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Wow! The Canon 50 1.8 is great!

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BryanS

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This afternoon, my Canon 50mm 1.8 arrived, and boy I'm impressed. It sure feels like a cheap, plasticy smallish thing, but it sure does deliver. Got it for under $90 from Adorama... and B&H has it slightly used for under $70. An incredible bargain.

Here's the first shot I took, with no sharpening (just a little cropping and levels in PS):



Full image: http://www.siverly.net/d30/benlay-l.jpg

I'm so impressed, I'm wondering why people pay the extra nearly $300 more for another 1/2 stop (for the 50mm 1.4)?

Thanks for the tip, everyone!

Bryan
 
Bryan,

The 1.8 is most suitable for what you are doing but if you take outdoor pictures with backgrounds, you are going to know why people pay the extract 300 for the 1.4, they called it bokeh which I believe is a japanese word referring to the mostly out of focus background. There is some noticeable difference particularly when there is other light objects say street lamps etc. Picture taken with 1.4 looks much better.

gary
Bryan Siverly said:
This afternoon, my Canon 50mm 1.8 arrived, and boy I'm impressed.
It sure feels like a cheap, plasticy smallish thing, but it sure
does deliver. Got it for under $90 from Adorama... and B&H has it
slightly used for under $70. An incredible bargain.

Here's the first shot I took, with no sharpening (just a little
cropping and levels in PS):



Full image: http://www.siverly.net/d30/benlay-l.jpg

I'm so impressed, I'm wondering why people pay the extra nearly
$300 more for another 1/2 stop (for the 50mm 1.4)?

Thanks for the tip, everyone!

Bryan
Click to expand...
 
How about the USM and Full-Time Manual focus (apart from bokeh, 1/2 stop and built-quality)...

DigiDaan
[email protected]
http://www.DigiDaan.nl
gary ng said:
The 1.8 is most suitable for what you are doing but if you take
outdoor pictures with backgrounds, you are going to know why people
pay the extract 300 for the 1.4, they called it bokeh which I
believe is a japanese word referring to the mostly out of focus
background. There is some noticeable difference particularly when
there is other light objects say street lamps etc. Picture taken
with 1.4 looks much better.

gary
Bryan Siverly said:
This afternoon, my Canon 50mm 1.8 arrived, and boy I'm impressed.
It sure feels like a cheap, plasticy smallish thing, but it sure
does deliver. Got it for under $90 from Adorama... and B&H has it
slightly used for under $70. An incredible bargain.

Here's the first shot I took, with no sharpening (just a little
cropping and levels in PS):



Full image: http://www.siverly.net/d30/benlay-l.jpg

I'm so impressed, I'm wondering why people pay the extra nearly
$300 more for another 1/2 stop (for the 50mm 1.4)?

Thanks for the tip, everyone!

Bryan
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
[email protected] http://www.DigiDaan.nl
 
Gary:

In photoshop, a quick selection of the main subject, and an application of highly controlable gaussian blur to the background, can create any "boceh" you would like, quick and easy, made to order.

Jack Winberg
gary ng said:
The 1.8 is most suitable for what you are doing but if you take
outdoor pictures with backgrounds, you are going to know why people
pay the extract 300 for the 1.4, they called it bokeh which I
believe is a japanese word referring to the mostly out of focus
background. There is some noticeable difference particularly when
there is other light objects say street lamps etc. Picture taken
with 1.4 looks much better.

gary
Bryan Siverly said:
This afternoon, my Canon 50mm 1.8 arrived, and boy I'm impressed.
It sure feels like a cheap, plasticy smallish thing, but it sure
does deliver. Got it for under $90 from Adorama... and B&H has it
slightly used for under $70. An incredible bargain.

Here's the first shot I took, with no sharpening (just a little
cropping and levels in PS):



Full image: http://www.siverly.net/d30/benlay-l.jpg

I'm so impressed, I'm wondering why people pay the extra nearly
$300 more for another 1/2 stop (for the 50mm 1.4)?

Thanks for the tip, everyone!

Bryan
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Jack Winberg said:
In photoshop, a quick selection of the main subject, and an
application of highly controlable gaussian blur to the background,
can create any "boceh" you would like, quick and easy, made to
order.
Click to expand...
If I believed that, I'd stick with the small-sensor consumer digicams instead of lusting after a DSLR. But all the examples I've seen of people trying to fake bokeh with blur have looked, well, fake.
 
Jack,

It is not just the blurring but the overall feeling. I sort of feel that photos taken with the 1.4 has a more 3-d feeling than the 1.8, don't know how to explain it, just feel more pleasant.

gary
PS. I have a 50mm 1.8 and my experience is from film cameral.
Jack Winberg said:
In photoshop, a quick selection of the main subject, and an
application of highly controlable gaussian blur to the background,
can create any "boceh" you would like, quick and easy, made to
order.

