Canon EF 50mm f/.8 II

[Mezz]

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-Camera-Lens/dp/B00007E7JU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1275946130&sr=1-1]Amazon.com: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens: Electronics[/ame]

I've been looking into getting this lens, but am not sure if it would be a good one for a beginner. I am mainly interested in action photography, and this lens has been highly recommended numerous times (and not just for action photography).

If I were to get this one, how would the no IS affect my photos?

Thanks for any replies!

 

[icassell]

This is a wonderful and inexpensive general-purpose lens for a very good price. I don't have any lens with IS and haven't missed it except on my longer tele zoom.

 

[gsgary]

It won't be great for dog agility unless you pre focus, auto focus is not that fast, the F1.4 is better
here's one on autofocus with F1.4 on my old 10D
http://gsgary.smugmug.com/Sports/Sports-Portfolio/winnerCRW0138/577327860_Emrp5-L.jpg

 

[Green Li]

i used to have this lens. for the price - hard to beat.

 

[ifi]

It won't be great for dog agility unless you pre focus, auto focus is not that fast, the F1.4 is better
here's one on autofocus with F1.4 on my old 10D
http://gsgary.smugmug.com/Sports/Sports-Portfolio/winnerCRW0138/577327860_Emrp5-L.jpg

+1

 

[chammer]

Nice shot, Gary. :thumbup:

Mezz: This was the first lens I picked up in addition to the kit lens I had at the time, and still use it to this day. For $100, as others have stated, it's really tough to beat. It can produce some really stunning results.

However, for action photography you may find it a bit short. Most seem to prefer the 85mm 1.8 for indoor shooting, and/or the 70-200 2.8 for indoor/outdoor shooting in general.

The best way to judge your needs are to review your photos, and specifically check the focal lengths of your shots. For instance if you're using the standard 18-55mm kit lens and find yourself mostly at 55mm, are you cropping a lot to get in tighter or is 55mm close enough? If you're constantly cropping to tighten the framing then you may wish to consider a longer focal length for your action.

Anyways, for what it is and does you should definitely go for this. As I said, it's a great lens and can produce stunning results. The best thing besides it's image quality is its resale value. This lens is in great demand and down the road you can sell it for almost what you paid for it.

 

[Dao]

Best bang for the bucks, period!

This little lens is
- Very affordable.
- A Fast lens, max. aperture is f/1.8
- Light weight.
- Small. You can always find room in the camera bag to store it.
- Sharp. Especially stop down to around f/5.6
- Good for low light photography since it has a wide aperture.
- 52mm size for filters. Filters cost less for smaller size.


Here are some negatives about the 50mm f/1.8 mkII
- Very plastic feel.
- Not very well build when compares to other lens.
- Lens mount is plastic instead of metal.
- Non-USM type lens. So AF is slower but good enough.
- 5 aperture blades. This causes unpleasant out of focus blur (not perfectly round-pentagon shape) when compares with other lens with more blades.
- No DoF Scale.
- Manual focus ring located in the front of the lens. Harder to use than MK1 version or f/1.4 version.
- AF is noisier when compares to USM type lens.


The bottom line is, are there any other Canon EF/EF-S lenses better than the EF 50mm f/1.8? YES, lots of them. But they cost a lot more.

This lens cost $8x new 2 years ago. And now, the use market of this lens is around $80. So it tells you how popular this lens is.





As for "no IS" issue. I will not worry about it. If you are able to shoot with 1/80 or faster shutter speed, it is not going to be a problem with reference to camera shake. Especially for a fast lens like this one.

 

[max3k]

get it...

 

[Mezz]

Thank you for all the helpful replies, I really appreciate the advice!

I think I am going to buy it just to start out with, and see where I can go with it. I think it would be a good dog portrait lens (sounds like it would) if it's not good for dog agility.

Dao and Chammer, thanks for the very specific advice, and I will definitely look into one of those. I am on a very tight budget though so I can't afford the very fast lens quite yet.

 

[sheavo]

I used this exact lens, id get my best shots shooting basketball and like it was stated above, its no good unless your right up on the action. You may also like using it in other low lit situations without the use of a flash, all in all its a great buy.

 

[AlexL]

one of the best lens for the price! It is pretty sharp wide open and really sharp 2+! This is one good lens to start out with!

 

[Montana]

If you can afford the 50 1.4 Canon or the 50 1.4 Sigma, go that route. The 50 1.8II is cheap and basically sucks in my opinion. Its built like crap, focus is slow and loud, hunts badly, the manual focus ring is a joke, and its not a great performer wide open in my opinion. I had one and hated it.

 

[AlexL]

if I had 20% of your gear Montana, I think I would hate it too

 

[Montana]

I don't mind bargain lenses if that's all I can afford or if they still perform nicely. Just saying, if the extra money is there....its worth the step up to the next lens.

 

[usayit]

If the 50mm f/1.4 is a good chunk of a week's wages or more... then I would recommend the 50mm f/1.8. Otherwise, go with the 50mm f/1.4.