Canon 50mm f1.8 - Nifty 50

RevAnton

RevAnton

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Anthony
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Hi,

I am looking at getting the above lens and I just wondered if there are any members on here that use it and could give me anymore info on what they like and dislike about it functionality wise.

Thanks

Ant
 
Great lens for the money ! mine is sharp at 1.8 and good for low light with a shallow depth of field , down side mainly build quality and slow noisy focus ......at less that £100 new though can't complain too much !

Here's an example in low light


Did I do something wrong ? by CORPY, on Flickr
 
That is sharp especially in low light! and what a cute little face! lol
 
Very noisy, scared the life out of me the first time I used it :LOL:

They're also very flimsy. Mine's popped in two a couple of times, it just pops back together if you squeeze in the right place. Handy for cleaning I suppose!

I didn't really use it on my 60D much, it was a tad too long for my liking but I love it on my 5D.

Darren
 
You won't regret buying it, great little lens. What corpy says is bang on the money.
 
As much as I did like it and got some shots I really did like with it, I found on my crop sensor camera it was just too long. I sold mine and purchased a 35mm f2. Yes a little more expensive and slightly slower but I have found it much more useful and almost a true 50mm on a crop sensor body.
 
For the money they are - well worth getting one. Certainly a challenge to use on occasions, but you can get great results.

Build quality is acceptable, motor is noisy compared to some lenses, again, acceptable unless you need it very quiet.

If you are worried about focal length, the 40mm pancake lens gets a good following on here, certainly worth a look at...
 
I've got one as well as a 1.4. Apart from build quality there is little noticeable difference in IQ between them. Well worth the money.
 
For the price, it's a good entry point to the world of fast primes. Punches well above it's weight, optically, but build quality is very poor. The Mk1 is better and has a metal mount, but these are only available on the used market and cost a bit more.

50mm on a crop body has the same field of view as an 80mm on full frame, which is getting into short telephoto territory. I hear it's useful for portraits but have no personal experience of this, and I think it's too long for a walk around lens, but that's a personal view. YMMV.
 
danny842003 said:
As much as I did like it and got some shots I really did like with it, I found on my crop sensor camera it was just too long. I sold mine and purchased a 35mm f2. Yes a little more expensive and slightly slower but I have found it much more useful and almost a true 50mm on a crop sensor body.
Click to expand...

Ditto
 
I like mine, but I have to be choosy about how and when I use it.

Wide open, it's got lots of possibilities, but for relatively close subjects at f/1.8, you've got to be hyper-vigilant about the focus point, because the DoF is wafer-thin, the AF hunts relentlessly, and mistakes will be punished harshly. Turning the relevant options on in Magic Lantern can help with this.

Dislikes: the AF is slow and sounds like it's driven by a small diesel motor. At 1.8, it's slightly soft; on mine and least, the pin-sharpness comes in when you stop it down. It looks and feels like I made it out of sticky-backed plastic and yogurt pots.

But for all that, it's cheap as chips and lets me take pictures like this...


Tiny Icicle by Peter Whysall, on Flickr

...with relatively little effort, so on balance, I love it to bits.
 
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As a cheap usable lens, it's fantastic to have as a 'spare' but the focal length on a crop camera renders it a bit meh.

Too long as a general lens, too short for portraits IMHO.
 
my thoughts on the 50mm 1.8 is it's the best value for money lens you'll very seldom use right along side of that 85mm 1.8 you bought for the same reasons :)
well thats my experience

i prefer the 40mm pancake and use it much more than the 50mm it's a great unobtrusive lens with good image quality and better build quality
it's a little more expensive to buy but i think it's worth the extra

the 50mm 1.8 is a great lens for the money and so is the 85mm 1.8 but in my experience they just didn't get used much after the honeymoon / novelty period
 
It is a great walkabout lens for street photography,my most use lens.:)(y)
 
Again thanks for all your comments everyone, I have decided to get one (well my missus is buying it for my birthday). Hope to get some images up when I get my hands on it!
 
The Mk1 is preferable to the MkII because it has a metal mount, but the MkII focusses faster. It's cheap as chips, sharp enough when you stop down a bit and great fun with quite nice bokeh. In fact as christmas is coming and its a time for fairy lights - it'll pay for itself with the fun you can have with that alone :)

5353124972_e738e8d34c_b.jpg
 
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