Review: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 Lens

50mm & Hood.

Although relatively inexpensive, I’ve heard good words about Canon’s consumer 50mm prime lens for a long, long time. I’d been meaning to pick up one for myself since I bought my 350D 18 months back, and finally did just that last week on impulse.

The lens I bought is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8. Widely known as the cheapest Canon prime lens with the best image quality. I also picked up the optional ES-62 lens hood as a precautionary measure for eliminating reflection and glare while shooting in wide open daylight.

Build Quality

One thing this lens isn’t well known for is a top notch build quality, in fact, this lens really lacks even a medium quality build. It uses a cheap looking plastic EF mount, and feels very flimsy. I wouldn’t want to drop the lens, even on a soft surface. It’s quite apparent the slightest knock will break the lens.

If you’re after something with a better quality build which an be knocked around a little more, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 might be what you’re after ($329 USD).

Light Bokeh.

| This image above was taken with the following settings: f/2.8 | 1/100th | ISO 100|

Image Quality

Abeit the low quality build, the image quality and sharpness for such an inexpensive lens is remarkable.

Low light shooting really is a joy with the lens wide open at f/1.8. The possibilities of different shots using f/1.8 and an ISO of 1600 really open up so many potential frames you couldn’t capture on anything else.

In lower lighting conditions where I still have a little light to play with, I tend not to use the lens wide open, rather opting for slightly higher aperture value of 2.2 for added sharpness - and bumping the ISO speed by one notch to make up for the aperture difference.

I’ve found the lens to be sharpest when opened up past f/2.8, daylight performance at f/2.8 is a little disappointing, with a noticeable lack of sharpness around the focus point. Cranking the aperture up eliminates this, and the lens really starts to shine at f/3.2.

imagesharpness.png

| This image shows the overall image with a 100% crop to show sharpness|

Conclusion

If there is one single lens you should pick up when you purchase your first DSLR, this is the one. Albeit the low quality build, the image quality for such an inexpensive lens is remarkable.

It makes shooting in low light much, much easier. I’ve also found shooting with a prime lens has opened up the bar for my creativity - I’ve started to think about composition so much more which results in better images.

For $80, you really can’t go wrong with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8. It really has me thinking about my future lens lineup, and the overall sharpness has me thinking about going with a lens lineup completely comprised with primes.

Comments

  1. #1

    Ole M

    You are absolutely right. This also goes for the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. A great bit of glass, at a cheap pricepoint.

  2. #2

    Michael → michaelyurechko.com

    I am looking forward to picking one up before MacWorld.

  3. #3

    Alex → www.makesitgood.net

    I had this lens and only this lens for a year when I first got into Canon. It is a fantastic lense for the money–or any money. The 50 f1.4 (which I’ve since replaced the 1.8 with) wins in build quality, and has full time manual focussing, but the optics are no better, slightly wider in aperture yes.

    I don’t think any canon lens short of the L line–or perhaps the 10-22mm EF-s–can be the 50 f1.8 in optics.

  4. #4

    Mitchell Joyce → hckyso.com

    I’m a Nikon user, and the 50 primes are pretty much the same (1.8 is plasticly and 1.4 is better). But I like wide angles and having the ease of an all in one. So I purchased the beast of all lenses, the Nikon 17-55mm DX, for $1300 and it was worth every penny!

  5. #5

    Glenn Wolsey → www.glennwolsey.com

    I’m a Nikon user, and the 50 primes are pretty much the same (1.8 is plasticly and 1.4 is better). But I like wide angles and having the ease of an all in one. So I purchased the beast of all lenses, the Nikon 17-55mm DX, for $1300 and it was worth every penny!

    Very nice. Both primes and zooms have their place in the bag depending on what you’re shooting. I look forward to purchasing some more glass in the future.

  6. #6

    rmaspero → www.rmaspero.com

    thanks for the advice i am looking to bu some stuff of my camera

  7. #7

    Tim Allen → www.slackerpedia.com

    Yup, the 50mm is a great lens. I can also recommend the Canon 28-135 IS USM as a great ‘everyday’ lens, and I’ve just bought the Sigma 10-20 which so far seems to be a very nice wide angle piece of glass.

  8. #8

    Bartosh → twojastara.org

    I’ve also recently got myself 50 f/1.8 for my 400d. Great lens for that price, looking forward to get something wider, maybe Canon 24 f/2.8 prime.