Jack Winberg
gary ng said:
The 1.8 is most suitable for what you are doing but if you take
outdoor pictures with backgrounds, you are going to know why people
pay the extract 300 for the 1.4, they called it bokeh which I
believe is a japanese word referring to the mostly out of focus
background. There is some noticeable difference particularly when
there is other light objects say street lamps etc. Picture taken
with 1.4 looks much better.

gary
Bryan Siverly said:
This afternoon, my Canon 50mm 1.8 arrived, and boy I'm impressed.
It sure feels like a cheap, plasticy smallish thing, but it sure
does deliver. Got it for under $90 from Adorama... and B&H has it
slightly used for under $70. An incredible bargain.

Here's the first shot I took, with no sharpening (just a little
cropping and levels in PS):



Full image: http://www.siverly.net/d30/benlay-l.jpg

I'm so impressed, I'm wondering why people pay the extra nearly
$300 more for another 1/2 stop (for the 50mm 1.4)?

Thanks for the tip, everyone!

Bryan
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the 1.4 certainly is excellent. Can be arguably one of the best lenses that Canon makes and most definitly a contender near the top of the list.

But to get the real flavor of the 1.8 you have to pretend the 1.4 does not exist. The 1.8 always lives under the shadow of the 1.4 and it effectively covers the 1.8 in it's own right. Immediately any conversation goes - yeah but, the 1.4 bla bla bla. . .

Well, for the newbies in this room, I am going to blow the 1.8's horn for a bit. Free advertising as they say. A shot in the 1.8's confidance level.

Take the 1.4 out of the picture and the 1.8 stands as a spectacular bargain. It betters most other lenses out there and even some of the L lenses. It can never fly though because the big brother 1.4 immediatley takes the spotlight. But at $90 or less, you can't buy a better lens if you put the dollar amount in the equation with the quality level. It would stand as the number 1 lens buy on the market.

The 1.8 is a great buy and people who don't have the mega bucks to buy the others need to see at least one post raving about the 1.8. Go ahead and buy it, you will be amazed at what your D30 can do. Especially if you own lenses like the 28-135, Sigmas and the like. This lens is king of the hill - until the 1.4 walks in. But until then, don't let it pass you by. It is a great lens to have in your booty. Your AF will come to life because there will be more light for the camera to work with. Your shots will be sharper and the colors more vibrant. Your flash pictures will become amazing. All this for $90.

I will see somebody say something now about the 1.4 - well butt out, we know the 1.4 is incredibly great, but this is the 1.8's 15 minutes of fame ;)

Pete
 
Peter Gregg said:
Well, for the newbies in this room, I am going to blow the 1.8's
horn for a bit. Free advertising as they say. A shot in the 1.8's
confidance level.
Click to expand...
The 50mmF1.8 IS the best bang for the buck Lens that Canon makes

BAR NONE.

In terms of cost to quality (of lens) ratios, this lens is in a class on it's own.

In terms of build quality....well ahem ....next subject :)
--TheodoreInsert witty comment here.
 
Bryan Siverly said:
I'm so impressed, I'm wondering why people pay the extra nearly
$300 more for another 1/2 stop (for the 50mm 1.4)?
Click to expand...
Because they feel it must cost more, so it's got to be better! Or the photo store convinced someone to dish out more because it's going to let them shoot in lower light. Bogus!

If you want the sharpest 50mm, I've got a 50mm f2.8 macro for sale that will smoke both the 1.8 and 1.4 for sharpness and flare!--See my used gear http://www.johnmaclean.com/forsale
 
Generally, the more complicated the main object looks, the harder to make this computer 'blur' looks real. For example, it's very hard to pick out all the hairs, even with the help of mask. A more effective way to do this is using a tablet/pen system with the 'blur brush' and do the blur inch by inch.
David Eppstein said:
Jack Winberg said:
In photoshop, a quick selection of the main subject, and an
application of highly controlable gaussian blur to the background,
can create any "boceh" you would like, quick and easy, made to
order.
Click to expand...
If I believed that, I'd stick with the small-sensor consumer
digicams instead of lusting after a DSLR. But all the examples
I've seen of people trying to fake bokeh with blur have looked,
well, fake.
Click to expand...
 
I have been thinking of this why I had such a good result with this lens.

I did not have any other brighter lens than 1.8 and Canon D30 did not give us good photo especially inside picture using available light with other lenses not this much bright -usually dark images we all know that.

Also the middle area for expsosure is faily large which gives more correctly exposed picture.

Paul J.
Bryan Siverly said:
This afternoon, my Canon 50mm 1.8 arrived, and boy I'm impressed.
It sure feels like a cheap, plasticy smallish thing, but it sure
does deliver. Got it for under $90 from Adorama... and B&H has it
slightly used for under $70. An incredible bargain.

Here's the first shot I took, with no sharpening (just a little
cropping and levels in PS):



Full image: http://www.siverly.net/d30/benlay-l.jpg

I'm so impressed, I'm wondering why people pay the extra nearly
$300 more for another 1/2 stop (for the 50mm 1.4)?

