23.4.2012

As a keen photography enthusiast i have decided to take a plunge and upgrade my old Sony a200 system (that i couldn't get on with) to a canon 7d - the first mistake i have made was buying expensive body and not having the funds to buy a decent lens. I love photographing people so i thouht a prime lens will be the best choice for me (this is a fixed focal lens ) 50mm lens can basically mimic the perspective seen by the human eye . i felt that this will be the best choice .Also prime lens made me more creative , as i hadn't had the opportunity to just zoom in if i wanted to.I had to move around and try viewing subject from different angles.when the lens arrived i was surprised by the toy feel - its all made of plastic (besides optics)- it felt cheap like it will brake any minute ,there iwasnt any pouch with this lens .just an instruction manual .The lens is very light ( 130g ) and small (2.7" x 1.6"/68.2mm x 41.0mm - WxL ) - it is also a canon smallest lens on the market . before i have decided to review it i thought i will use it for a bit (i have used it for over a year ) .I was a bit doubtful if constant lens change could affect plastic lens mount in any way - but it didn't .On the lens itself there is only one switch AF/MF (Auto focus and manual focus ). Autofocus is driven by a micro motor - that is pretty fast. With a minimum focus distance of 1.5' lens can deliver some good images.My first test shots look terrible , the lens flare that was on the images looked pretty bad and affected the overall quality . Lens flare is created when forming light enters the lens and subsequently hits the camera's digital sensor. I have decided then to buy lens hood and filter (to reduce glare) and try again. i would strongly recommend buying lens hood (ES-62 ) that includes the Hood adapter that threads onto the lens - the hood then attaches to the adapter by pinching two latchesWith everything in place i decided to do a few test shots again on few different light situations and f settings (aperture size are often referred as a f settings .The aperture size determines the depth of field, or zone of sharp focus, that surrounds your subject the smaller the f i.e. f/1.8 - the shallower the depth of field is ). i love the way my images came out - sharp where i wanted them to be , and colours where fantastic .focus worked well on a 4 year old who run around the park like a tornado and because lens is very light i was able to take some decent shots handheld , without the discomfort, or a lense shake..The strongest quality of this lens is sharpness - it produces fantastic pictures , i can honestly say that its sharpest at f/2.8 and beyond on f1.8 it performs also good but not as sharp if the camera is hand held .All depends what you want to shoot . i tend to shot people at f/5.6 (but this depends how much of the subject i want to stay sharp) and landscape at f/8 - as i find this my safe zone , and i know images will come out decent.Autofocus is pretty fast when shooting moving objects ,it focuses quickly witch is handy when shooting kids (that just don't sit still ... ) or fast moving objects .Lens its very good in limited light conditions ( in the house ) - but only if you shooting on wider aperture (smaller f number) .- most of portraits are shot in low light condition and all of them are shot using this lensanother good factor was the lens size and weight -it is very easy to carry around , despite being plastic it is also very robust ,and it can take some serious banging. Just imagine me trying to strap screaming 4 year old into a booster seat with camera still hanging on my neck - it usually bash straight into car paintwork (that did chip)I have grown to love this lens in fact this is the lens and i use in 98% of my images as the lens is very portable and light , so its easier to take hand-held shots without minimal camera shake.most of the new dlsr's on the market come with a standard kit lens either 18-55 or 17-85 . so if you are looking for a nice addition to your camera i can highly recommend buying this lens despite it plastic look , its a very nifty lens with fantastic price tag. , and as i mentioned earlier i would recommend purchasing lens hood and possibly a UV filter ."please bare in mind that im Polish - and English is not my strongest point but i try my best to give as honest review based on my own experience , and i know my grammar is terrible . "

