Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
Review by Paul Lehmann : Best Value in Photography!

Wow! My theory now is that Canon doesn't put this baby as their kit lens because many people would decide that they DONT NEED ANOTHER ONE! And many of them would be right!

Like others, I bought the Rebel XT and the 28-135 IS lens. The 28-135 is heavy and priced like a gold brick. I guess it does OK, and I do keep it mounted most of the time.

And like others, I stumbled on this lens somehow, read the raving reviews, and for the price figured, "What the heck?"

This lens in tack sharp. It shows the fire in the colors you photograph. The wide aperture means candles can be excellent lights for portraits. Its narrow field is great.

There are pitfalls though. I snapped a pic of my face at arm's length using autofocus a while back and (1) the focus locked on the tip of my nose and my face was already blurring (2) the lens was so sharp that I saw blackheads clearly on my nose tip I can't really see in the mirror (doh!). I've read that dSLR images are slightly soft to aid in later editing. I can only imagine what it would do on a film camera.

Yesterday while camping I slapped this lens on. Unlike the 28-135, this one is light enough that I didnt notice I was carrying a camera everywhere. At night I put the lens on the top of the car pointed at the sky, set the shutter for 15 secs, and hit the button. Much to my amazement, the lens not only showed hundreds of stars that were invisible to my eyes, but it also found a galaxy. That pic is on the customer image section of this page. You can see what I saw, but the smaller size doesnt do the lens justice.

One quirk of Amazon is that this page keeps alternating pictures of lenses. This lens does not have the distance focus scales on the outside of it.

Zoom is nice for many things. But where zoom isnt necessary, performance is very, very nice. Performance at $70 is almost too good to be true.

Let me close by repeating what has been said elsewhere and will continue to be said here....IF YOU OWN A SLR, STOP NOW AND GET THIS LENS!

UPDATE 12/06 I have owned this lens for about a year now. Over that time I have immersed myself in photography, workshops, books, tests, etc. I have since upgraded to the 30D and a couple of L lenses, and now have a portfolio strong enough that I am now getting dollar signs thrown at me that I didnt even see coming. I say all this to give you some perspective on what I will write afterward.

Now that Ive really learned the difference, I can agree with others that it is a tad soft wide open, but that is to be expected. I read a lens test recently that put the 1.8 against Canons heavweight L glass, and, not surprisingly, the L beat out the $70 plastic wonder in most categories. What might surprise you, however, is that when the lens was tested at F 8 it BEAT THE L GLASS in sharpness! As one that has felt the pain of trading large sums of money for L glass, I appreciate affordable quality...not something anyone can plan on seeing much of in photography.

My 28-135 has since joined my kit lens in the garage. The 1.8 is still in my case with my newer 30D.

With some experience under my belt I now would make the following recommendation. Right now, as you read this, you may have an idea if you've been bitten by the photog bug. You may know that this beast is going to morph into something more than a simple pasttime. If you look inside the depths of your aspirations and you know that you are going to be a serious amateur, bite the bullet and get the 50mm 1.4. Trust me on this one. Eventually you'll end up getting it anyway, so just apply the $70 to the 1.4 now.

If you're just exploring different areas of SLR photography, you cant go wrong with this lens. Case in point- as of this writing the baby in pink in the customer images section of this lens is one of the top-ten rated images of all pics uploaded on Amazon! This lens will allow you to dazzle friends and relatives used to snapshots from point & shoots. It will be the start of what you upgraded to a DSLR for in the first place. For you, the 1.8 is still, by far, the best value in photography!

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
Review by John Nolley II : A Lens for (Nearly) Everyone

When I first made the switchover to SLR photography from point & shoot, I debated over several lenses to accompany the camera's kit lens. The EF 50mm f/1.8 lens is often described as a "must have" lens for new photographers, so I gave it a shot. I must say, I've been very pleased.

Pros:

f/1.8 Aperature:
This lens is "fast" in that it has a very wide maximum aperature (f/1.8), meaning it lets through more light and can thus take photos with a faster shutter speed than a "slower" lens. A wide aperature also allows for very shallow depth-of-field (and thus a lot of background blur).

