| Brand: | Canon | ||
| Average Rating |
|
This is considered the standard lens for use with Canon SLR cameras more info
Popularity: 1% [?]
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
Previous post: Compaq Presario SR5710F Desktop PC
Next post: NETGEAR DGND3300 RangeMax Dual Band WirelessN Router with
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Great value, and great in low light.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
For the price this lens is worth every penny. Works great in low light, it’s very light and picture quality is pretty good. Obviously it’s not the sharpest or fastest lens out there, but for 100 bones you can’t go wrong. For those that complain about the build quality or the use of plastic or the fact that it’s not the sharpest lens out there, do us all a favor and return the lens and go spend $400 on the 50mm 1.4 or $1600 on the 1.2 and THEN publish a review. This is not meant to be top of the line, or pro quality.
Great lens for the price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
What I love about this lens, is that I can get indoor shots without flash using only window or lamp light. It’s small, lightweight, sharp and inexpensive.
Beautiful lens, arrived on time.
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
the package was well packed, it arrived on time and the lens is just beautiful. I would highly recommend this lens for portrait photography to someone without a money-growing-plat at home.
5 stars
canon 50mm/1.8
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
if you’re thinking “I’m not so sure a 50mm will fit what I do, so I’ll buy the $100 one in case it sucks” even after reading how very useful it is like I did, don’t do it. save up a few more and get the 1.4 USM. It WILL be useful, you WILL want the 1.4 anyhow, and it WILL break.
really, it’s made entirely of plastic that’s not too far removed from bakelite and has a motor that sounds like a vespa buzzing by. After a couple weeks of taking what I thought to be good photos with mine, the AF started to go. it would randomly short focus, in good light, on a tripod, at any distance short or far. since it would work and not, the micro focus adjustment would do no good. optically it’s great, but mechanically you’ll want the 1.4. there’s actually some metal in it and it uses a piezo motor that’s quicker and doesn’t over adjust and have to back up. you’ll use your 50mm a lot, it would be prudent to buy one that will last.
The infamous “nifty fifty”
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you’re looking at adding one good prime lens on a budget to your camera arsenal, then look no further. This is one of the best bargain lenses out there of any camera manufacturer.
But let’s look at the price points for 50mm primes. The 50mm f/1.4 is nearly 4x the cost and the 50mm f/1.2 is nearly 12x the cost. This lens is a bargain and is fast and takes great photos and you can’t go wrong with it. The image quality is amazing.
However, it’s loud, made of plastic and if you dropped it on a hard floor it might shatter into a good number of pieces. It’s loud (you can feel it chugging along with the vibrations it sends through the camera).
Nothing I’m saying hasn’t said before in a number of countless reviews. I own this lens, and I’ve taken (what I think) are awesome photos with it. However, it’s a $100 piece of glass and if it breaks, I’m not sure that I could justify moving up the ladder to the 50mm f/1.4 for a slightly faster, slightly better image quality and a better constructed lens.
If you’ve got a Canon digital SLR, pick this lens up. You’ll find it very valuable and doesn’t take up much room in your bag. You’ll have fun with it and if it breaks, you won’t cry that much over it compared to a far more expensive one. And if it does, buy another – you’re still saving money over the 50mm f/1.4.
Incredible lens for the money
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
If you are looking for great quality shots at an affordable price, this is the lens for you. No its not the “Prime” so to speak with the quality being on the weak side, but the technology is on the “Prime” side. I highly recommend this if you’re looking for a fixed lens and superb quality shots. I do shoot with Prime “L” lenses and purchased this to test before purchasing the 50 mm f/1.4 and can say I am very pleased with it and will be shooting with it for quite some time.
Love this lens!!!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
Omg the depth of field on this baby is outstanding. I’ve been wanting to get this lens for a long time and my bf-now-hubby bought this and a wireless remote for me for my bday and I was in heaven. I love the way the photos turn out with this. It’s a great portrait lens, does really well in low light, and the pics are just beautiful.
Great for the Price!
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
When it comes to sharp, fast glass, it doesn’t get much cheaper than this. As the cheapest lens in Canons lineup, it’s hard not to recommend it. Great first prime.