2.3.2017

Having owned one for over four years I can honestly say this lens is a must if you own a Canon DSLR. It will bring a whole new meaning to your photography and produce some real 'wow factor' photographs that will amaze both yourself and other people. It now stays for the majority of time on my camera body and has delivered some amazing results.Advantages :+ Wide 1.8 aperture means good operations in low light+ Delivers a nice bokeh despite only having a five blade aperture ring.+ Lightweight means it can be carried all day with no strain.+ Inexpensive.Disadvantages :- Loud motor noise can be annoying at times.- Chromatic aberration is clearly evident at f/1.8 coupled with sometimes a soft imageat this aperture.- Plastic mount and body is a basic build quality compared to others - don’t drop it.- Poor manual focus ring in awkward position - stick to AF.Missing focus is another issue but it only happens occasionally.These disadvantages do not outweigh the advantages though. Chromatic aberration can be corrected in post production, motor noise is actually not much worse than some USM motor lenses from Canon and the plastic mount and body, although basic, is partially responsible for the superb light weight of the lens. The vast majority of shots are in focus.Paying (much) more for a f/1.4 or even a f/1.2 version of this lens will not improve the chromatic aberration as well as is proven in many online reviews and the f/1.2 may even focus slower because of the amount of heavy glass in the lens. In fact, some people claim that this lens is sharper than the incredibly expensive f/1.2 because of it’s simple internal construction which apparently is an advantage over these super L lenses. What you pay for with the f/1.2 is the incredible buttery cream bokeh which is much discussed in photographic circles.Stop down to f/2.5 to reduce the chromatic aberration and bring out the clarity in the centre, by the time you hit f/4.0 the lens is razor sharp as you would expect from a prime lens.The lens delivers some punchy yet dreamy shots which draw you into the subject with ease. Despite the low cost of the lens, it appears to produce a sublime effect on many of your photos. It’s also a very good walk around lens as I have discovered and produces some nice results for street and event photography. If you don’t need a zoom then this is one to seriously consider having on your camera body on the day. Of course with 50mm focal length you cannot easily get group indoor shots, and you’ll win no friends with a noisy AF motor in a very quiet place, but despite all this don’t let it put you off buying it.I personally like the lightweight feel, it makes it super easy to carry around unlike my Sigma 18-250 which is much heavier by comparison. Buy the Canon lens hood as well, it helps cut out lens flare which can be quite nasty on some photos without it. It’s results are the best bit, your photos will have that professional look and feel like it’s been done by a pro and the creativity in your photos will increase massively. It’s easily your cheapest and best option to make shots like a point and shoot camera can’t - otherwise what was the point in buying yourself a DSLR? You will find it a massive boost to your photography and at this price tag there is no point in putting it off any longer.P.S. There is a newer version of this lens which apparently is very good also and has an improvement of many of the features of this version.

28.1.2015

This is a canny little lens and I purchased it on the basis that I wanted to take some photographs of food; seriously! I didn't want a macro lens, just something where I could photograph food with very little depth of field, against a blank (or foil) backdrop and the f1.8 suited me nicely to ensure that I had a nice soft bokeh effect and the background would be slightly out of focus/"milky". Obviously the f1.4 or f1.2 would have been better, but the price premium to photograph shepherd's pie or bacon and eggs in a kitchen wasn't worth it to me. I had tried to use my trusted 40 mm prime and my 18-55 kit lens, but neither gave me what I wanted, particularly due to the smaller maximum aperture on both of them and the increased depth of field.I just wanted that bit more and for less than £75, it was worth the gamble - and it paid off and I have the images which I wanted for a marketing project for a little more cost than the meal would cost for 2. I have used it indoor and outdoor, in natural and with studio lighting and just simply love it.So why 5 stars? Lot's of things actually! It is compact and whilst I regularly carry my 40mm for shots outside, this lens is rapidly becoming the alternative for when I want just a little bit more focal length and with my APS-C body has a circa 75-80mm lens when compared to full frame. Basically, it is hard to beat a prime lens, even a cheap prime lens with a zoom, whatever the quality there has to be some compromise to accommodate the flexibility of the optic array. It is also useful to have that extra stop of light for winter days when it compares well with my 40mm in terms of ability to focus and take shots in low light.I believe that it would be good for portrait work, but so far I haven't tried it, but I anticipate that it would be very similar to the 85mm I used to use for the same with my 35mm camera some time ago.ConstructionIt is all plastic, other than the lens elements, but to be honest, I needed this item to supplement my range of lenses for a specific task which was unlikely to generate any income and if necessary, I could just dispose of it. So far it fits snugly and I would suggest that it will last as long as the Canon 550d it is used with.OperationWell it is very smooth, focusses very quickly either in manual or autofocus and the images produced are crisp and very sharp. I would say though that with the same optics as it's considerably more expensive stable mates, I am not surprised. It really is great for the price and small enough to pop into a pocket when you are wandering around with a multi purpose zoom such as 50-250 or similar if you need a quality image or light is low. I tend to pop both this and the 40 mm in my pocket even when using my 150-600 zoom out of doors, just in case the opportunity arises for a landscape or similar; being compact and light, they take no space at all.ImagesI have said already that the pictures are crisp and sharp. There is much written here already about how good it is and the excellent reviewers have gone through the technical stuff.In summaryPro'sLightCompactCheapConstruction (it's plastic but so what)Fantastic imagesCon'sConstruction (it's plastic but so what - I realise that I have repeated myself - it doesn't matter and I am confident that it will outlast me)I always use good quality UV filters to protect the outer lens element and that cost almost half of the cost of the lens.

