Canon 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro

[RauschPhotography]

Canon | 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro Autofocus Lens | 2537A003 | B&H

Anyone using this lens and have some feedback to share about it? Looking to add it to my collection, but definitely want to hear your input first!

 

[Dao]

What type of macro shots are you planning to take? Please note that the magnification of this lens is 1:2, not 1:1 like most of the macro lenses.

Personally, I prefer a micro lens with longer focal length especially when taking photo of an insect.

 

[Overread]

Here is the product page for that macro lens:
Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro - Canon UK

Essentialy my first question is what do you intend to do with the lens itself. For macro its an expensive option that gets only to 1:2 (0.5 as canon say) magnification whilst other options (like the EFS 60mm macro; sigma 50mm macro; sigma 70mm macro) all get to the full 1:1 magnification without the need for any addons. I belive there is an addon for the 50mm to take it to the full 1:1 (whilst retaining infinity focus?) but at the combined price you could get a 100mm or 90mm macro lens for just as much if not less.


If its for portrait work then I would expect better AF performance from examples like the 50mm f1.4 from canon or some sigma options. Also for manual focusing macro lenses tend to have very fine controls for the macro distances, but when it comes to further off subjects there is very little turn in the focus wheel for a lot of depth movement - thus fine distance control is limited

 

[RauschPhotography]

I can't say I have a specific purpose for this lens, other than having a macro in my collection. I'm trying to find a decent macro for a reasonable price, mostly funded by my tax return.

 

[Overread]

If you want a decent macro then consider the:

EFS 60mm macro (if you use a crop sensor camera and have no plans to move to a fullframe option like the 5D. All the remaining suggested macro lenses are fully fullframe comptable.

70mm macro from sigma

90mm macro from sigma

105mm macro from sigma

There are some other options but I suspect that the 100mm canon macro and others are going to be rising above your budget.

If you like the idea of taking photos of insects then idealy you want a macro lens of at least 90mm focal length or longer; since the distance from the camera to the subject is linked to focal length of the lens (longer focal length longer distance from the camera). Which is important if you want to reduce the chances of spooking the insect.

Outside of insects the macro lenses will all perform very well and with very similar results. Image quality is very even over macro lenses (there are some better than others but this only shows up in strict studio test conditions and real world shooting and sample variation shows very little actual differences).

 

[RauschPhotography]

If you want a decent macro then consider the:

EFS 60mm macro (if you use a crop sensor camera and have no plans to move to a fullframe option like the 5D. All the remaining suggested macro lenses are fully fullframe comptable.

70mm macro from sigma

90mm macro from sigma

105mm macro from sigma

There are some other options but I suspect that the 100mm canon macro and others are going to be rising above your budget.

If you like the idea of taking photos of insects then idealy you want a macro lens of at least 90mm focal length or longer; since the distance from the camera to the subject is linked to focal length of the lens (longer focal length longer distance from the camera). Which is important if you want to reduce the chances of spooking the insect.

Outside of insects the macro lenses will all perform very well and with very similar results. Image quality is very even over macro lenses (there are some better than others but this only shows up in strict studio test conditions and real world shooting and sample variation shows very little actual differences).

Thanks so much Overread, your input was very helpful!