    @Glenn: Is it worth to get the ES-62? Does it make great difference to shot with it?

  9. #9

    Tim Allen → www.slackerpedia.com

    So much for the Sigma 10-20 I mentioned, it’s going straight back to the shop as it’s dire. Sigma just can’t seem to make autofocus systems that work in my experience.

  10. #10

    Craig McDiarmid → craigeth.wordpress.com

    I just started saving for a Canon 400d and can’t wait to get it. Should have it in about a month or so.

    Good review Glenn. I might get this lens once I have the camera. Will have to save for a little while though.

  11. #11

    Dirk

    I’ve got this lens also for my 350d and i really love it. The quality was very suprising.
    I recomend this lens to everybody.

  12. #12

    Rafa Biancardi → biancardi.wordpress.com

    I’ve been using 50mm Nikon lens in my studio for a long time.. and is one of my favorites!
    Enjoy shooting!

  13. #13

    Lennart → kreideraub.blogspot.com

    shit mate. be happy with what you know something about! stop writing such shit about photograph!!! you don’t know anything about it!!!

    and yes mate. i do. not everything. but more than enough to know that you are a faker.

    too bad this comment will be deleted. or maybe not, to prove how fucking nice you are. gosh.

  14. #14

    Tim Allen

    Poor Lennart, knows everything except how to write properly…

  15. #15

    Glenn Wolsey → www.glennwolsey.com

    shit mate. be happy with what you know something about! stop writing such shit about photograph!!! you don’t know anything about it!!!

    and yes mate. i do. not everything. but more than enough to know that you are a faker.

    too bad this comment will be deleted. or maybe not, to prove how fucking nice you are. gosh.

    It’d be lovely to hear some reasons why I’m a “faker.” How do you know I have no idea about photography, do you know me? Didn’t think so. I have no problem with criticism, as long as it’s positive.

    Poor Lennart, knows everything except how to write properly…

    At least there were no apparent spelling mistakes ;-)

  16. #16

    Lennart → kreideraub.blogspot.com

    @Tim: i’m german. and this is the internet. do you really care? or is it just a little too much culture and you get pissed when people fucking curse on your screen?

    @Glenn: and again. everything you write seems to be copied from people who don’t know shit. i’ve read their stuff. if they don’t know shit, you probably know less than shit i suppose. this is my little poor poor opinion and you are not, in any fucking way, supposed to understand or care.

    i know people have problems with criticized without obvious reasons. so now to the positive criticism…

    hey glenn. i would be so lovely if you could concentrate more on macintosh and other apple hard- and software and care less about sharing thought on topics that don’t seem to interest you too much.
    thank you very much

    poor lennart from poor poor germany

  17. #17

    Tim Allen → www.slackerpedia.com

    What a retard.

  18. #18

    EDIT-XTREEM → iappblog.com

    Would this work with a Canon XTi?

  19. #19

    Dustin → www.dustincook.ca

    Would this work with a Canon XTi?

    Yes.

  20. #20

    EDIT-XTREEM → iappblog.com

    Would this work with a Canon XTi?

    Yes.

    Cool. What about the new canon’s (the 40d i think)?

  21. #21

    Dustin → www.dustincook.ca

    Cool. What about the new canon’s (the 40d i think)?

    Definitely. It will work on all of Canon’s DSLRs.

  22. #22

    fanny → www.foodbeam.com

    Hi Glenn,
    I just love your blog. Perfect for the techie I pretend to be.

    Regarding that lens, I really like it for food photography - the high aperture allows to shoot in dark conditions and gives a lovely depth of field.
    And it’s is sooo cheap, it would be a crime not to buy it.

    I also love the 100mm f/2.8 macro USM. I just got it a couple of days ago but it seems to be stuck on my camera already.

    fanny xxx

  23. #23

    Mark

    Would this work with a Canon XTi?

    The great thing about Canon is that all their “EF” lenses work with all of their DSLRs, no exceptions. If the lens is an “EF-S” Lens it is compatible with all “EF-S Compatable” bodies, which as of now are the 350D(digital rebel XT), the 400D(XTi), the 30D, and the 40D.

  24. #24

    greentin

    This lens is a must have. I used it primarily for party photography the high sensibility let me use it without any flash! My second best buy since my 70-200 f/4 IS!

Your Comment