EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens Review
As like all my other reviews I will focus on the creativity of this lens rather than then technical side. But for those of you who like there specs here they are…
- Diagonal Angle of View: 46°
- Lens Construction (elements/groups): 6/5
- No. of Diaphragm blades: 5
- Minimum Aperture: 22
- Closest Focusing Distance (m): 0.45
- Maximum Magnification (x): 0.15
- Filter Diameter (mm): 52
The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens aka the “nifty fifty” can be bought for around £80, which in photography terms is cheap. This lens was the 2nd lens I ever purchased and got me started in the area of low light photography. The main feature that struck me about this lens is the sharpness when wide open f1.8 to f3.2.
The lens was my first prime lens and got me thinking more about composition – zoom lens can be handy – but they tend to make you lazy at setting up your shot. With the 50mm focal length you have to really move yourself – which makes you think more about the shot.
If you have a camera which doesn’t have high ISO such as the Canon EOS 400D (max ISO 1600) then this lens can give you an improvement in low light photography when wide open.
With a cheap price tag comes some short falls…
- Build quality isn’t fantastic but with it been the shortest Canon lens it doesn’t seem to get knocked about as much as the bigger lenses.
- Bokeh created by this lens isn’t the best when compared with the other 50mm lenses (f/1.4, f/1.2L).
- The focus motor is noisy.
- The lens hood is a little odd.
- No full time manual focusing – make sure you only rotate the focus ring in manual focus – otherwise you can damage the lens.
However these short falls aren’t enough to put me off the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens, its always in my bag and its fun to shoot with.
Ask for one this Christmas!
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