1.7.2014

This is by far Canon's cheapest, flimsiest feeling/looking lens, and one of their oldest models still in production. It looks and feels thoroughly unimpressive. Canon have cut a lot of corners to make it this cheap - very thin, loose-feeling focus ring, entirely plastic construction including the mount, noisy and quite slow old-style focussing motor, no image stabilisation, 5 bladed aperture. It's Canon's equivalent of the "value" supermarket own-brand cheap groceries. You'd have to be desperate - or very poor - to buy one.And yet, there is a reason why it's remained available and popular for so long and it isn't the price, though that certainly helps.And that reason is the combination of fast maximum aperture and remarkable image quality for the money, or indeed for quite a bit more money - if it looked and felt a bit more solid and had a 7- or 8-bladed aperture they could easily sell it for 2 or 3 times as much. It should almost be a compulsory first prime lens purchase for anyone starting out SLR photography with a Canon body. Its IQ leaves the old (pre-STM) 18-55mm kit lens way behind.Regarding the flimsiness, mine rolled off a ledge and dropped about 3 feet onto concrete while I looked on in horror. The mount came off but easily clicked back in and nothing seemed to be actually broken so I took a shot and, astonishingly, it came out fine. Perhaps it survived due to its ridiculously low weight (less than 5 ounces!) and perhaps I was very lucky (certainly very stupid to put it on a ledge on its side ...) but either way, a couple of years later it still works and the elements inside clearly haven't been displaced at all because the image quality is as good as ever.The unavoidable downsides of this lens are as follows:- Autofocus struggles a bit in low light (mine may actually be a bit worse as a result of its accident but if so that's the only obvious harm it suffered)- The focus ring (but not the front element) revolves during autofocus, so you must be careful not to turn it when set to autofocus for fear of damaging the motor, and always turn autofocus off before removing it from the camera. For manual focus, the loose feeling of the focus ring doesn't inspire confidence and it's not exactly the most precision instrument but it's perfectly possible to get good manual focus.- The five bladed aperture can leave you with bokeh full of little pentagons in high contrast conditions with a lot of small points of light. This is arguably its least attractive feature.- It's pretty soft wide open - but then most lenses are and if you stop down to f2.8 it's very sharp and you're still getting far more light through it than you would with a kit lens that doesn't even go to f2.8.If you're on a tight budget and considering venturing into the world of prime lenses, this versatile little lens with its surprisingly excellent glass is a fine place to start.PS: since I wrote this review, Canon have issued the Canon EF 50 mm 1.8 STM Lens, which improves considerably on several of this lens's weak points and has even better image quality for very little extra money (and now that Canon have stopped making it, remaining new copies are going up in price) making it a 5 star item and this lens redundant unless you particularly dislike the by-wire focussing motor.

