya watt100. Saw the great deals here but I need it tomorrow.

I got one. And oh my oh my oh my!!! This thing is amazing! Unbelievable. Even the videos look amazing. The bokeh produced by this lens is just mesmerizing. My daughter's model, our dog , looks even much better with this lens.

Can't wait to use it tomorrow. I got a feeling that the nifty-fifty will have a lot of use tomorrow.

OK, tomorrow is today. it's game on.
remember, at night and low light you're still gonna want the flash