Because of the wide aperature, the lens is useful both for lower-light conditions--allowing you to still shoot at fast enough shutter speeds to permit handholding and often without having to add a flash--and for portraiture in well-lighted conditions, in which the background will be blurred.

Cost:
How many lenses of reasonable quality can you find for under $100?

Cons:

Focal Length on Digital SLRs:
For the digital SLR user, unless you're using a full-frame camera, the crop factor of the APS-C sized sensor will make this lens more in the range of 80mm and thus a medium telephoto rather than the "normal view" 50mm that many film shooters are expecting--so keep that in mind.

Autofocus:
The autofocus is not Canon's USM system and is thus a bit slow and noisy, and it requires the use of a small switch to change over to manual focus (no full-time manual focus). Sometimes, the lens seems to "stick" in manual focus after being switched there and then back to auto, requiring a dismounting and remounting of the lens to get it working right again.

Minimum Focusing Length:
This is not a macro lens and thus cannot focus at extremely close range, although I've successfully used it as such with the "poor man's macro" screw-on magnifying lenses. The loss of quality in doing so has not been a problem for me, anyway.

Build Quality:
Make no mistake--the lens' cheap price is reflected somewhat in its build quality, although the optics themselves seem to be fairly good. The lens may feel "cheap," and probably would break if dropped, but at the price, one could easily afford to replace it.

Summary:

Overall, I'm quite pleased with this lens and am glad to have purchased it. I tend to use it for pet and human portraiture and have also used it in a pinch for macro photography of flowers and in low-light conditions indoors.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
Review by S. Banerjee "Renaissance Man" : Perfect Portraits: Canon 50mm f/1.4 vs. f/1.8 Lens Comparison

The 50mm/f1.4 and 50mm/f1.8 are the BEST PORTRAIT LENSES that Canon offers. I own a Canon Rebel 2000 and Digital Rebel XT and have used both these lenses for several months. Pictures have been outstanding and my professional customers frequently cite the sharpness, light balance, depth of field, color reproduction, and "bokeh" (intentional blurring of background in portraits) from these lenses. Some people question the usefulness of a 50mm lens on digital SLRs with a 1.6x crop factor (i.e., 50mm lens = 80mm on a dSLR like the Digital Rebel XT)... I can vouch that the range is beautiful and relevant, focusing more closely on key subjects in portraits.

WHAT DO THESE LENSES HAVE IN COMMON? They are both fast (the f1.4 is blazing fast - dSLR can hardly keep up!), details are incredibly sharp (you can see individual hair strands), virtually no chromatic (color) aberration, no dithering or shadows in the corners, focusing is rapid and quiet (thanks to Canon's patented Ultrasonic USM technology) and photo quality parallels even my professional Canon "L" lenses. These fixed aperture lenses also provide superior pictures than telephoto lenses at 50mm because of better glass and aspherical elements.

HOW ARE THESE LENSES DIFFERENT? Having tested both lenses across 1500+ pictures, there are 5 key factors that make the f1.4 superior (justifying the $300+ price tag).

1) FASTER ESPECIALLY IN LOW LIGHT: Extra f-stop makes the f/1.4 better for indoor photos or low light. Great companion to the 480EX flash. I was able to take nearly 40 pics/min with flash and the fastest Sandisk 1GB Ultra II CF card

2) NO CHROMATIC ABERRATION, whereas the f/1.8 has slight yellowing of photos under certain lighting conditions or where edge definition is low

3) FULL AUTO/MANUAL FOCUSING RANGE: f/1.8 requires flipping between auto and manual using a switch, while f/1.4 can be manually "hot" focused/tweaked after auto focusing

4) SUPERIOR BUILD QUALITY: The f/1.8 is plastic and feels cheap, like it might fall apart anytime. The f/1.4 is metal, weighty, and is for the proud lens owner

