50mm lens

[dariarybak]

Hi everyone!
I'm looking for a 50mm lens for my Canon 700D. Could you recommend me anything? Are only the Canon lenses compatible or from other companys too? I'm a newbie so please be understanding.

 

[480sparky]

Sigma, Tamron and Tokina all make compatible lenses. Not sure if any of them make a Nifty Fifty, though.

 

[Jeff15]

There are many compatible nifty fifties on the market.....

 

[Strodav]

I'm invested in Nikon so not sure about compatibility, but I took a look at the DxOMark database for your camera. 6 lenses came up, 2 from Sigma and 4 from Canon. The sharpest 50mm lens is the Sigma 50mm f1.4 DG HSM Art for about $950. [BTW, that's the best choice for Nikons as well] The next sharpest is the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 STM for $125. There is a little bit more distortion, vignetting and CA with the Canon lens, but most of those are easily correctable in PP software like LightRoom. There is a Canon f1.4 for about $500, but the CA is much higher and its a hair less sharp. To me, this is a no brainer, get the Canon ER 50mm f1.8 STM, but again, check compatibility first.

 

[Derrel]

I owned the very common Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 a few years back; inexpensive, loud focusing, BAD flare when shot right toward the sun, amply sharp, but with jarring bokeh on many backgrounds. This is the "nifty fifty" that Canon made for quite some time; it was a low-cost, somewhat poor-quality 50mm lens, with performance that was well below even 1970's standards as far as flare resistance for example. This older model had a habit of snapping into two, un-repairable pieces when dropped; as I recall, this Nifty Fifty was the second iteration of the Canon EF 50/1.8. This model had a cheap, 5-bladed iris diaphragm...Wow..a 5-bladed iris? That's a very 1950's-like degree of cheapness.

But...the newer Canon EF 50mm f1.8 STM for $125...now THAT's the 50mm lens I would definitely recommend.

I also owned the Canon EF 50/1.4, which was a good lens, but I suspect that the newer Canon EF 50mm f1.8 STM is actually a better performer in some ways. Regardless of the maximum aperture, I see almost no real difference between an f/1.4 lens and an f/1.8 lens when shot wide-open...it's NOT much of a difference between f/1.4 and f/1.8, so I say, go for the Canon 50/1.8 STM model. Buy it, and use it, and enjoy it!

I would not recommend the Yongnuo 50/1.8, no matter how cheaply priced it is. I cannot recommend the HUGE, heavy 50mm ART type lenses from Sigma for a beginner...just too big, too heavy,too obnoxious a lens size and profile: use one in public, or at an event, and people will look askance at you.

 

[TCampbell]

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 used to come in a version with a loud, slow focus motor and a 5-blade aperture that wasn't well-rounded. It had a very choppy background blur (jittery bokeh that didn't look attractive). Also the mounting flange was plastic (poor build quality and easy to break).

That lens is discontinued (though you may still find copies laying around).

The new version is the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM. This lens now has a metal mounting flange (better build quality and less likely to break). They've switched to a 7-blade aperture and the blur quality is much smoother. The focus motor is MUCH quieter. It's roughly at the same $125 price point. It is currently the most popular 50mm Canon lens because of the price tag.

There is also an EF 50mm f/1.4 USM. I think that lens has an 8-blade aperture (but that's from memory so you might look that up). It has a faster USM focusing motor and an even better build quality than the STM. The lens also has a focus-distance window (the $125 lens does not have a window to read the focus distance.) And of course since it's f/1.4 instead of /1.8 it's a "faster" lens. It's a little more expensive... at $300... but that's not bad (most lenses cost more).

Canon also has the EF 50mm f/1.2L USM. This is a Canon "L" series lens. These are Canon's highest quality lenses. Top build quality. Top optics. Most (but not all) are weather-sealed, etc. This is Canon's top-end line of lenses and many are best in the industry. They are extremely good lenses but not cheap... most L series lenses are priced above $1000 and this one is no exception. Looks like the regular price is $1450... but I see B&H Photo lists it for $1269. Very few people buy this lens due to the high price tag.

Most people buy the STM version ... especially since Canon improved the aperture system, focus system, and build quality. It's a nice lens and it's difficult for some to justify spending more than 2x the price for the 1.4 version (unless they *really* need that f/1.4 focal ratio.)

 

[Solarflare]

Why, theres of course also Zeiss.

The 50mm f1.4 Planar, the 50mm f2 Makro-Planar, and the 50mm f1.4 Milvus Distagon.

You'll need the "ZE" variant for Canon, or the ZF/ZF.2 for Nikon and then a Nikon F to Canon EF adapter.

At least the 50mm f1.4 ZF is always super cheap used, just $400, relative to the quality you get thats amazing.

Zeiss ZE/ZF lenses are manual focus only. Also all metal build quality and these things are HEAVY for their size.

Just to be complete. Theres not only secondary manufacturers who are lower quality.