Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
by Canon
List Price:
Our Price: $108.49
You Save: $91.51 (46%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $97.00 (click here)
Category: Digital Camera
See more product details
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: CanonAudio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Model: 2514A002
Color: Black
Product features:
- 50mm standard lens with f/1.8 maximum aperture
- Traditional Gauss-type optical design is extremely sharp
- Focuses as close as 18 inches for extreme close-ups
- Ideal for natural-looking shots; excellent color balance
- Measures 2.7 inches in diameter; 1-year warranty
- Nissin Di622 Speedlight for Canon Digital SLR Cameras, Guide number 145
- Dolica CF6-ND52 52mm 0.6ND 4X Neutral Density Filter
- Opteka OPT UV 58mm 58mm High Definition II UV 0 Ultra Violet Haze Multi-Coated Glass Filter
- Dolica CF-C52 52mm CPL Filter
- Dolica CF-U52 52mm UV Filter
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
Customer Review: What a great lens, especially for the price, super Sharp at F2.5!
Summary: 4 Stars
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
Description of Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
This is considered the standard lens for use with Canon SLR camerasLenses
Digital Cameras & Photo Categories
Bestsellers in Lenses
Sigma 180mm f/ 3.5 EX IF HSM Macro Lens for Canon SLR CamerasSIGMA; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO Macro Super Lens for Pentax-AF CameraSigma Corporation; Digital Camera
Best price: $239.00
Price in other shops:
Sigma 300mm F2.8 EX APO HSM Lens for Pentax-AF CameraSIGMA; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Tamron AF28-200 f/ 3.8-5.6 Super II Macro Minolta Mount Lens (Silver)Tamron; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Tiffen 72mm Wide Angle Rubber Lens ShadeTiffen; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Pentax SCMP-FA, 100-300mm Autofocus Zoom LensPentax; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Pentax SMCP-FA 35-80mm Autofocus Zoom LensPentax; Digital Camera
Vivitar 75-300mm Manual Focus Zoom Lens for Pentax/ Ricoh CameraVivitar; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Vivitar 28-210mm Manual Focus Zoom Lens for Nikon CameraVivitar; Digital Camera
Best price: $325.00
Price in other shops:
Minolta Maxxum 24mm-85mm f3.5-4.5 Zoom LensKonica Minolta; Digital Camera
Best price: $399.00
Price in other shops:
Similar Digital Cameras & Photo Products
LensPEN Lens Cleaning SystemLensPen; Digital Camera
Best price: $3.79
Price in other shops:
Transcend 32 GB Class 10 SDHC Flash Memory Card (TS32GSDHC10E)TRANSCEND; CE
Price in other shops:
Canon EOS 60D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD (Body Only)Canon; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Canon 2400 SLR Gadget Bag for EOS SLR CamerasCanon Cameras US; Digital Camera
Best price: $29.90
Price in other shops:
Canon EOS Rebel T2i 18 MP CMOS APS-C Sensor DIGIC 4 Image Processor Full-HD Movie Mode Digital SLR Camera with a 3.0-Inch LCD and Dedicated Movie Button (Body Only)Canon; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Zeikos ZE-LH52 52mm Soft Rubber Lens Hood (Black)Zeikos; Digital Camera
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops:
Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18 MP CMOS APS-C Sensor DIGIC 4 Image Processor Full-HD Movie Mode Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch Clear View Vari-Angle LCD (Body Only)Canon; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Professional High Quality 3 Piece Filter Set For Canon SLR Cameras That Have A Canon EF 50mm f/ 1.8 II LensTBR; Digital Camera
Best price: $3.79
Tiffen 52mm UV Protection FilterTiffen; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Fotodiox Dedicated Lens Hood, for Canon EF 50mm f/ 1.8 II Lens as Canon ES-62Fotodiox; Digital Camera
Best price: $3.44
Price in other shops: