Canon 50mm 1.8 mkI vs II

[fooby]

I'm buying a 1.8 tonight and I have the option of mark II or I, I hear the mark II is equal in build quality to the 1.4, if this is true surely it's worth the extra £40? Any reason not to go with the mark 1?

 

[Dao]

I used to own the MKII, then switch to MKI and then now have the f/1.4

MKI is better than MK2 because ..
- Better build quality. (not as good as f/1.4)
- Has metal mount instead of plastic.
- Has distance scale.
- Manual Focus ring is not at the front of the lens as in MKII.


Other than that, it usually cost a little more then MKII even if it is used. As far as the optical performance concern, I do not see any different between them when looking at the photos taken with the lenses.

 

[fooby]

I used to own the MKII, then switch to MKI and then now have the f/1.4

MKI is better than MK2 because ..
- Better build quality. (not as good as f/1.4)
- Has metal mount instead of plastic.
- Has distance scale.
- Manual Focus ring is not at the front of the lens as in MKII.


Other than that, it usually cost a little more then MKII even if it is used. As far as the optical performance concern, I do not see any different between them when looking at the photos taken with the lenses.

Thank you, I went with the Mk1 in the end as I found a fairly good price for one on eBay, It'll be my most used lens so I want it to last, and I use manual focus a fair bit.

 

[fooby]

Just a quick update, the lens arrived today! I've only had a quick play as it's rainng heavily outside, but first impressions are good. This thing is tack sharp, especially when compared to my other lenses. Heres a quick snap of my cat, focus point is the nose.

My only small nag is that the manual focus ring feels quite bad when compared to my pentax 50mm, although it's still MUCH nicer than the mk2.