Great Lens for Cheap!

rfosness88 · Jul 23, 2009

From the reviews it looks like this is good as long as you dont touch it too hard(very fragile). I'm on a budget and would like a good and fast portrait lens for my 40D. I have a 18-55mm kit lens, and a vivitar(+adapter) 75-300mm lens.

Would this be good?

Amazon.com: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens: Camera & Photo

thanx in advance

2003protege · Jul 23, 2009

Sounds like a good value and a good studio lens, but it's too bad that it has a 5-segment <EDIT>diaphragm</EDIT>. Pentagonal bokeh would look bad =(

rfosness88 · Jul 23, 2009

what exactly is "bad" bokeh. I know bokeh is the blurred background. So would bad bokeh be less blurred?

2003protege · Jul 23, 2009

normally a point light out of focus looks (practically) like a circle this blurred circle is the bokeh the diaphragm produces, the fewer segments the diaphragm has, the more it starts to look like a pentagon; granted it's a pentagon with rounded edges, but generally the more segments the better.

icassell · Jul 23, 2009

It is a great worker ... lightweight, inexpensive, and good IQ. If you can find the Mark I version of this lens (on e-bay, for instance), it is built better with more metal (the current one feels very cheep and 'plastic-y'). The used Mark I's tend to be more pricey than a new Mark II, however (I paid about $120 for mine a few months ago). The 50mm f1.8 is quite small and gives your camera a nice low profile -- better for unobtrusive street shooting than my 17-50mm f2.8 Tamron.

Depending on your technique, however, 50mm might be a bit short for a portrait lens. I use my 50 for that occasionally, but mostly it is reserved for those low-light situations where the f1.8 helps me out. I use my 100mm f2.8 Macro as a portrait lens quite often. Ideally, I'd like a Prime in the 70mm'ish range (I have a 50-150 f2.8, but it is pretty big and clunky).

MBasile · Jul 23, 2009

Digital Camera Reviews and News: Digital Photography Review: Forums, Glossary, FAQ

That's where I go for lens information, if they haven't reviewed it I check PopPhoto, if they haven't reviewed it, then I do some more digging around to find opinions and sample shots on Flickr.

rfosness88 · Jul 23, 2009

thanks guys thats great. i will for sure check out the Mark I

icassell · Jul 23, 2009

I will say that most serious Canon dSLR owners I know have one of these in the corner of their bag. You will find all sorts of uses for it and it's pretty cheap to boot. That's why its called the "Nifty-Fifty"

Big Mike · Jul 23, 2009

It's a decent lens...and it's not as fragile as you seem to think it is. I'd say that it's similar to your 18-55mm lens.

It's only when you compare it to a much more expensive lens that you really see the difference in build quality.

rfosness88 · Jul 23, 2009

Awesome! I'm excited now

benlonghair · Jul 23, 2009

Actually the bokah isn't terrible on this lens. Look here.

choudhrysaab · Jul 23, 2009

I have this lens and I'd say its money well spent. Prime lens usually don't disappoint you.

Baaaark · Jul 23, 2009

Dude, the 50mm 1.8 is a WORKHORSE! It will do a LOT of great things for you. Get it and don't look back.

Whichever camera I get, I will buy their 50mm at the same time.

Samanax · Jul 23, 2009

Baaaark said:
Dude, the 50mm 1.8 is a WORKHORSE! It will do a LOT of great things for you. Get it and don't look back.

Whichever camera I get, I will buy their 50mm at the same time.

For someone who doesn't own this lens yet you sure hold it in high regard.

I have the EF 50mm f/1.8 II plastic "Nifty Fifty" and wish I waited a little longer to buy the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM instead.

The 50mm f/1.8 II is an okay lens to shoot with but I'm not real happy with the build quality, the way it hunts for focus in low light, the banging you hear when it's hunting for focus and the noisy focus motor.

It does take nice sharp pictures but I don't get the color saturation or contrast like I get from my EF 85mm f/1.8 USM prime lens.

For the price it's a decent lens to get after you've been using the EF-S 18-55mm kit lens for awhile.

But if I had to do it again I would get the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM instead.

Baaaark · Jul 23, 2009

Samanax said:
Baaaark said:

Dude, the 50mm 1.8 is a WORKHORSE! It will do a LOT of great things for you. Get it and don't look back.

Whichever camera I get, I will buy their 50mm at the same time.

Click to expand...

For someone who doesn't own this lens yet you sure hold it in high regard.

I have the EF 50mm f/1.8 II plastic "Nifty Fifty" and wish I waited a little longer to buy the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM instead.

The 50mm f/1.8 II is an okay lens to shoot with but I'm not real happy with the build quality, the way it hunts for focus in low light, the banging you hear when it's hunting for focus and the noisy focus motor.

It does take nice sharp pictures but I don't get the color saturation or contrast like I get from my EF 85mm f/1.8 USM prime lens.

For the price it's a decent lens to get after you've been using the EF-S 18-55mm kit lens for awhile.

But if I had to do it again I would get the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM instead.

Sure, of course a 50mm 1.4 is better. But its also 3-4 times as much.

To anyone who is new enough to the market where they are just learning about the 50mm, it will be great.

And I've used the "nifty fifty" lenses of the past, like on old film nikons. And I'd use them before the zooms most of the time. I just think they're awesome!