5) CLEANER "BOKEH" - f/1.4 produces beautiful blurring of background in portraits ("bokeh") while the f/1.8 leaves less clean edges. Canon reviews suggest this is due to the f/1.4 having 8 lens elements vs. 5 elements for the f/1.8

WHICH LENS SHOULD YOU BUY? This is a question of utility vs. value. The f/1.4 costs over $300 while the f/1.8 can be acquired for under $75. The f/1.4 will last forever while the f/1.8 will probably break under normal use in a year. Does this justify the 4x price tag? If you are a budding photographer looking for a "play lens" then the f/1.8 will more than over-deliver. If you are a photo enthusiast who looks for "the perfect shot," you will want the f/1.4 because it surpasses every expectation (and so you're not left wondering, "what if"). If you are a photo professional, you already have the f/1.4 lens among your bag and are not reading this review. :-)

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
Review by Grant Brummett : What a great lens, especially for the price, super Sharp at F2.5!

Pros:

Small Size
Low Price
Light Weight
Nice Bokeh
Ok at F/1.8
Better at F/2.2 F/2.5 F/2.8
Sharp as most lens at F3.2 and still blurs the background well
Natural light photography sharper at F1.8 then the Kit lens at any setting
Great portrait lens on cropped 1.6 cameras like the Rebel Xti

Cons:

Slow Focus
Poor low light auto focus
Poor motion tracking auto focus
Cheap plastic construction
Flash performance much worse then the 18-55 Kit lens
No Lens Hood

Actual use and thoughts:

I bought this lens because I wanted to take sharper clearer photos then the kit lens until I can afford another L lens and because I wanted to shoot using natural light inside churches while photographing wedding portraits.

Is it sharper then the Kit 18-55 lens? In natural light shots you bet!!
I did some tripod mounted tests at different F stops and it's sharper at F1.8 then the kit lens is at any setting at any focal length. However!! You do not want to use flash with this lens. I know I know you buy this lens to take natural light photography. But I flipped up the flash on my Rebel Xti to add light when my daughter wanted the lights out to blow out the candles on her birthday cake. The results where terrible!! There was glare on all reflective materials and highlight over exposure. Plus when trying to focus on moving subjects in candle light you had better be ready to switch to manual focus.

I found out that this lens is an old design and does not support E-TTL II flash photography and does not have the coatings the newer designed for digital photography anti-glare coatings or distance flash distance measurement system. What does all that mean for the person who bought this for natural light photography? Nothing, it doesn't detract at all just know that the flash photography will not be anywhere near as good as that of the kit lens or any of the newer lens.

Now, on to the good, this lens is great at natural light portrait photography on the cropped 1.6 Digital Rebel Body!!! On this camera it's now a 80mm lens, perfect for Portrait, with very nice Bokeh and good contrast. Great for low light when you have to get a shot like this with no flash.

On the other hand, it's not much good for anything else. This field of view is too narrow with a cropped sensor for getting the entire scene and if you want their entire body you really have to back up. It's also too narrow for scenic shots where you want people in the foreground and great wide scenic shots of places like the Grand Canyon where you would need something like 17 - 24mm. It's also too short to be a telephoto lens. Why do I mention this? Because you will surly want a good zoom lens in addition to this lens Do NOT buy this as your only lens. Buy it as a backup to a good zoom for when you need low light great Portrait or both. Also know that you will be switching between the two during a shoot to get good portrait and wider angle shots. In fact if you find yourself in a situation where you need to be versatile do NOT put this lens on your camera, it is not very versatile. What do I mean by versatile? Situations where you need to change angle of view or switch from natural to flash photography quickly. Or shots where there is a lot of movement causing you to refocus your shot quickly.

Bottom Line: If you are cash strapped and want a great natural light Portrait lens to go with your Canon Digital Rebel then go with this lens. If you have a little more money then you should go for the F/1.4 50mm lens which focuses faster has better build quality etc. and does the same job just better.

If you can only afford just one do it all lens in this price range do NOT get this lens, get the 18-55mm kit lens It's not as sharp in natural light but is all around a much more versatile lens and produces much better flash photos.

