Canon Nifty Fifties - Which is best ?

Byker28i said:
Dont discount the original 18-55 as it's only worth about £30 you can use it in other situations

Shot my son took with his old 400D and plastic 18-55
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Bloody hell you are into serious cats :)
 
Personally again I would say the 50mm 1.4 it is a cracking little lens :-) Pin Sharpe as well which is always a bonus :-)
 
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a1ex2001 said:
If it's pin sharp wide open it is the only one like it in the world!
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Well there's at least two of with personal experience say it is :D and don't forget that DXO mark review that said it was best at f1.4
 
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Byker28i said:
Well there's at least two of with personal experience say it is :D and don't forget that DXO mark review that said it was best at f1.4
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The Photozone.de test shows its well down from its best at 1.4, best would appear to be around f4 or f5.6

Their verdict says:
It is no surprise that the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM is a very popular choice among Canon users when it comes to choosing a standard lens. It offers probably the best compromise between quality and price here. That said it's not a flawless lens when used on a full format DSLR.

The contrast level is quite a bit reduced at f/1.4 and the corners are soft here. However, the results are good at f/2 and nothing short of great at medium aperture settings. Unfortunately there's an extreme amount of light falloff at max. aperture and it takes two f-stops to reduce the problem to a more or less negligible degree. Lateral CAs are nothing to worry about. The bokeh is generally good but not outstanding. Typical for such lenses there's quite a bit of bokeh fringing (LoCAs) at large apertures.

The build quality on a decent level and a step up from the EF 50mm f/1.8 II but it doesn't reach the Sigma AF 50mm f/1.4 EX HSM here. The micro-USM AF drive operates pretty fast and near silent. All-in-all a sound offer at a sane price
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A quick review of the STM, compared to the 50mm 1.8 II (Plastic Fantastic)

  • It's a bit bigger that the original sized one, it's still a small lens and shouldn't affect most people but if you store your lenses in protective cases or sleeves like I do, then it might not fit in it anymore, if you travel with this as a carry around, bare that in mind for your bags.
  • It's faster at focusing, it also seems to have a much better focusing mech.. such as trying to focus on a white subject on a white background, it picked it up quicker.
  • It's a lot quieter, there is still some noise there, but no where near as much of the plastic WHIIRRRRRR you get with the MK II
  • It seems better made all in all , you get the feeling holding it that it might survive if you dropped it, whereas with the MK II I was scared every time I took it on and off the body that It might break
  • It's not soft wide open, it's pin sharp at 1.8... See enclosed pics.
And see me, happy banana with this decision :banana:

Many thanks for all the advice and input on this thread

I'm going to post a quick review of the 18-55 IS STM compared to the standard 18-55 IS when I get chance too :)

Photos

Hedgehog - 50mm 1.8 MK II ( Plastic Fantastic)
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Snake - 50mm 1.8 STM
IMG_4814.jpg
 
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gothgirl said:
A quick review of the STM, compared to the 50mm 1.8 II (Plastic Fantastic)

It's a bit bigger that the original sized one, maybe an inch or two
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It shouldn't be, the old 50mm f1.8 ll was 68.2 x 41mm and the STM is 69.2 x 39.3mm, that's 1mm wider in diameter and 2mm shorter.

An extra inch or 2 would make it at least twice the length ;).
 
Dave1 said:
It shouldn't be, the old 50mm f1.8 ll was 68.2 x 41mm and the STM is 69.2 x 39.3mm, that's 1mm wider in diameter and 2mm shorter.

An extra inch or 2 would make it at least twice the length ;).
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Hmm bizarre

My nifty fifty fit snugly in a lens pouch yet this one won't fasten with it in

Very odd
 
gothgirl said:
Hmm bizarre

My nifty fifty fit snugly in a lens pouch yet this one won't fasten with it in

Very odd
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You realise 2 inches is just over 50mm in length? the STM is 1mm wider in diameter, 1mm is the width of a matchstick.
 
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