Lens Wide Open

For the non-photographers amongst you, a 'fast' lens is one which has a large aperture compared to other lenses of similar focal length.

A lens with a large maximum aperture (in this case f/1.8) is a fast lens because it delivers more light to the focal plane, allowing a faster shutter speed and use in low light situations. Fast lenses also produce a shallow depth of field, allowing for background blurring, commonly referred to as Bokeh. Prime lenses such as this 50mm are also a lot sharper than their zoom counterparts.

I am strangely intrigued and attracted to fast lenses, especially those below the f/1.0 mark. Here is one I drool over regularly: Leica Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95 :)

http://us.leica-camera.com/photography/m_system/lenses/5915.html

In moving images, the record for the fastest lens used in film history is a super-fast Zeiss 50mm f/0.70 by the director Stanley Kubrick in Barry Lyndon. Kubrick, a former photographer for Look magazine, wanted to film scenes in an old English castle using only the light of the candles themselves! He managed to source the lenses from NASA, which were used in the Apollo moon landings, or not if you are a conspiracist ;)

Thanks for looking/comments/shares/favs!

Our Daily Challenge (ODC): FAST

112 Pictures in 2012: #82 - Sharp or Spiky