Canon EOS R50 kit lens or RF50mm F1.8 lens or both?

[freak22]

Total beginner here and I want to buy the r50 to use almost exclusively for portraits and family pictures. It seems like the RF 50mm F1.8 lens($170) would be a good choice for that so I’m wondering if I should just get that and the r50 body only($630)? Is the 18-45mm zoom lens included in the kit($750)worth it? I was thinking I could buy it later if I needed to but it seems a lot more expensive to buy individually($300) I would be okay with buying the kit and the 50mm lens now if they’re both useful!

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

One of the first mistakes people fall into is buying multiple lenses with a great deal of focal length overlap.  I did it with my first DSLR.  I had a lens specifically for this, and one of that, etc.  The RF-S 18-45 is going to offer coverage and versatility for wider angles, street and everyday photography.  The RF 50mm is more of a specialty lens due to its fixed focal length.  Its benefit over the zoom is its fast f1.8 aperture.  Since it is intended for full frame, you will get an equivalent FOV of 80mm.  It would work very well as a beginner portrait and headshots lens, with the ability for softer backgrounds and depth of field subject separation.  Not quite the same as full frame but still very good.  The 50mm alone would be a little limiting, but still a great place to start with mirrorless and RF.

[ebiggs1]

IMHO, I would get the 18-45mm zoom with the camera. A zoom is 10 times more useful than any prime. And as you noted the price is right. You are getting nearly 50mm with the zoom any how. A 50mil for portraits may be OK and even good but it will not be that useful for family pictures unless you have a lot of room to work with.