There is lots of misunderstanding about what "normal" means for a focal length. And that there's anything particularly "nifty" about a 50 mm lens on a 35mm film camera or a full-frame digital. Besides, a crop-sensor camera wipes out whatever the reasoning is.
The only thing "normal" about 50mm is that it's the diagonal measurement of the full-frame. 80mm is "normal" for a 2-1/4" square film format. For a 4x5 film camera it's 160mm. For an APS-C crop sensor it is only around 28mm.
Then, the traditional idea is that "normal" means the camera sees the same thing as the human eye. This is simply not true. What you see is a function of eye-brain interpretation. Your eye sees a LOT wider field of view than a 50mm lens on a full-frame, or a 28mm lens on an APS-C camera. But your brain kind-of edits out the extremes, so what you mentally recognize/remember is less than what the eye sees in total. Things on the periphery are ignored/do not make as much of an impression in your mind.
In practice, a 28mm lens gives more like what your eye sees, or at least something in the 24-35 range. A 50mm lens leaves out a whole lot. A 28mm lens makes a better "normal" length if you want your shots to approximate your eye-view.
28 is MY daily normal lens focal length if I want a simple prime lens mounted.
