Pros: Very Low Cost; Excellent Image Quality; Large Aperture; Bokeh
Cons: Build Quality; Non-USM Lens
The Bottom Line: The "Nifty Fifty" is a steal for less than $100. However, I would pay the extra for the older variant that is more solid on the outside.
soupcraze's Full Review: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens
The Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II is a very popular lens produced by Canon. It is given the nickname by Canon photographers as the "Nifty Fifty." It is a very inexpensive yet optically excellent lens. I received the lens as a gift for the holidays, and was told that my camera bag was naked without this lens. This is the first prime SLR lens that I have ever used, and so far have been pleased with my overall results. I used the lens already a few times in both outdoor and indoor environments.
-PRICE-
*The Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II is a large apertured lens for a very low price. It is a sub-$100 lens that can easily be found for around ~$70. You can purchase the lens for $70 on Amazon.com with free shipping. You can probably save a few dollars by purchasing the lens on eBay or Craigslist.com, but for such a low price, it would be better to already buy the lens new. For less than $100, you really are getting a lot of lens. The lens has excellent optical quality as well as a large aperture. This makes an ideal portrait lens and is an excellent tool for shooting in low-light conditions. For this amount of money, you can't go wrong, but I would still like to explain to you another option.
->Canon EF 50mm f1.8 I - This is the "Mark I" version of the same lens that the current "Mark II" model has replaced. While the optical quality is supposed to be unchanged, the construction of the body is vastly different. The "Mark I" has a metal body with the focus window on it. Therefore, if you spend the extra money on it (Price varies, can be found usually between $125-$150), you are getting a lens with greater quality construction. I will probably sell my current lens and upgrade to the "Mark I" once I purchase my future ultra-wide and telephoto lenses. Therefore, if you are willing to pay the extra bucks for a more solid lens, then I would recommend buying the older "Mark I" instead of the current version.
Even though the construction quality of the cheaper "Mark II" is less solid than the "Mark I," it is still evident that Canon did not go cheap on the actual optics of the lens. It produces very sharp high-quality images that simply can not be surpassed in the sub-$100 price range. It is also considerably cheaper than the next 50mm lens in line, the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM which goes for over $300.
-BUILD QUALITY-
*The biggest downfall of the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II is the build quality. The Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II has a plastic body and mount that gives it a very cheap and flimsy feel. This is the only reason why I would consider giving this lens away for the older "Mark I" variant. I always try to be cautious when mounting and un-mounting the lens from my camera. I am sure that with care, the lens should last. Anyhow, seeing that Canon did not spend much of their resources on the outside of the lens, at least they actually made a fine optical product on the inside.
-FEATURES-
*With the "Nifty Fifty," it's on the inside that counts. The Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II has excellent image quality in the price range. Unfortunately, the lens is a non-USM model. Therefore, it does not use Canon's excellent Ultrasonic focus motor. Therefore when the lens auto focuses, it is a bit slower and quite a bit louder than a USM lens. This is also a prime lens, which means that it does not zoom. Therefore, the focal length range with the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II goes from 50mm to 50mm. Due to the very low price of the lens, it can find its way into just anyone's camera bag since a large budget does not need to be had for this lens. Therefore, someone who had just made the switch from a "Point and Shoot" to an SLR may be uncomfortable with a prime lens since the lens does not zoom. Therefore, in order to distance yourself from an object, you have to literally walk closer or farther. This can be a nuisance to someone who is just getting started with an SLR and was previously used to using zoom lenses (Optical zoom on "Point and Shoot").
-IMAGE QUALITY-
*Well, it is pretty evident that Canon did not place much of their resources towards building a sturdy metal lens. Don't let the cheap plastic body fool you. I was actually amazed with the level of sharpness and overall quality of images that the lens helped produce. Due to the large aperture of the "Nifty Fifty," you can use the lens effectively with low-light photography. When I used the lens in a moderately lit room with the Canon Speedlite 430EX Flash attached, I found that with the flash bounce, that the images produced were very bright. I had better results when using the lens without a flash. I do not think that any other lens would have such sharpness for such a low price. The lens works ideally as a portrait lens. One of the most interesting effects that the lens creates is known as bokeh. Bokeh is a Japanese term for the out-of-focus area created by a lens. Bokeh therefore can create very artistic looking results. Interestingly, there is both good and bad types of bokeh. The good bokeh is when the out-of-focus area appears to be smooth, round, and the colors are not distinct. Bad bokeh would be having sharp rougher edges with more distinct colors. My favorite effect to do is to take a picture of the subject and then have the background blur. I found the bokeh to be good with this lens. The subjects I took pictures of were very sharp looking and I noticed no softness like I did with the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM Lens. The background was also very smooth, soft, and the colors blended quite nicely. Therefore, I can safely say that for the sub-$100 price, you are getting a lens that will create good bokeh, and hopefully you too will be satisfied with the results. My only complaint with the lens though is that it is a non-USM lens. Therefore, it will not focus as fast (And is louder), so you may miss some action shots. But as for me, the lens works great as a portrait lens. Overall, the optics are great and produce excellent results, you will not be disappointed.
-THE VERDICT-
*The Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II "Nifty Fifty" lens is a great quality lens, optically. When it comes to the actual construction of the outside, more is left to be desired. Therefore, if you want a more solid version of the lens, you will have to pay up a bit more money for the "Mark I" version of the lens. While you will not improve the optics, you will have a more solid lens. As for the image quality, the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II does not fail to impress. It creates very sharp results that far exceed that quality of any other lens in the price range. The large aperture is also great for low-light photography where you do not necessarily need a flash. The bokeh produced by the lens is very neat. Without a doubt, this is one of the finest prime lenses you can find for the price. At less than $100, this is a steal. However, since the "Mark I" variant is just a bit more money (And still $150 or so is very cheap for such quality), I would probably recommend that over this. By no means would spending $150 be considered expensive, especially for what are you getting. Of course you can also opt for the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM lens which has an even larger aperture and USM zoom motor, but it also costs over four times more than the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 II. For less than $100 it is a steal, though I think investing the extra money for the older variant may make you happier though for its more solidness.
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