If you can afford $200 buy this 50mm F/1.8 lens and the 18-55 kit lens and use them together as a team.

In closing over all I am pleased with the F/1.8 50MM lens when using it as a natural light portrait lens, but it's not as versatile as I thought it would be and I wonder if I should have saved up my money and waited to get the 50MM F/1.4 lens which is a much better lens over all even if it does cost more then 3 time as much. Now however I am hearing that the F/1.4 is having reliability problems with the auto focus and manual focus. When shooting a wedding I can not use a lens I can not rely on. I can rely on the F/1.8 to see me through and even afford a backup just in case I drop it again.

3-28-2008 Update

I now own the expensive and heavy Canon 85mm F/1.2 L II and Canon 135mm F/2 L lens for portraits and of course they blow this poor 50mm away. But I still have a soft spot in my heart for this lens and for those on a budget or for those who are taking this lens into areas where you would not want to take an expensive lens I still heartily recommend the Canon 50mm F/1.8 II lens for the price it takes fantastic photos!

Filter Update 3/28/2008

After much searching I found the perfect filter. The Hoya Multi Coat HMC Pro1 Protection filter is not supposed to filter the shot just protect the front lens element. I was very worried that it would affect the shot after having tried some other premium filters like the B+W UV which caused the photos to be softer and duller. However, after some tests I found that in some weird way the Hoya Multi Coat HMC Pro1 actually makes the photos seem to have just a little more contrast and be a little sharper then without. I thought I had gotten the test shots backwards and had to retest with a little sign in the photo saying with and without filter in place just to make sure. Really amazing!!! I'm sold!

7-4-2008 Update:

My love of this lens continues. Not long ago I took another short motorcycle ride with some friends and didn't want to risk my more expensive lens and camera. So, I took my Canon Rebel XTi and 50mm F/1.8 lens. I had forgotten just how great this little lens is. You can take nice portraits with decent bokeh (some shots it's really good, but points of light show the 5 aperture blades producing 5 sided points of light). You can vary the shot with F/1.8 giving you a creamy white super soft effect for the women and F/2.5 giving you less Bokeh but the sharpness you need for detail shots and male portraits. The big plus for me as well is the weight. This is a combo you can carry all day long without killing your back and arms.

At this low price how can you NOT own this lens?

01-03-2009 Canon 5D Mark II Update:

This lens which was pretty decent on the 40D and Rebel XTi comes completely apart on the 5D Mark II. No surprise since it's only $89. I guess the surprise was how well it works on a Canon 40D and Rebel XTi.

If you have a cropped sensor camera I still recommend for the reasons listed in my review. If you are using a full frame sensor camera like the 5D Mark II look elsewhere.

Lenses I currently own:

Canon EF-S 17-55 F/2.8 IS Zoom Lens Ultra sharp, great colors, great low light, poor zoom action
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Rebel XTi Kit Zoom lens Muddy, slow, pile of junk
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L Zoom Lens Fantastic colors, sharp zoomed 17 to 24mm and stopped down, ultra smooth zoom action, light weight
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L Zoom Lens Fantastic colors and contrast, sharp zoomed 40 to 70mm, zoom a little stiff at first, heavy, repair prone!
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Good budget portrait lens, light weight, disposable, sharp from F/2.5
Canon EF 85mm F/1.2 L II The best portrait lens for female and children clients, buttery smooth Bokeh, heavy and expensive it shares sharpness with 135mm
Canon EF 135mm F/2.0 L The best portrait lens for males and tied with Canon 85mm F 1/.2 for sharpest lens I own, buttery smooth Bokeh
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L Zoom Lens Fantastic colors, sharp for a zoom, very versatile ego boosting and attention getting and heavy! My favorite zoom lens that I own!!!
Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS Zoom Lens super colors, sharp for a zoom, extremely versatile, variable Bokeh can be great or bad, even more ego boosting and attention getting when extended and 400mm reach!!

My next lens purchase I'm saving for right now: 'Canon EF 300mm F/2.8 IS L the finest lens ever