5.5.2013

Back in the days of yore when photographers loaded bits of celluloid with light sensitive coating into their cameras I longed for a quality SLR with a fast prime lens but never got round to buying one - a Pentax Spotmatic would have been great or a Nikon E. But now we fit memory cards into our cameras I have finally got a mid range dSLR with a huge name behind it (well in front of it if you want to be pedantic, but you know what I mean) and the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 is exactly the lens I lusted after all those years ago. The lens can be had brand new for around £75-80 and for a lens of its performance that's peanuts. Yes, it has a light plastic mount but that shouldn't be a problem if you treat it with the respect due to a delicate piece of optical equipment,but that in turn means the lens is a lightweight when it comes to hauling it around.In performance terms, though, lightweight is a word I would definitely NOT use for it. It is a direct descendant of the Canon f1.8 prime lens dating back to the 1970s and its optical construction of 6 elements in 5 groups is tried and tested. It will focus down to 18 inches and rather than the f16 minimum aperture common with competitors' products this has a full stop more at f22.At maximum aperture its edge definition is slightly soft but once stopped down to about f4 it is pin sharp with fantastic colour rendition. The depth of field at f1.8 is just a few inches, and that is perfect for portraiture with the subject's face in perfect focus and everything else goes to a creamy blur. With the zoom lenses often supplied with dSLRs it's a balancing act between zoom range, sharpness and colour rendition, but if you're accustomed to a kit zoom prepare to have your preconceptions of picture quality blown away. Indoor portraits without flash are usually out of the range of those slower zooms but this baby takes them in its stride.As several reviewers have mentioned, it can compete with its 50mm f1.4 USM stable mate once stopped down to f4 or slower, and has the benefit of costing about a third of what you would expect to pay for just half a stop faster. Some have commented that its non-USM focus motor is slow and noisy, but only by comparison, I have no problems with speed or noise, though you need to switch to manual focus if you want to focus manually, there's a noticeable resistance to moving the focus ring in AF mode. Also, the focus ring is a bit on the narrow side.Of course, with the sub-frame sensor on all Canon dSLRs with model numbers of 7D or higher, the 1.6 crop factor means that this 50mm lens behaves like 80mm on a full frame body. If anything, that makes it even better for portraiture. The fixed focal length means there's no substitute for physically moving closer to or further from the subject to frame your shot, but that's no bad thing as it teaches us to think about the pictures we want to take.So in summary, lightweight and inexpensive but with a performance that makes a mockery of its cost and physical weight. This is real class and I for one don't know how I ever got on before I treated myself to one. Get one and you'll discover the real joy of taking pin-sharp pictures and being able to shoot unobtrusively, i.e. without flash, indoors in dodgy light. It will change your photographic life.

1.9.2014

Pure raw awesomeness. Showe me another 1.8 lens with this price and I'll stand corrected.I only bought it for it's 1.8, nothing else. 1.8 makes it absolutely amazing for low light photography and portraits (although small DOF makes the latter tricky). At 2.8 it gives enough focus to easily produce great portraits and great photographs in general with a little bit of this awesome-looking bokeh in the background. Can't say much about anything above as I don't think I ever shot it.On top of it, it's plastic, which means it's light (if you're into body building there's a heavier mark I out there).It has it's known problems, which you can read about all over the Internet. I came across some,but got used to them or found ways around them. Mind getting a lens which fixes some of these issues (you won't find a lens which fixes all without introducing some other problems) can cost 4-digits so I'm delaying going that route until I have to.- Auto Focus: at 1.8 your AF needs to be spotless, which this one isn't always. You'll have to take several photos or force it to refocus sometimes (focus on something else, then back to target). Mind your DOF is so narrow you shouldn't move the camera too much if at all. Neither should your target move. Best AF won't fix that for you.- hunting AF - never came across it. Unless trying to focus on something like a 1 colour wall or a clear blue sky. I'm yet to see a lens which does that.- soft wide open (i.e. at f1.8) - no denying once you manage to get your focus right, the photos won't come out razor-sharp at this aperture. Make no mistake, they are still clearly sharp! Also consider, the slight "improvement" should you choose to seek it in this area will cost you £££ for a "better" lens or a body which supports 6 digit ISO (the latter might be worth considering in fact, it'll let you snap even darker scenes with this lens! But it's a different story). If anything I actually like these softer pictures, usually taken at night, with some city lights, it gives the photograph a dreamy feel.- Can't do manual focus override - you have to flick a switch between AF and MF. Again, let me re-stress I mostly use this lens in low-light and I couldn't manually focus on anything in low light. If I think the focus is wrong I focus on something else, then back onto the target. Works most of the time and is quicker than fiddling with the ring.- 5 bladed diaphragm - allegedly gives you pentagons in your bokeh. Firstly, at 1.8 it won't, as the blades are hidden. Secondly, I had to conduct an arranged experiment to confirm this, never happened to me in real world somehow (maybe because I like shooting 1.8 so much). Thirdly it's hardly end of the world and noone would notice apart from some pros out there, who won't like your photos anyway because they think they can do better. Fourthly, you may actually want to have pentagons in your background sometimes (e.g. if you look at poster of Breaking Bad they intentionally used 5-bladed effect to make it look more "crystal").To summarise - I use it in low light, mostly evenings and night time. During the day I use other slower lenses. For me this is the best value fast lens out there; it'll be a long time before I "invest" in anything more expensive.

