I finally got hold of the new Canon 5D. The camera has been out of stock most of the time since last year. The price of the unit has gone down from its original list price of US$3,299. Now you can get it for almost US$3,000 for the body alone. I did.

The viewfinder is bigger, brighter and it covers 96%. When you put your eye on the viewfinder, it is like seeing the light for the first time. What a relief. Its full-frame capability and 12.8 (just shy away from 13) Mega Pixels mean improved dynamic range (I hope), less noise, smaller Depth Of Field (DOF), bigger print size, as well as no cropping factor. The 50mm lens is 50mm and not 80mm lens. Which is why I went for this camera. I miss the 50mm focal length.

I’m always partial to the 50mm lens. I used this focal length during my university years while covering student’s demonstrations and rallies. I had two cameras then, both Minoltas. One had a 50mm, the other, a 28mm. I always use up the roll on the 50mm, but never the 28mm. Strange really when you come to think that a 28mm would have been a better option when shooting a crowd. I guess I was more comfortable with the 50mm focal length.

My Olympus OM-1n (probably the most intuitive SLR ever made) was always mated with this focal length. Even my Leica M6, though I tried courting the 28mm and 35mm Summicron lens for awhile, still ended up with the 50mm.

This prime lens forces you think in a way. Don’t misconstrue me. I love the convenience of zoom lens, specially the 17-40mm f4L and the 70-200L, and I use them both. But with the 50mm lens, you know where you stand.

And in photography, as well as in life, that matters most. Click.