| |  | Brand: Canon
Category: Photography
List Price: $150.00
Buy New: $84.95
You Save: $65.05 (43%)
New (45) Used (4) from $82.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  688 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Maximum Focal Length: 50
Minimum Focal Length: 50
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 2.7 x 2.7 x 1.6
MPN: 2514A002
Model: 2514A002
UPC: 829662127272
EAN: 0082966212727
ASIN: B00007E7JU
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent Value December 31, 2005
128 out of 130 found this review helpful
I've had the 50mm f1.8 for about three months now, so I wanted to put in my two cents worth after a little field use. What originally attracted me to this lens was, obviously, the price. It is very, very inexpensive. This is likely due to the fact that the housing is, unlike its predecessor the Mark I, entirely plastic. That initially put me off, but after seeing some images posted that had been taken with this lens (and after seeing the prices of the f1.4 and the used mark I)I decided that I really had nothing to lose. There are, as with most lenses good and bad elements to this lens. Lets start with the bad.
Keep in mind that if you are shooting a canon DSLR (as I am) this 50mm lens actually behaves as an 80mm lens, so it isn't that terribly wide. The fact that it is functionally 80mm can make framing shots a bit difficult. This is definitely a secondary lens and really isn't that appropriate for a "walking around lens." At least it isn't for me, as I tend to prefer shooting wider angles.
If you have some sort of mishap with your camera, like dropping it, you can likely kiss this lens goodbye. I have fortunately never had to test this, but I imagine that it wouldn't stand up to any sort of impact very well. The flimsiness of the build is very obvious when compared to some of the older canon lenses. MY 35-135mm USM is about 10 years old, and has a metal chassis. These lenses can often stand drops and still operate. This is not so for the 50mm mark II.
Since everything but the glass is bare bones, the autofocus isn't terribly fast. If all you have ever worked with is USM lenses, you will have to be ready to take a little more time focusing. If you have experience with the 18-55mm kit lens, you will find that it is about the same.
All that being said, you are probably wondering why I rated this lens at four stars instead of, say, three. That's because there are a lot of nice features to this lens that far outweigh the bad.
If you have never used a prime lens before (meaning, a "fixed" lens that doesn't zoom) then you are in for a pleasant surprise. It is far more expensive to build a quality zoom than a quality prime, thus decent zooms tend to cost a mint. Also, zooms are only at their best in the middle of their range. The 50mm doesn't move, and so has been optimally designed for its focal length. Shots are sharp at all aperture ranges; shots at medium apertures (f8-f11) will blow your mind. Really. Search the web for some images made with this lens in those ranges and you will buy it. Resistance is futile. Canon may have skimped on the body, but they didn't cut corners on the glass. It is excellent.
The wide aperture (f1.8) is really outstanding as well. I had never really worked with a lens this fast before because, frankly, I hadn't been able to afford to. You dispense with your flash and handhold at levels that you would not have thought possible. And once you get away from flash use during night/lowlight photography, you will see some truly amazing colors that flash typically obliterates.
The fact that it is fixed, and not too wide, forced me to be a little more creative than I normally would when framing shots. When I went to Burma this year, I left my principal lens at my hotel, and didn't realize it until I was far away, so I was forced to use the 50mm as my principal lens. Some of my favorite shots of my whole trip actually come from that day, as I was forced to come to terms with the focal length limitations of the lens.
And finally, there is the price. A lens with glass this good that costs less than a filter setup, or a dozen 8x10 prints? How can you say no? Unless you have the bucks to spend on the f1.4 or the Mark I, this lens belongs in every EOS shooters bag.
Great lens, even better value! December 30, 2005
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
Alright, first let me give you my opinion regarding some of the qualms I've read around here:
* Yes, the lens might not be of the best build quality; however, judging solely based on optics and picture quality I can hardly justify spending 10X as much money in an L-series equivalent of this lens. I've used both and unless you're an ultra-professional juggernaut, I really doubt you'll notice the difference (image-wise) between this great lens and the much more expensive version.
* Yes, it's not f/1.4 as the $600+ version...it's a whooping fractional step slower (f/1.8) for ~ 10X less money.
As for what this lens actually is:
* Great, inexpensive prime lens.
* Great optics (good enough to use it in a portrait studio).
* Inexpensive enough to be able to take risks with it.
What this lens isn't:
* A lens geared towards ultra-pros looking for absolute perfection.
* A ruggeed, work-horse, durable lens.
* A miracle that will make anyone a better photographer.
* The best thing since diced ham.
In summary, great lens, absolutely outstanding value and a must for portrait amateurs and enthusiasts. No wonder they call this lens "Canon's Nifty Fifty."
 Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, a must have December 28, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You've got your new digital SLR and are wondering "which lens" should I get? This is one of them. Look at the price, and go to pbase and search the lens and review the results; this lens will make you look like a pro. Very affordable, but the results from this lens are incredible. Great for portraits, indoors or any time you need a relatively fast lens (compared to the kit lens) with very good sharpness and clarity.
Best Value in Photography! December 28, 2005
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
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, that still amazes me.
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!
Great Value For Money December 23, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have to admit I wasn't planning to get another lens for my Rebel XT after the 28-135mm IS USM, however I stumbled across a couple of reviews for this lens that raved about the optical quality and one look at the price I figured that it was worth a look.
After opening the box you find a rather unremarkable looking plastic barreled lens. However looks can be deceiving and underneath the plastic lies some remarkable optics that will outperform lenses five times the price. At 50mm it makes a good fixed length general purpose lens, but it excels at portrait photography as the narrow depth of field makes it easy to blur out backgrounds to bring out the subject in the foreground. The wide aperture makes shooting in low light practical, so its great for indoor work where you don't want to use a flash. I find myself using this lens when I know I'm not going to need the zoom as the optical quality is so good.
A couple of other reviews have commented on the build quality. While the barrel is made of plastic and so doesn't have the solid feel of metal barreled lenses, I cannot find fault with the build. Plus at the price is a cheap lens to replace if you do break it.
If you have a Canon D-SLR then this lens should be top of your list to buy. You cannot get a better lens for the money.
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