18.1.2010

This is a terrific lens. I started off with a Canon f/1.8 lens about eighteen months ago, and I loved that, despite its one flaw - it was a very plasticky piece of equipment. Alongside the kit lens from my EOS 450D, that really didn't make much odds, and talk of heavier lenses struck me as some sort of fetishism of expensive items.However, I came home drunk one night and knocked my camera off a table onto the floor - the brave little 50mm lens took the brunt of the blow, and sacrificed itself for the greater good of the body. I grumbled, took the broken 50mm lens off and stuffed it in the back of a cupboard, thinking I'd flog it to some sucker on ebay in a few weeks.And then I forgot.And six months later I pulled it back out, and demonstrating that if you ignore a problem, it usually goes away, I realised that a few turns of the lens would render it workable again. So the 50mm went back on the camera, and off I went again. Only to find that the front element of the lens was loose, and would fall halfway out of the lens whenever I had a good shot lined up. This wasn't so good.So, with Christmas approaching I felt it was time for a treat, so I bought myself the 1.4, rather than just replacing the 1.8 with its identical twin. And all of a sudden I noticed all the things that people said were superior about the 1.4:It feels nicer. It does, it really does, tangibly more solid than the 1.8. But it doesn't weigh a ton, so you don't appear to be paying for the extra weight with your back.The auto-focus is silent. I didn't even really see this as a feature missing from the 1.8, until I didn't have it whining at me as it focussed.The auto-focus is better in low-light. The 1.8 isn't bad at all, but it would end up hunting for focus in dark environments - the 1.4 is much, much better at this. Plus, it's got a full-time focussing ring, so instead of having to flip the lens off auto-focus and manually focus on your subject (and then forget to put it back to auto-focus again for later) you can just handle those focussing decisions yourself, as you like.It's got nicer bokeh. And it's better at taking pictures of fish. Which is a rather arbitrary thing to say, but I spent a lot of time in darkened aquariums recently, and it was great - put the speed to 1/50, leave it on ISO 100 and let it fire away at a lovely low aperture.On the downside:It costs about four to five times as much. (Less of a price differential if you're in a camera shop in Taiwan that takes cash, but that's not helpful to the casual Amazon customer).You could learn to focus things manually.If you come home drunk and knock it off the table, it will probably break just like the 1.8 does. Not that I've tried yet.Shooting everything at 1.4 is probably a bit silly. But you can, and you'll get away with it if you're not going for absolute top-notch image quality. Not that any of the fish that I caught looked very blurry.So, in conclusion, I was perfectly happy with my 1.8. And now I'm perfectly happy with my 1.4. So if you can try both of them, I'd advise you not to: stick with the 1.8 until you've had it for a year, and then take the 1.4. You'll appreciate it more. I guess...

