halo0 said: For those of us new to DSLR, what situations is this lens good for? My kit lens is the 18-55 IS lens.
this lens is a fixed focal lenth and aperature lens so it's not as versatile as your 18-55mm kit lens. However picture quality of this lens is much better than your kit lens.
Lightweight and affordable, the Canon EF 50mm lens--which offers a fast f/1.8 aperture--is an excellent lens for people who prefer a fixed focal length. Canon's lightest EF lens at a mere 4.6 ounces, the lens boasts a traditional Gauss-type optical design that delivers a sharp performance even when wide open. As a result, the lens provides an image that's extremely close to how your eye perceives a subject, making it excellent for portraits and images that require a natural depth of field. In addition, the lens focuses as close as 18 inches, helping you take extreme close-ups. Finally, the lens offers an excellent color balance.
The kit lens is a good starter lens but is very slow at 50mm. With a film SLR camera where there is no crop factor, 50mm is what the human eye sees i.e. no zoom. With most consumer DSLR there is a built in 1.6x zoom so this is actually a 80mm lens. This is a prime lens which means it is fixed and you can't zoom in and out. The speed (fast or slow) me measured in F stops. The f/1.8 means that the aperture can be very wide which allows you to use a faster shutter speed. I.E. the kit lens is f/3.5 at 50mm verses f/1.8 on the prime lens. If you take a picture using the kit lens at 50mm you have to use 1/50 (slow) second shutter speed verses 1/125 (fast)for the f/1.8. The f/1.8 also blurs the background and makes the foreground very sharp so it's my ideal wedding lens. You can read more about f stops here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number
halo0 said: For those of us new to DSLR, what situations is this lens good for? My kit lens is the 18-55 IS lens.
This is good for some portraits shots....much better than your stock kit lens. In fact I would sell your kit lens (as I will do) and focus on better glass.
But even as portraight shots go, if your doing a full length portrait..this should be fine (as you should not be standing closer than 15 feet from your subject). I just bought, what manay consider a superiod "portrait" lens...the Canon 85mm. But then again..it's around $300. With this lens, you can do better sittign and head shots, whereas, if you tried that with the 50mm, you would experience more distortion of facial/head features as you would have to get too close to your subject.
Some like the 105 as the best portrait lens, but that is more from old wives tales about it being the "perfect portrait lens"
Just google "perfect portrait lens"
warmchords
New Member
posted: Aug. 5, 2008 @ 3:00p
From a friend:
As for another lens you might look into, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 is a really nice, and inexpensive lens. With f/1.8 you can shoot in really low light and also get sweet shallow depth of field. The images are really sharp, too. It can be had for less than $90 most places. I would recommend trying to find a used "Mark 1" or "Mk I" model, though. The Mark II model uses more plastic in the body and I've heard complaints about the build quality. I myself bought a Mark II model (used, of course; they aren't made anymore) on eBay for $180. I love it. It's loud (before the days of USM) when autofocusing, but it's solid. That's one of the only times I'd allow for buying camera gear on eBay, older used goods are usually being sold by experienced photogs who won't rip you off, and especially I would allow it for the 50mm 1.8 Mk1, since it's so hard to find.
That being said, $80 for a brand new MK2 sounds good to me.
great starter lens - would recommend it - fair price. Got mine from Amazon $90 with a $6.99 tiffen filter (free shipping). I use it for photos where I want to blur out the background (Bokeh) and have the object of the photo just pop out - works great - just widen the apeture on Av towards f/1.8. It is really a "must buy" for someone starting out with a dSLR/SLR - allow you to get creative with your photos - remember it is a fixed focal lenght and that means NO ZOOM. Also the crop factor really makes it 80mm (x1.6 crop). Also, The stock kit lenses on the XT and XTi are not really too good, very soft (the XSi stock zoom USM IS lens, however, has got some good review). The other lens to get right now is the 28-135mm IS USM that people who bought the Canon 40D kit are selling on craigslist etc... for ~$300 - for the XT/XTi/XSi it is a great upgrade for that price. R
halo0 said: For those of us new to DSLR, what situations is this lens good for? My kit lens is the 18-55 IS lens.
