New Lens

Well I've heard from several sources that my first lens purchase should be this 50mm Canon lens.

The best--and most affordable--regular use lens I ever purchased is a 50mm prime lens. (The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens)

from MckMama (Don't judge me! I was reading some of her photography "lessons"!)

And

I would recommend getting a nice 50mm lens as one of your first additional lens purchase. You can get a really fast (1.8 or 2.0) for under $100, and if you want to get really high quality glass you can get a 1.4 for around $350. A 50 is a great lens to have, so I always suggest that as a first purchase

from a conversation with my old roommate about photography, as...he is one, and I'm not. I had asked about lenses, but not specifically the 50mm prime.

So...I decided to take the advice of those in the know, and I ordered the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens. I found it for just under $100, but I'm sure it's out there for a few bucks cheaper. We were just wanting to take advantage of Amazon's free shipping by joining some items. Most of the reviews agreed that you get what you pay for (few lens are going to be <$100) with build quality and auto-focus, but as far as value for the money, it's one of the best "deals" out there. I had considered the faster 1.4 50mm, but...it's 3 times the cost, and I'm hoping to get some sort of zoom lens in the future. So saving $200 to put towards it is helpful. And I wont know how much more I'll want the extra speed until I experience 1.8. So while I thought my first lens purchase would be an anxiety filled journey of indecision (and this one did have some moments of indecision), this was probably as easy a decision as it will ever be (unless I find more $100 lens or unbelievable deals, which...I never find).

The only person to recommend AGAINST the prime 50mm was my brother in law who suggests the 35mm. And I see his point. 50mm with the T1i's outrageous crop factor of 1.6, means I'll be shooting on a virtual 80mm lens (I think that's how it works), which may mean that I'll have trouble getting far enough away to frame the shot. But...again...$100. Hard not to give it a trial run. And I couldn't find any similarly priced 35mm.

So that should be here next week. I'm sure I will not lack in "comparison" pictures, so I suppose they will make their way here.