grain elevator
Member
The 50mm f/1.8 or similar lenses were made and sold in relatively huge numbers. Designers and manufacturers benefitted from more economies of scale with those than just about any other lens.
They were also relatively easy to design, in that the focal length and maximum aperture led to a convenient and easy to manufacture size for the mount and barrel and lens objectives needed, without the need (usually) to employ complexities like retro-focus design.
One of the reasons that they attract less attention is that their field of view is relatively close to normal human perception - when you lift the camera to your eye, the view is such that you hardly notice the lens employed. They tend to render an image quite naturally.
Finally, they provide similar results as the lenses on the fixed lens cameras that many people used before moving to an SLR.
I agree with the other parts, but the "close to human vision" thing is a myth. It may have approximately normal magnification with a typical SLR finder, but the same is true for consumer DSLRs with a lens with narrover aov, because their vf magnification is much lower. Yes, the effect may make their use pleasant. But that they render an image more naturally than a wide angle or longer lens...
I object to that. Human vision doesn't have a fixed angle of view other than the maximum peripheral vision which is close to 180° horizontally. But we can also close in on something small and not notice what's around it.