People who are new to DSLR should start with this lens. Kit lens is more versatile but this lens will allow you to play with settings more, because of f/1.8 aperture.
To answer your questions, this lens is great for portrait. It produces nice bokeh (for its price) and the length is nice for portrait, not too long or too far (assuming you have a 1.6 crop factor camera).
This lens is a lot of fun to play with. The optical quality is excellent for the price.
kayo
Senior Member
posted: Aug. 5, 2008 @ 3:41p
For the price, it's a good deal. But look for f1.4 if you can. There's significant different in both the quality and price as well.
Esquire
Senior Member
posted: Aug. 5, 2008 @ 4:09p
this lens is good, great for playing with depth of feild...
so here is what you do,
1.Buy this lens 2.put your camera on M mode 3. set your apature on 1.8 4. start adjusting your shutter speed up from 1/100 of a second 5. enjoy seeing the blurry goodness of D.O.F. 6. sell this lens and buy the 1.4 - it's so much better.
If you are asking questions about this lens and you don't know about this lens, then chances are, you are not a super duper photographer, so the quality should be acceptable for you.
For the rest who are looking for better photo quality, little bit wider aperture, more blades, better built quality, go with F/1.4.
I own:
Canon EOS 40D Canon EF 24-105 F4/L IS Canon EF 70-200mm F4/L Canon EF 17-40 F4/L Canon EF 100mm Macro F/2.8 Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 Canon 430EX Bogen Manfrotto 190XPROB 3 Section Aluminum Pro Tripod Bogen-Manfrotto 486RC2 Compact Ball Head with RC2 Rapid Connect System
IBUYSTUFF
Senior Member
posted: Aug. 5, 2008 @ 4:26p
agreed. You can purchase top quality lens and still take bad pictures.. learn learn and learn. .then think about upgrading.
Great lens. And its also available at Amazon $for 88.57 FS and no sales tax. In addition you get a bonus from Shutterfly: Purchase this product from Amazon.com, and receive a unique coupon code for 20 free prints (10 4x6, 5 5x7, 5 8x10) from Shutterfly--a $26.80 value. You can sell this code on eBay to reduce the price of this lens.
Still, 1.8 brand new for under $100 is great. Finding Minolta AF lenses for the Sony is turning into a hassle because e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e has the Sony and e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e wants the lenses I want on eBay.
One point others haven't pointed out is that fast lenses reduce the need for unnatural illumination, and will work well for indoor shots with no flash. The aperture from 1.4 to 1.8 isn't that big of a difference, except to achieve 1.4, the glass is dramatically better. And as for portraits, 85mm is a standard close-up portrait lens size for 35mm, so 50mm into 85mm translates well. Go and buy a mottled backdrop and watch the bokeh effect (if any good) change the backdrop into a creamy multicolored background.
You should review what is good/bad bokeh. If the lens resolves a "creamy-like" background, that's good bokeh, but if it's making light rings, that's "bad bokeh." I don't know about this lens's bokeh, but not all bokeh is the same for any given lens.
For 80 bucks, this is the best lens you can buy. However, you can always buy one at eBay for 15-25 dollar cheaper, off course under used excellent condition.
- The general consenus I have from other photographers is that while the manufacturing quality is not the greatest (plastic casing, slow and loud autofocus), the quality of the photos nakes up for it. In particular, if you do a lot of portrait type work, this is a great lens to have.
- These guys had a pretty poor rep for a long time (bait and switch, upsells and poor customer service). That said, a check of ResellerRatings.com todays shows a decent improvement in their score Link
BTW, I just checked and it is $89 at Abe's now. You can pick this lens up at most Canon dealers. I saw it at Adorama for around $84.
Read the OP's post again, you have to add one of the coupon codes to get the $79 price, I just checked and they still work.
