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The Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 also known as the Nifty-Fifty is true to its name, it produces great image quality, sharp and is only around $100.00. Best bang for the buck. I highly recommend it.
Product Description:
This is the lightest EF lens of all at a mere 4.6 oz. (130g). Compact and high-performance, standard lens. Its Gaussian optics provide sharp delineation from near to far focusing distances. The color balance is excellent for a standard lens. From USA.Canon.Com
Specification:
- Focal length: 50mm
- Maximum aperture: 1:1.8
- Lens Construction: 6 elements in 5 group
- Diagonal angel of view: 46 degrees
- Focus adjustment: Overall linear extension system with Micromotor
- Cosest focusing distance: 1.5 feet
- Filter size: 52mm
- Dimensions: 2.7 inches in diameter, 1.6 inches long
- Weight: 4.6 ounces
The Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 as we all know is a very famous lens, primarily because it’s affordable and it produces sharp images. The build construction however is not impressive, it is made of cheap plastic which is expected at this price range. The lens mount of this Malaysian made lens is also made of plastic which is kinda scary at first. It seems that it’s going to break, but it’s actually pretty sturdy, just don’t grab or hold your camera by the lens. This is lens is so light at less than 4.6oz and as I have mentioned, very cheap, for approximately $100(from the time of this writing) you’ll have a lens that is sharp, delivers great image quality and focus accurately. You can’t bit that.
What I Like About the Canon EF 50mm F/1.8
- Image Quality is Great
- Sharp
- Fast Accurate Autofocus
- Light
- Small
- Filter Thread does not roate
- Great for Portrait
- Great for Low Light Situations
- Great for Street Photography
- All around lens
What I Don’t Like About the Canon EF 50mm F/1.8
- No full time manual focus
- No focus scale like the old EF 50mm F/1.8
- Made of Plastic
- Plastic lens mount
- Focus ring is too small
- Focus ring turns when the lens is autofocusing
This is fast lens having a F/1.8 aperture, it is very useful in low light indoor situation where you cannot or not allowed to use a flash, a church for example, just boost your ISO to 800 or 1600 depending on the type of body you have and you can surely make things happen. However because it only has five aperture blades, the quality of bokeh can be rated as fair to good, which is one of this lens weak spots, but that doesn’t worry me too much as most of the time I can still get pretty good results.
The 50mm 1.8 is also one of my favorite walk around lens and because it’s a prime lens, it cannot zoom which makes me slow down and think of what I’m doing, it gives me time to compose and look at everything around my subject and things around me. I used to want to upgrade to the 50mm F/1.4, but lately I have been very comfortable with the 50mm F/1.8, I may upgrade soon, but for now in terms of image quality and sharpness this is a top notch, if I find the need for a F/1.4, I might upgrade.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Buy it. It is a great lens, it’s sharp, delivers great image quality, light, small and best of all it is very affordable, forget about it being made of plastic, and just think of what it can give you. Go get it now. You can get the best prices from the stores below. That’s where I buy my stuff.
You can buy the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Photos of the Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 on a Canon EOS 1000D/Rebel XS
Here are some photos from other people who uses the Canon EF 50mm F/1.8:
To be continued……
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Joe
1 year ago
Greetings:
Thank you so much for your great review of this lens. I found the link to your blog off a discussion of the 50mm 1.8 on Flickr. Personally, I just sold my Oly E-620 back to adorama and am looking to pick up another system. I’m very much a beginner, and loved my Olympus, but couldn’t afford to really start expanding my lens collection through the zuiko line, and isn’t that the point.
I’m considering purchasing the 500D (Rebel T1i) and was looking at what my options would be for this camera (as far as a fast basic prime goes) vs. possibly the new Nikon D3100 (that system has a fast and affordable 35mm standard-equivalent prime at $200). The 50mm 1.8 looks like a superb lens when you consider the price point (although a little longer than standard), and would be a great introduction for me into fast low-light and portrait shooting. Would it work as a basic street shooter/walk-about? My guess is yes.
Anyway, thanks for your great (and easy to understand) information.
Joe Sardo (added you as a contact on Flickr)
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1 year ago
Thank you.
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cool shot. if i had a canon slr, i would want this baby.
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