Nifty Fifty
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I love love love this lens. Sure, it’s cheaper made than the $400 and up lenses, but I’m not going to be throwing it around….and the f/1.8 gives me what I want without spending 3 times as much.
Very glad I bought it.
Worth the price
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This lens has great optics but is all plastic, but for the price….a must have.
A must-have
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
I bought this for my Canon T1i with video recording in mind and I must say, it really adds a cinema type feel to my footage. Takes great photos. I don’t know if it’s worth the extra bills to get the f/1.4 version of this but I’m extremely happy with this item. This is a must-own lens for anyone starting out.
Soft at wide open aperture
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Very good value for the money. Avoid using it wide open aperture (1.8) and this lens has sweetspot at around 2.8 or higher. Tried this at low light/no-flash/theater events and results are good. Could not get crisp focus when using at 1.8 eventhough it says focus achieved under certain conditions using center focussing point. Otherwise, this stuff is great.
Nice optical quality, but a little flimsy
Rating:3 out of 5 stars
I bought this lens when I bought my XSi on the recommendation of a friend, who to be fair, did warn me that it was lightweight. Loved it when I first got it. Nice sharp shots, good color, so much faster than the kit lens that came with my XSi. It’s nice and light, but that came at the price of durability – I’d had mine for about 4 months (and I shot about 1500-2000 shots with it – as I said, I loved it), but after going through airport security on the way to Chicago and having my bag searched and unpacked by TSA, the next morning the front came completely off when I tried to remove the lens cap. This particularly sucked because it was on my way out and not on my way home so I was one lens short for my whole trip.
All that said, you can’t find better performance at the price range. If you’re looking for a starter prime lens, this is hard to beat. Yes, it’s more fragile than the f1.4, but it’s also less than a third of the price.
If you’d like to see some shots I took at an outdoor concert with it, check http://jpb.smugmug.com/Music/Cake-at-WWDC-09/
Hard to fault this lens given the price and alternatives
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
Pros:
-Sharp
-Nice contrast and color
-fast
-cheap
Cons:
-poor build
-clunky AF system
-due to clunky AF system and the shallow DOF at f1.8, Focus can be innacurate at times
-hard to manual focus due to short throw and poor MF ring
-Somewhat “harsh” bokeh unless using wide open, but honestly this flaw is overstated. It is not that bad
-soft-ish wide open, although not any more than most fast lenses
Bottom line, you can’t really do better for the price. Even if you want to spend 4-5x as much, the Sigma 50 1.4 has AF troubles, and the Canon 50 1.4 is known for quality and durability issues. The uber-expensive 50 L has the famous focus shift issues, too. So really, despite a few flaws, this is a great option for the 50mm length. It has quirks, but they can be forgiven based on the cost. At least you aren’t paying 4-16x as much for a “nicer” lens that still has its quirks.
Excellent, inexpensive lens
Rating:5 out of 5 stars
PROS: Low price, clear images, wide aperture
CONS: Lower quality housing
RECOMMENDED FOR: Beginning and intermediate photographers
I was extremely impressed with this lens from the first time I attached it to my camera. I originally got it to take better low-light, higher-speed indoor pictures, which it does fantastically well. The wide aperture is also excellent for taking shallow depth of field photos. The fixed focal length makes me try harder to compose shots (because I have to move my feet rather than the lens) resulting in better photos. The low price makes it a low-risk investment. I’ve found myself leaving this lens on my camera when it’s in the bag and using it more than my other two (Canon 18-55mm and 55-250mm).
As other reviewers have pointed out, the housing for the lens is of lower quality than, say, my other two lenses. However, it is not as flimsy as those reviewers would have you believe. If you treat the lens and camera as though they were expensive, high-end equipment rather than toys, you will not have problems.
If you’re an advanced/professional photographer, you probably aren’t even reading this review. If you’re a beginning or intermediate photographer who is looking for an inexpensive departure from your existing zoom lenses or looking to expand your horizons, this is an excellent lens for you to try.
For further reading on this type of lens, I recommend you check out:
[...]