Also, I'm in the market for a dslr and have been doing alot of research. I am almost positive that I'm going to be getting a Canon Xsi in the coming weeks but am waiting on some funds to come in first. Would I be better off getting this now since I know that I will want this lens, or would I be better off waiting until I have the camera in hand? Mainly, am I going to be able to find a good deal on this lens again in the near future?
kalm823 said: The kit lens is a good starter lens but is very slow at 50mm. With a film SLR camera where there is no crop factor, 50mm is what the human eye sees i.e. no zoom. With most consumer DSLR there is a built in 1.6x zoom so this is actually a 80mm lens. This is a prime lens which means it is fixed and you can't zoom in and out. The speed (fast or slow) me measured in F stops. The f/1.8 means that the aperture can be very wide which allows you to use a faster shutter speed. I.E. the kit lens is f/3.5 at 50mm verses f/1.8 on the prime lens. If you take a picture using the kit lens at 50mm you have to use 1/50 (slow) second shutter speed verses 1/125 (fast)for the f/1.8. The f/1.8 also blurs the background and makes the foreground very sharp so it's my ideal wedding lens. You can read more about f stops here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number I have no idea what this means... need to learn a lot more about cameras beyond "point and shoot".
jfoust
Member
posted: Aug. 6, 2008 @ 7:43a
kayo said: For the price, it's a good deal. But look for f1.4 if you can. There's significant different in both the quality and price as well.
Apples and oranges... The f/1.8 is a $80 lens, the f/1.4 is $325. It's slightly faster, has a metal mount, USM, and has a distance scale. That said, having used both versions, the pictures it produces aren't really $245 better, IMHO. That money would be better spent elsewhere. Now, if you want to talk about upgrades, the f/1.2 L ($1400) or f/1.0 (something like $2500) is a whole other story!
jfoust
Member
posted: Aug. 6, 2008 @ 7:48a
bozo007 said: I have no idea what this means... need to learn a lot more about cameras beyond "point and shoot".
If you have a DSLR or just want to understand more about this stuff, I highly recommend picking up "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It's a great resource that explains exposure and the relationship between aperture, shutter, and ISO in plain terms that anyone can make sense of. I recommend it to everyone I know that's getting into DSLRs.
BlindRat
New Member
posted: Aug. 6, 2008 @ 7:51a
Here's a link to a forum with user reviews & photos. I ordered one from Amazon yesterday for $5 more, it'll be here tomorrow...can't wait.
bozo007 said: kalm823 said: The kit lens is a good starter lens but is very slow at 50mm. With a film SLR camera where there is no crop factor, 50mm is what the human eye sees i.e. no zoom. With most consumer DSLR there is a built in 1.6x zoom so this is actually a 80mm lens. This is a prime lens which means it is fixed and you can't zoom in and out. The speed (fast or slow) me measured in F stops. The f/1.8 means that the aperture can be very wide which allows you to use a faster shutter speed. I.E. the kit lens is f/3.5 at 50mm verses f/1.8 on the prime lens. If you take a picture using the kit lens at 50mm you have to use 1/50 (slow) second shutter speed verses 1/125 (fast)for the f/1.8. The f/1.8 also blurs the background and makes the foreground very sharp so it's my ideal wedding lens. You can read more about f stops here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number I have no idea what this means... need to learn a lot more about cameras beyond "point and shoot".
Same here......I decided I want to learn photography as a casual hobby. To that end, I bought the following on eBay with the CashBack deals
Canon XSI (Got it yesterday!) Tamron 17-50 2.8 (Going to replace my kit lens with this though the only sad part is no IS or USM....so I'm wafting a bit) Canon 55-250mm 4.5-5.6 IS (for long shots) Canon 85mm 2.8 (mostly for outdoor portraits)
Course.....I will read up on all of this....and....who knows..after a few weeks..get fed up wit the lot and sell it all and stick with my lumic P&S *L*
But now I think I'll need the 50mm for indoors.