18.5.2015

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II LensPros: Clear, Crisp, Bokka, Light, CheapCons: Delicate, If you like Zoom this isn't for you.I've always had a passion for photography but I've never had the bank balance to back it up. I'm always the person hunting for second hand equipment to bolster my collection but always look on longingly at my close friends uber expensive toys.I then found myself with a few extra pennies one month, and rather than donating it to the family for a change, I decided to treat myself to a new gadget. I hunted around the forums and reviews for the best bang for buck that I could get from my spare cash.One things that kept popping up was the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens or better known as the "Nifty Fifty".This Lens is a prime lens that fixes to the front of the camera and thats it. There is NO zoom functionality, it literally is one piece of stationary glass.Now when I thought about buying this, I was a little worried (naive) that I could get great pictures from a single focal length. How wrong I was.I took the plunge and very shortly after I had my brand new shiny lens. Within minutes of fixing it to the camera I was off and about relearning my photography craft and being forced to get active and frame my shots properly, rather than stand from a distance and play with a zoom.The sharpness of the pictures is incredible at the right aperture, producing some amazing portrait shots. It also allows me to produce a beautiful faded look around my subject when reaching into the wider apertures. Although be warned that if you head down to F/1.8 for portraits, you will end up with a sharp nose and faded face for example.I have also had fun exploring the world of Bokka using this lens, setting the aperture wide and taking pictures with lights in the background.With all the positives there are slight downsides as well.The main one being that for the price of the glass there are compromises. The casing of the Lens is made of plastic which from a weight perspective could be seen as a good thing. You will have to be extra careful though as it does feel like it is a lot more delicate than its metal brothers such as the EF 50mm F/1.4 for example.The only other negative is sometimes the auto focus can be a bit lethargic compared to my kit lens for example and it will sometimes auto focus on everything but the subject of the photo. And if i'm using a Tripod for long exposures I tend to use manual focus to get it just right.Overall, my experience with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens was positive. I really enjoy just fitting the lens and heading out for random walks and excursions to see what images I can get out of the little thing. For the money I paid, it has been extraordinary value. I just wish there were more lens like gifts out there for such a small amount of money so that us small time photography enthusiasts with the small time wages can play with new and bigger toys, But my experience with this Lens has really helped my camera craft and that is something money really cant buy.Verdict: I would highly recommend anyone with a Canon on the look out for a new lens who hasn't got one of these. BUY IT.

14.2.2013

When it comes to buying a new lens for your DSLR, they don't come much cheaper that this "Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II Lens" a fast fixed focal length lens that may not look stellar but makes up for it in terms of performance and quality.Technical details and features include a 50mm Focal Length (fixed) with a 45cm Minimum Focus Distance. Manual and Auto Focus with a F/1.8 Constant Aperture. Gaussian Optics with a 52mm Thread Size for using filters (such as UV and ND filters). It's light weight and compact with the added advantage of the lens not "expanding" outwards as it is in use.The focal length of 50mm is considered ideal for many aspects of photographs as that length is said to closest mimic the perspective seen by the human eye.There are also many times where a lens such as this would benefit your photography. Portraits in general or even group shots such as at weddings or other events. If depth of field is important to you then the maximum aperture on offer really give a creative edge over telephoto or kit lens.As you would expect at this price range build quality is very basic. The lens itself has a plastic body and is almost "toy like" in appearance. This isn't the type of lens that can take a beating, and you should invest in a lens pouch to keep it safe and sound - or at the very least take extra care. The front focusing ring is also very narrow and care should be given when using manual focus not to over twist it one way or another.The micro motor is a cheaper version of the hyper sonic motors you get on it's bigger brothers, therefore it's considerably more noise and not as fast to focus. This isn't really a massive drawback as it only takes maybe a second or two longer to focus. As for the noise, I would only see it being a problem should you be interested in wildlife photography which is something that lens isn't really suited or designed for to begin with.While there are a few things to fault, these are greatly out weighed by what makes this lens great. When in use there is no noticeable distortions whatsoever, combined with very little vignetting. From time to time there is a bit of glare but this can be controlled easily with a UV filter should it pose a problem.The lens excels in low light conditions producing crisp and clear images with easy. It does struggle a bit with fast moving subjects when the light isn't great but not massively so.Images straight from the camera are excellent almost regardless of shooting conditions, photographs require little or often no post production. You can use a large range of shutter speeds even hand held without worrying about introducing blur and you can go even further with a tripod. I've been able to capture some stunning light trails using this lens. Due to it's price it is most suited for more "dangerous" conditions or more extreme environment, where you won't cry for long should it get wet or damaged.At the end of the day this lens is ideal for those interested in low light or portrait photography and who don't want to spend a small fortune. An essential lens for your kit bag.

