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Could The 50mm 1.8 II Be The Best Value Lens Ever??

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Fishmeister

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I know that it is all plastic. I know that it is the shortest, cheapest lens that Canon make. I know that the focus ring is small and pretty pointless. I know that it can hunt for focus in low light.....

Then why do I find it so hard to take this lens off my 40D??. I just love the pictures it takes. Maybe it's because it's the first prime I have owned?. maybe it's because it's sharp?. Maybe it's because I paid £70 and I just LOVE this lens!.

Does anyone else feel this lens is the bargain of the century?

All taken with 40D + 50mm 1.8.









--

http://flickr.com/photos/29041068@N06/
 
Nice shots Fishmeister! I really like the last one. Yes, I too am impressed with the image quality that comes out of this lens. I think this, and the 18-55IS are some great values for the money.
 
I'm not sure about "best value lens ever," but I do agree that the "plastic fantastic" lives up to its name! I bought this lens a little over a year ago, just before the birth of my first grandson. I wanted a low light lens so I could take pictures of the newborn indoors without using a flash unit. Over the past year I have found myself using this lens for more than just taking indoor family pictures. It really is sharp, and produces very nice color with my Canon 5D. Here is a recent image of my grandson captured with this lens and my 5D (I did use my Canon 580EX Speedlite Flash for this one):

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/big.asp?photoID=7476384&catID=&style=&rowNumber=13&memberID=125176

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/gallery.asp?memberID=125176
 
Bought mine 2 years ago, almost never used it. I feel sorry now.
I'll put it back on tomorrow, back to basics.
Tks for posting, I enjoyed the pics.
Rgds
 
I agree what a fantastic deal. How can any one not consider this lens a great value. Some say it doesn't perform well unless it's stopped down. This was shot at f2 @ iso 800 with a 20D.



--
'The truth is rarely pure and never simple' Oscar Wilde
 
For the price and the f2 aperture @ 800 iso on a 20D, I think it's pretty good. Sure it is not as good as my other lenses that cost 5 to 15 times as much money but like the OP said... VALUE


Member said:
Marcamera wrote:
Not too cool.
Rgds
Click to expand...
--
'The truth is rarely pure and never simple' Oscar Wilde
 
Sure, hard to beat for the price.

Come to think of it, forget the price, IQ of this lens is v.good no matter what the price.
Rgds
 
Fishmeister said:
I know that it is all plastic. I know that it is the shortest,
cheapest lens that Canon make. I know that the focus ring is small
and pretty pointless. I know that it can hunt for focus in low
light.....

Then why do I find it so hard to take this lens off my 40D??.
Click to expand...
Beats me.
Fishmeister said:
I just
love the pictures it takes. Maybe it's because it's the first prime I
have owned?. maybe it's because it's sharp?. Maybe it's because I
paid £70 and I just LOVE this lens!.

Does anyone else feel this lens is the bargain of the century?
Click to expand...
No, I think it's one of the costliest lost-leaders in history. It looks like a good lens at a good price, but it has all those faults you mentioned. I started with it, and couldn't get rid of it fast enough. My path when crop+50/1.8 -> crop+50/1.4+100/2+35/2+20/1.8 -> full-frame+crop+35/1.4L+85/1.8. So, I'd say the 50/1.8 cost me around $5,000, and never really produced a single good image.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
No, definitely not. The 50/1.8 MkI was optically identical, better built, and had a proper focusing ring, a metal mount and a distance scale. All for around the same price if I recall.

Also you could argue that the 18-55 IS kit lens offers more value for money. But the two lenses are so different, it's hard to pick a winner.

Other contenders include the 85/1.8 and the 60 macro.
 
carla_francisco said:
Sorry to hear it didn't work for you.
Many other people consider it a very good value piece of glass and
I'm considering buying it myself.
Click to expand...
Quoting the OP:
carla_francisco said:
I know that it is all plastic. I know that it is the shortest,
cheapest lens that Canon make. I know that the focus ring is small
and pretty pointless. I know that it can hunt for focus in low
light.....
Click to expand...
Save yourself the trouble, and get a used 50/1.4 instead.

--
Lee Jay
(see profile for equipment)
 
Absolutely agree. This lens is incredible. I've had it for over 10 years and never upgraded to the 1.4 version. I'd like to have 1.4 but fear getting a lens that is not as sharp as the 1.8. I never fail to use it wide open if I want to.





and one of my daughter trying to make a funny face (not crying)

 
For people like myself, who are on an extreme budget, the 50mm 1.8 II is a great lens. I am completely skint, I got made redundant recently and I have bills every month to pay. The chance to go out and buy a £300 lens will just not happen for me, I had to save for months and sell a lot of things on Ebay just to buy my second hand 40D!. For many, many photographers the 50mm 1.4 is just simply too much money, I know that it's a much better build quality but it's just a pipe dream for me!.

It's nice to know that for £70 I can buy a brand new lens and produce some great images, and that to me makes it worthwhile!.

(p.s. thanks everyone for showing your photos, their all superb)

--

http://flickr.com/photos/29041068@N06/
 
The absolute best value is to find the Mk I with a film body on Craigslist and then sell the body on eBay so the Mk I costs you little or nothing. I love my Mk I.
--

When I was a kid we used pin hole cameras when not borrowing the old mans Rolleiflex.
 
ljfinger wrote:
So, I'd say the 50/1.8 cost me
Lee Jay said:
around $5,000, and never really produced a single good image.
Click to expand...
I have 50/1.8 and can sell it to you half price. Just for you $2500.00.
Happy?
Rgds
 
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