joe716
Shopaholic Member
posted: Aug. 6, 2008 @ 8:23a
IMHO as a long time SLR user with more money than skill, I'd tell you this lens is good for indoors in low light.I suppose it would also be good for fast moving objects but they would have to be close to you. So maybe a pic of a marathon runner going past your position behind the rope. I would say this lens is good for taking pics of kids since they are often moving a lot and the lighting is never good when there is something special happening. . Keep in mind with these 10 and 12 MP cameras there is ample opportunity to crop the photo into a 4x zoom which would be 200mm or even 300+ with the dslr adjustment.
chocoruacal
Cranky Member
posted: Aug. 6, 2008 @ 8:37a
No doubt this is an excellent lens for the price. However, once you buy your first real fast (large aperture) zoom, you'll stick the 50 on a shelf and forget about it. Put the $80 towards a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8. The flexibility of the zoom outweighs the 1.5 stops you gain with the f/1.8.
jonnythan
Member
posted: Aug. 6, 2008 @ 8:50a
This is a must-have lens for a DSLR owner. The extra versatility of such a large aperture is amazing, and this lens is incredibly sharp to boot. It's a wonderful portrait and indoor lens.
chocoruacal said: No doubt this is an excellent lens for the price. However, once you buy your first real fast (large aperture) zoom, you'll stick the 50 on a shelf and forget about it. Put the $80 towards a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8. The flexibility of the zoom outweighs the 1.5 stops you gain with the f/1.8.
Been there, done that.
Got rid of the Tamron and stuck with the Canon 50/1.8. The Canon 50mm f/1.8 is a sharper lens (much more so at f/2.8) and the extra stops are critical in low light and indoor situations. Plus the bokeh from the Canon is actually better than the Tamron... and the larger aperture lets you narrow the DOF significantly.
chocoruacal said: No doubt this is an excellent lens for the price. However, once you buy your first real fast (large aperture) zoom, you'll stick the 50 on a shelf and forget about it. Put the $80 towards a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8. The flexibility of the zoom outweighs the 1.5 stops you gain with the f/1.8.
I disagree. I have a Sigma 24-60 f2.8 and 18-200 OS, and this Canon lens has been on my camera since my daughter was born 5 weeks ago. It does have shallower depth of field at 1.8, so your area of focus will not be as deep, but the clarity and simplicity is excellent. This lens is definitely better than a Tamron. Don't get me wrong, I have a Tamron 12-24 f4 that I love. It just depends on the situation. For portraits in the living room or band photos at a small club, this is the best I have found for the price. If you need more flexibility and only want one lens, then a 24-70 2.8 would be great, but if you only want one lens, then why buy a SLR. I think this 50mm 1.8 should be a standard second lens , even if the kit lens is the only one you have. When I first tried this lens, I didn't use it much and neither did my firends that had it. Once I figured out what it could do, it is my main lens at the moment. I am mainly doing studio photography work and photographing my baby and food. Once I need more distance, I will move to a 20-something 1.8.
Color saturation and contrast is quite impressive for this $80 lens. I don't have this lens yet and I don't know why.
torpid
Senior Member
posted: Aug. 6, 2008 @ 9:42a
Hm... maybe this is hot, but if so, that's sad. I got this lens, which is a great lens, for $70 a few years ago. Back then that was the price everywhere. Now it seems to be normally $90. Ouch.
matt314159 said: This "nifty fifty" or "plastic fantastic" is a great value lens. it feels like a toy but has great optical quality....especially for the price.
I've got an xti with the 50mm f/1.8 II, as well as a tamron 17-50 f/2.8, and a Canon 70-200mm f/4L, which are all great value lenses and very sharp for their price ranges. The tamron serves as my walkabout lens, and the 50mm is if i'm taking portraits or other candid shots in low light. It is a beaut! Nothing beats the build quality and beauty of the L glass though. I got sucked in with the 70-200mm f/4L and man I'm HOOKD! Can't wait until I can afford more L glass.
wow matt. i only own 3 lenses, and they are the exact 3 lenses you own (as long as the 70-200 f4 is IS).
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