29.12.2012

This prime lens is one of the most popular lenses for Canon users, and for one obvious reason "it's cheap as chips" in relative terms this is very little outlay for any kind of lens. But with the low price comes a few compromises too.It falls short of a 5 stars only because of a few areas which could be improved, and this lens is overdue an update from Canon.The usual good and bad points as follows.+ Price, no. 1 reason for buying this lens it's very cheap/affordable even if you are on a small budget.+ Optics are good (not great but good) usable wide open at f1.8 (copies can vary though) of course sharper stopped down as most fast primes are.Corners are quite poor until stopped down quite a bit (maybe not an issue for field use)+ Chromatic aberration is surprisingly well controleed (better than most fast primes)+ It's a full frame lens so can be used on FF and APS-C bodies.+ Filter thread is 52mm and does not rotate with focus (useful for filter users)- Build is very cheap and it shows the quality of plastics is low. Plastic mount too which is acceptable for the price but Canon could have used better grade plastics overall.- Fall off quite notable on full frame cameras at fast apertures. Not unusual for any fast prime on a full frame body, but a bit more than I've seen with some other 50mm primes. Less of an issue on the 1.6x crop body cameras for obvious reasons.- 5 bladed diaphragm blades can lead to some less than great background blur/rendering, not always an issues but this is one area where the Canon needs an update to at least 7 or more blades (or even curved blades) No distance scale either.- Basic DC micro motor is acceptable performance wise (speed is ok, accuracy is not bad though not superb either), clearly a step down from the USM motor of it's f1.4 brother- No lens hood supplied. Most probably won't use it but Canon's "no hood policy" is starting to look a litte behind the times.It's hard to be overly critical of the lens cheap or not it's capable of producing some very nice images, and this should be your first stop after a body and kit lens purchase to open the door to doing some real low light photography. For the very low price this is the cheapest 50mm prime around and quite a lot cheaper than the Canon 50mm f1.4 which is obviously in a different league for build and it's faster.Canon should really update the lens though, the basic design has been around since the end of 1990 start of 1991, the MkI version was better built and had a metal lens mount. If Canon brought out a new version with a metal mount and improved build quality/better AF motor/more aperture blades I think most people would be quite happy paying a little bit extra on top for that. As it is right now it's a 4 star easy to recommend at this bargain price, but not a 5 star purchase.

21.4.2012

Canon's 50mm f/1.8 (Mark II) lens is simply an essential companion to your EOS camera. I've spent a lot of time using old 'OM' lenses from an Olympus Trip camera in order to save money, but the compromise with this is that you are totally reliant on using a manual focus. Obviously this is just a skill and can be championed, but when you're out travelling and need a perfect result in one shot, blowing the images up when returning home can be frustrating to say the least.I decided enough was enough and sold one of those 50mm OM's to get myself a modern DSLR counterpart. What are the immediate differences? Obviously, the focusing is as sharp as a needle and can make shots look almost mesmerising.I was concerned about the 'noise' that this process made before receiving the product (based on prior reviews), but I can't say the motor is at all loud or distracting. And lets face it, a noise that you're expecting to hear isn't going to effect the picture quality, is it? A poor complaint in my opinion.However, I've also read of users being picky towards the slim focusing ring. This is an even worse complaint in my opinion, because the product is a small prime lens that has a RRP of less than eighty squid. What are they expecting? Even so, the ring can be turned easily by using your middle finger, because it's so close to the grip/handle of the camera. Canon are also betting that most users are going to go fully auto, so this isn't an issue.The build quality of the product is frankly represented by it's packaging - efficient and good enough for the job in hand. Don't expect any metal mounting rings or rubberised/gripped panels, as this is almost entirely plastic on the exterior. That's not to say that the lens is in any way poor quality, because the plastic itself actually feels the opposite - solid and well manufactured. The added bonus of course is that this makes the lens much lighter than ones made mostly of a metal housing, such as my old Nikkon/OM versions.What can you expect from the photography? If you're prepared to work with the aperture and some decent lighting conditions, you can get gorgeous depth of field in portrait shots. I should obviously point out here that the lighting really will make 'the' difference between a good and a bad aura in the imagery, which can be altered with a nice flash or obviously a polarising lens adapter. Whichever route you choose to make however, the images will always look natural in their tones and most certainly a dramatic improvement over the default lens you may have received with your camera body.For the price, it's highly unlikely you will do any better than this product. A 50mm lens can really alter the way you think about taking pictures, and in the case of digital photography, will add a new dimension to your creativity.

