Canon EF 50mm f/1.8

regdawg · Nov 19, 2014

I know its a really old lens but is this still a great lens for the price? I'm looking to add a portrait lens to my arsenal. I have a canon 70D. I'm also wondering if my kits lens (18-55mm STM) would do just the same job?

KenC · Nov 19, 2014

I have the 50/1.8 and it's a great lens in terms of sharpness and all-around IQ, except for the bokeh, which is kind of harsh. I personally don't care much about that, so it's been very useful to me, but for portraits you probably will want a blurred background sometimes and this is not a good lens in that respect. The 1.4 is supposed to be much better, as well as the 85/1.8.

dubiousone · Nov 22, 2014

It's my favorite, just like the Nikon 50/1.8D lens, LOL. It was the first lens I purchased for my Canon DSLR and have since added others of course but the 50 is still my fave. Its faster than the 18-55 which does come in handy. The bokeh is acceptable to me but I'm far from expert and I haven't slept in a Holiday Inn in years....

weepete · Nov 22, 2014

At the price point it's an absolute steal. Sure it isn't as good as the f 1.4 but it is almost 1/4 of the price.

Buy one.

Buy one second hand if a new one is too much (I see completed listing on "that" action site for between £40-60 and that kinda cash isn't going to buy much else camera wise)

duarted · Dec 1, 2014

I just bought a Canon 50mm f1.8 and I'm really happy with it! Very cheap lens (120$) and very sharp!

So I definitely recommend you get one

regdawg · Dec 4, 2014

duarted said:
I just bought a Canon 50mm f1.8 and I'm really happy with it! Very cheap lens (120$) and very sharp!

So I definitely recommend you get one

For just a few dollars more there is the Canon EF-S 24mm STM. Does anyone have experience with that lens compared to the Canon 50mm?

KenC · Dec 4, 2014

You said you were interested in a portrait lens, which a 24 mm definitely is not.

Big Mike · Dec 4, 2014

regdawg said:
I know its a really old lens but is this still a great lens for the price? I'm looking to add a portrait lens to my arsenal. I have a canon 70D. I'm also wondering if my kits lens (18-55mm STM) would do just the same job?

There is an 'old' version of this lens, but there is also a newer (more modern) version as well...the EF 50mm F1.8 II.

Many people actually prefer the older version because it has some parts that are made of metal (rear mount), where the newer versions has a plastic mount. Also, I think the older version has a distance gauge while the new one doesn't.

The trouble with the older version is that they are hard to find (you'd have to buy used) and because they are 'cheap' lenses, they don't hold up all that well (compared to a high end lens).

Either way, it's a lens that offers great image quality for the price that you pay...but otherwise it's made with a cheap design and cheap parts. If you drop it, it's more likely to break, than just about any other lens.

Typically, for a portrait lens, we want a longer lens. This is because the further away from the subject you are, the less perspective distortion they are likely to have in the photo. So as someone else mentioned, look at something like the 85mm F1.8 or one of the 100mm options.

As for a comparison to your 18-55mm lens. Sure, with that lens zoomed to 50mm, you would get the same field of view, but at that point, the maximum aperture of your kit lens would be F5.6, while the maximum aperture of the 50mm is F1.8. That lets in over 8 times more light, which lets you use a much faster shutter speed (less motion blur) or a lower ISO (less digital noise).

Note that most lenses aren't great when used at their maximum aperture, but because the 50mm starts at F1.8, it gets to it's sweet spot around F2.8, while your kit lens's sweet spot is a smaller range.

Lastly, shooting at a larger aperture, like F1.8, will give you a much shallower DOF than shooting at F5.6, which is essentially why people like these lenses for portraits, because they can make the background look out of focus.

regdawg · Dec 4, 2014

KenC said:
You said you were interested in a portrait lens, which a 24 mm definitely is not.

Even after owning a DSLR for several years, I still think like a newbie :1251:

. I was under the impression it was a portrait type of lens because of reviews I've read about the lens.

Umberrella · Dec 4, 2014

I have had about three of them. They are cheap and do the job. If you have a low budget this one to get. Maybe in future you want a bit more.
I said I had three, they break easily and with the way I use it they usually get a bump here and there and then they fall apart. Sometimes fixable until a little plastic part within breaks. But even broken I still manage to sell them for 40 euro's. Mentioned it was broken in the ad and they were running for them like crazy. So you may simply take your chances with it. If you treat them with care they will live longer than mine and otherwise you may still get up to 40% of your money back by selling it to people who want them for spare parts.

KenC · Dec 4, 2014

My 50/1.8 was the lens that spent the most time on my DSLR for almost six years, during which I was almost always carrying it in a regular (unpadded) backpack, and it is not at all damaged. I'm sure if it got a hard smack it would not do well, but if you're a person who doesn't tend to damage things you probably won't have any problem.

JacaRanda · Dec 4, 2014

Compartively speaking, even versus the kit lenses 18-55, 18-135, and 55-250 it was loud when autofocusing. Indoors (not very good light) it struggled to focus. Manually focusing was not always easy because the ring was very thin.

I had fun with it for a short time, but certainly wished I would have gone straight to the 50 1.4 instead.

Bobby Ironsights · Dec 4, 2014

Canon 50mm f1.8? Buy one. Best allrounder dollar for dollar full frame and best portrait on a crop sensor.They don't call it the nifty fifty for nothing.

It's cheap,. it's light, and it's sharp as a tack.