Thanks for the tip, everyone!

Bryan
Click to expand...
 
Bryan Siverly said:
Theodore said:
In terms of build quality....well ahem ....next subject :)
Click to expand...
I have seen used metal ones with a little window just like the
better lenses. I'm assuming it would have the same optical quality.

Bryan
Click to expand...
Optically they are the same, but the older version is mechanically much much nicer. I had the chance to buy that version used for 50 Euro ( 55 $). a few weeks ago. They had a used 1.4 sitting beside it for only 300 Euro. I didn't take me a second to decide going for the 1.8 mkI.This was the best lens purchase I ever made in terms of value for money.

Lars
 
gary ng said:
The 1.8 is most suitable for what you are doing but if you take
outdoor pictures with backgrounds, you are going to know why people
pay the extract 300 for the 1.4, they called it bokeh which I
believe is a
Click to expand...
My D30 is 2 weeks old and the 50mm 1.8 II is the only lens I have so far. I am getting spoiled on its tack sharpness and vivid colors and fear I will be disappointed by future lenses I buy (bar L).

By the way, the correct word for "bokeh" in Japanese is "boyake" just in case anyone is interested. :)



50mm 1.8 II ISO 400 F5.6 1/40 (resized by 50% and JPEG compressed at 65% quality) Original at http://www.pbase.com/image/1116842/original--cheers,bluedot.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In a nutshell, I'm a nutcase.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - http://www.pbase.com/nichijin
 
Richard:

You speak the truth under most circumstances. HOWEVER, have you tried "Corel Knockout" as a masking took. Penominal, and it DOES pick out every hair! Try it, you will LIKE it!

Jack
Richard Yu said:
David Eppstein said:
Jack Winberg said:
In photoshop, a quick selection of the main subject, and an
application of highly controlable gaussian blur to the background,
can create any "boceh" you would like, quick and easy, made to
order.
Click to expand...
If I believed that, I'd stick with the small-sensor consumer
digicams instead of lusting after a DSLR. But all the examples
I've seen of people trying to fake bokeh with blur have looked,
well, fake.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I have to agree - without a doubt, it has to be the best bargain in a Canon lens. For image quality alone, you just can't beat the value. Sure, the build quality could be better. But you just can't get a better quality image for under $100.

Mark
Peter Gregg said:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the 1.4 certainly is excellent. Can be arguably
one of the best lenses that Canon makes and most definitly a
contender near the top of the list.

But to get the real flavor of the 1.8 you have to pretend the 1.4
does not exist. The 1.8 always lives under the shadow of the 1.4
and it effectively covers the 1.8 in it's own right. Immediately
any conversation goes - yeah but, the 1.4 bla bla bla. . .

Well, for the newbies in this room, I am going to blow the 1.8's
horn for a bit. Free advertising as they say. A shot in the 1.8's
confidance level.

Take the 1.4 out of the picture and the 1.8 stands as a spectacular
bargain. It betters most other lenses out there and even some of
the L lenses. It can never fly though because the big brother 1.4
immediatley takes the spotlight. But at $90 or less, you can't buy
a better lens if you put the dollar amount in the equation with the
quality level. It would stand as the number 1 lens buy on the
market.

The 1.8 is a great buy and people who don't have the mega bucks to
buy the others need to see at least one post raving about the 1.8.
Go ahead and buy it, you will be amazed at what your D30 can do.
Especially if you own lenses like the 28-135, Sigmas and the like.
This lens is king of the hill - until the 1.4 walks in. But until
then, don't let it pass you by. It is a great lens to have in your
booty. Your AF will come to life because there will be more light
for the camera to work with. Your shots will be sharper and the
colors more vibrant. Your flash pictures will become amazing. All
this for $90.

I will see somebody say something now about the 1.4 - well butt
out, we know the 1.4 is incredibly great, but this is the 1.8's 15
minutes of fame ;)

Pete
Click to expand...
 
If you had ever used a 50mm 1.4 USM then you would know why people pay the extra money for it. I won't go past that. There has already been enough comments on this to sink a battleship. Just do a search, but first just go ahead and enjoy your lens........
 
Oh yeah John!!and I'll raise you and see you my 100mm 2.8Macro anyday. LOL. Let's have a &^%$# contest why don't we. LOL. I did a wedding in October where I used that 50mm 1.4 USM for the formal portraits. You can keep your budget model thanks.......
 
If I could only afford a D30 with this cheap plastic 50mm f1.8 lens and no other lenses, it wouldn't have stopped me from getting a D30. I do lots of low light portraits and the D30 with a 50mm f1.8 does this better than any digicam with a small sensor. The bokeh isn't as smooth as the 50mm f1.4 but at least you can get a small enough DOF to have bokeh to complain about.

The focus motor isn't very fast but I was able to shoot one basketball game with it with marginal success. If you focus a lot manually, you won't like this lens. The focus ring is about 1/4 of an inch wide and doesn't even turn 90 degrees!
 
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