The '50'

After much soul searching I've finally bitten the bullet and bought the Canon 50mm f1.2 Prime lens. At nearly £1300 it wasn't a decision that could be taken lightly and part of me was terrified that it wouldn't live up to my expectations.

I needn't have been worried because from the very first shot on my Canon 5D mk2 the results were spectacular. I Couldn't wait for the baby to wake up so that I could try out some creative portrait shots.

With a huge aperture of 1.2 the lens is amazing in low light. So good in fact that I can shoot at incredibly fast shutter speeds even in dark conditions such as candle-lit churches. This means that I can take photographs, without a flash, right throughout a wedding ceremony and not interrupt the guests.

Another advantage that this large an aperture gives is the shallow depth of field. This really has to be seen to be believed. With the lens fully open the it gives the background of an image that beautiful out of focus bokeh that gives an almost 3d feel to the photograph. Because of this it is ideal for portrait photography and I will be using it in the studio first thing in the morning and simply cannot wait to use it as a wedding photographer in cwmbran when we do our next wedding at the priory in newport.