13.7.2012

Please don't take the Amazon star rating too serious - every lens has its pros and cons that I wouldn't want to squeeze into a single one-dimensional figure...A quick note about me: I have been into SLR cameras and lenses for more than 20 years - as a hobby in the beginning and professionally later. Maybe because of my technical background I started testing my own lenses quite a while ago. I have a (no longer so) little test lab of my own where I do 6 different image quality tests (after taking a lens out for a while).The EF 50mm f/1.4 USM is Canon's medium-budget 50 mm prime lens that combines good image quality with a compact and lightweight form factor.It has a precise USM motor that allows manual override during autofocus operation but it's an older generation model that's a little slower and noisier than modern USM motors. The lens is solidly built but of the outer parts only the lens mount is made of metal. The very low f-stops available (good maximum aperture) make this lens ideal for available light photography and portraits. Due to its high resolution at higher f-stops it's also suitable for landscapes (not so much on APS-C cameras where the effective focal length is 80 mm). Even wide open the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM has an impressive resolution but color fringes ("chromatic aberrations") both in focused ("transverse CA") and in blurred ("axial CA") parts of the images are a problem with this lens. Distortion is also an issue if the lens is used with a full frame camera. While corner shadow ("vignetting") is present it does fade with higher f-stops (narrower apertures) and there is no curvature of the focal plane ("field curvature"). The aperture shape is circular and creates even-looking bokeh.The EF 50mm f/1.4 USM costs more than three times as much as the EF 50mm f/1.8 II but (unlike the high-end offering EF 50mm f/1.2L USM) is still affordable for most. The surcharge is paid for a better autofocus motor, higher built quality, a properly sized focus ring and of course a better maximum aperture of f/1.4 rather than f/1.8. I would have hoped that the image quality were also a step upwards but it's very similar to the EF 50mm f/1.8 II (which is probably good enough anyway). In real-life applications however the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM will likely deliver better images just for its superior focusing operation. If you are on a tight budget you'll be more than happy with the lower-cost offering but if you can easily afford it the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM will be a nicer lens to use.A much more detailed review of this lens together with all test shots, sample images and technical data is available on my website LensTests_com.

1.8.2010

This lens is by far the best thing I've bought in the past year.Having lost a 40D and 24-70mm lens on a trip to Europe in January, I replaced it with a 40D and Tamron 18-270mm lens which quickly broke and was returned to Amazon with no problems. With the money I received from the refund I was hoping to spend towards a 17-55mm lens before deciding that option was too farfetched for my budget. Being mainly a (bad) travel, food and pet photographer, I decided it was best to save my money until my skills were better honed. The many reviews I've read in magazines and websites regarding this lens were almost universally positive and so I decided to bite the bullet, ignore the complaints of cheap build quality and just go for it,

20.4.2009

I have had this lens for over a year now. It produces stunning photos and has a host of advantages.It produces sharp (spot-on focus) images at all of its aperture settings.It is a very bright lens, which means it lets a lot of light into the camera. More light makes better pictures, and also makes it easier for the Auto-focus system to lock on accurately.There is no discernable distortion as far as I can see (I have a 400D with an APS-C sensor).It is light, which helps to reduce camera wobble.It advertises macro capability and you can indeed get quite close to subjects (45cm - just under 18 inches) and still focus. This does give quite useful magnification of subjects such as flowers.Optically,

10.2.2008

I can only concur with the other reviews. The lens is lightweight and feels like a toy. Whenever I take off the lens cap I am worried that I will pull off the manual focus ring too. When the autofocus motor reaches the end of its travel it stops with an undampened thunk, and I am worried that the lens will burst open.On the other hand, and this is a huge factor that outweighs all the above, the image quality is very good. The lens is useable at f1.8, with a nice tight depth of field, and it gets sharper from there. At f5.6 it is very sharp indeed, and from the test results I have seen on the internet it is probably sharper than most digital camera sensors can resolve. For the price it is very impressive,

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM - Reviews

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