EF 50 mm f/1.8 II lens is bothering me

Brian Lund said:

I have the old 50 mk I and never had any problems with focus...

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What else is new?

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-CW

よしよし、今日も生きのいい魂が手に入ったな

Tim O'Connor said:

Ive owned two copies of the 50 1.8, and both had AF consistency
problems. It wasn't a constant back/front focus problem.

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It is a very "jumpy" lens. Also the IQ under f2.8 (since I use primes mostly for indoor photography) is not that great. I forced myself to use it for a day to see if my old impressions were true, or whether the Sigma 50 on FF was really a much, much better lens. The 50/1.8 was a comparative nightmare on two counts, it is hard to nail focus, and it gives all kinds of optical problems depending on the light (flare and lack of micro-contrast). Stopped down, however, it can do wonders. For that potential alone (and lack of sale value) I am holding onto mine, but it is the most frustrating prime I have ever owned, and sadly the price almost guarantees it will be the first (and only) venture into that kind of photography for most users.

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-CW

よしよし、今日も生きのいい魂が手に入ったな

Jo det er jeg! ;-)

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Brian
http://www.pbase.com/thelund

Havde det på fornemmelsen da jeg så at du havde stavet Lillebælt med æ, hehe. Af hensyn til de andre må jeg nok hellere fortsætte på engelsk, men skulle lige spørge.

venlig hilsen Martin

Okay, last night I did some few more tests to see how the autofocus would function (or not). I shot a series of pictures in low light, and used an ISO of 3200 to get a shutter speed of at least 1/100. A placed to keys on a table pointing away from me. Then I used an aperture of 1.8 and locked the focus on the nearest part of the key. It actually nailed it.

I did several other similar tests where I had lot of contrast, and objects set apart from each other. All of them were spot on.

So my question to you is this: If a lens has a front-focusing/back-focusing issue, would that be all the time or just occassionaly? I suggest that my problems may have been caused by myself failing to know how to properly lock on. I use the viewfinder and the AF-on button to focus, but I only press it and release it again. Aren't I suppose to keep it depressed, just like the shutter button?

Thanks for all your replies by the way. I appreciate it )

Kind regards
Martin D

My 50 did the front/back focusing thing then it would hit the target once in awhile. It didn't seem to matter how I tried focusing the lens was just to unreliable for me. Then again I have seen other guys samples of the 50 on the forums and they look great with no apparent issues. Miy lens like many more seems to be one of the bad ones...

Even as a paper weight it is to light...

My 50/1.8II focuses accurately after removing two big solders from five small focus points on the lens' circuit board.

I don't think I have the skills nor the nerves to do that ;o)

Besides, it's no more than a month old and covered by warranty )

Seems to be locking on (is that the correct term?) to focus that is the problem. Went out for a stroll today with my camera. 8 out of 10 pictures were spot on, a couple not. I am giving it some more time so I can get to know my camera better, and perhaps eliminate some user errors that might be my trouble.

Otherwise, I'm moving to a city soon where they repair canon stuff, so I don't have to ship it. If it's still behaving weird by then, I'm gonna turn it in for repair.



Here is a shot that made it )

Hi there Martin...

I just bought the 50 1.8II last week and I'm pretty pleased with the result. I'm pretty happy with it's focusing abilities. Of course it can't be compared with a USM driven AF-lens but it's pretty fast and locks on most of the times. Especially when you're helping it by focusing near the edge of your subject or on a "contrasty" spot. When it doesn't and it's off enough for me to notice trough the viewfinder I just press the shutter release half way again (a few times) until I'm convinced it's about right. This works better for me then the tiny MF-ring anyway....

Here are a few shots I took with it all below f/2.8.











I'm very happy with it. It's sharp enough for me to do upperbodyportraits on my 30d @ f/2 (I don't need/like extreme sharpness for portraits anyway).

Good luck with your copy...

Greetings,

Jeroen

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FZee50, Raynoxx m250, MSN 202, teecon 17

Metzzz 48AF1+mecabouncee, Canon 30D, sigmaa 4oo 5.6 HSM APO macroo, Tammy 28-75 2.8, tammy 55-200, 5o I.8 MkII

Hi Jeroen

Nice pictures )

I make it a habid of pressing the shutter button a few times if I try to focus on a point far away, or on a subject with low contrast. It seems to help.

Kind regards
Martin

Nogle af os er fra DK, men du bliver nødt til at tænke på DOF kan vi ikke få EXIF på billedet. For hvis det er taget med f/1.8 eller f/2.8 så har du svaret allerede der... Det billede ville være bedre med f/5.6-8 evt. flash ... som folk siger her på forummet.

Take photos and enjoy your camera. Leg med indstillingerne og lær af dine erfaringer.
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Books make you smart, experience makes you wise, pick your poison.
In vita veritas est (In life truth is)
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Martin Damm said:

Seems to be locking on (is that the correct term?) to focus that is
the problem. Went out for a stroll today with my camera. 8 out of 10
pictures were spot on, a couple not. I am giving it some more time so
I can get to know my camera better, and perhaps eliminate some user
errors that might be my trouble.

Otherwise, I'm moving to a city soon where they repair canon stuff,
so I don't have to ship it. If it's still behaving weird by then, I'm
gonna turn it in for repair.

Click to expand...

Martin Damm said:

Here is a shot that made it )
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I think it's very admirable that you are trying to work through this issue, and realize that there is as much user error as well as equipment issues in these problems.

Having said that, and because you said it's your first DSLR, I have to say -- don't ignore the obvious. This is a $100 lens that acts like it. There are better lenses -- MUCH better lenses -- for not much more money. When I got the 35/2 (which in itself is not a fantastic lens, but was only $250), I shed the 50/1.8 like a bad hat. Now that I have the 85/1.8 ($310), I see where the 35/2 struggles.

You can make the 50/1.8 work for you, but don't be discouraged by this lens. It's a great "starter" lens I suppose, but I've read just as many frustrated by it as that love it.

good luck

It looks to me like it's focusing on the top left branches/leaves that are closest to you in the picture. You don't have all autofocus points turned on do you? You should have it switched to only the center point, as it will be much more accurate with that lens.

Hi

I just checked it in zoombrowser. It is the center focus point I have chosen, and the center is more sharp than the branches on the top left. The branches look a little sharp, but the difference is noticable when I look at the raw file.

if it is of any help this picture is shot at f/4.5 )