How much better is 50mm 1.8 over 22mm 2.0 in terms of taking portraits?

doraemon784 wrote:

Hi, I recently got my M10 and 22mm 2.0 but I have been quite disappointed with the amount of bokeh that I get when I am taking portraits. So I have been looking into some other lenses that may give better results and after extensive searching online, it seems like either 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 is a reasonable option for me. But seeing that 50mm 1.8 is only 0.2 different from my 22mm in terms of focal length, I was wondering if this would still make a whole difference in terms of bokeh.. or would 50mm 1.4 be a wiser choice for me?

Thanks!

22mm on M system is 35mm and not a decent portrait focal length

50mm f/1.8 is an excellent choice for the price

if you do not mind soft edges, corners and no autofocus, take this 50mm f/1.1:

50mm f/1.1 - Bokeh Beast for $160!

Nothing wrong with my 50mm F/1.4

doraemon784 wrote:

Hi, I recently got my M10 and 22mm 2.0 but I have been quite disappointed with the amount of bokeh that I get when I am taking portraits.

The amount of BLUR. Bokeh is a term used when describing the quality of how "blur" (out of focus areas) are rendered.

So I have been looking into some other lenses that may give better results and after extensive searching online, it seems like either 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 is a reasonable option for me.

Yes, they are reasonable options. The 50mm f1.8 STM is very affordable, and pretty good wide open.

But seeing that 50mm 1.8 is only 0.2 different from my 22mm in terms of focal length,

You must mean f-stop, not focal length?

The f-stop number means focal length divided by this number = aperture diameter.

For the 22mm f2 that means: aperture of 22 / 2 = 11mm maximum aperture diameter.

For the 50mm f1.8 STM that means: aperture of 50 / 1.8 =  27.8mm maximum aperture diameter.

That means that the 50mm lens will give almost 3 times (2.53x) the amount of blur at the same distance. And with the same subject magnification (you have to get closer for that with the 22mm lens) 1.7x the amount of blur.

I was wondering if this would still make a whole difference in terms of bokeh.. or would 50mm 1.4 be a wiser choice for me?

The Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM is not the sharpest lens wide open, with also quite low contrast. It also is not of the best mechanical design (easily damaged internals). The Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM has very nice bokeh, but I am not sure how well it focusses on EOS M, and it has been out of production for a long time now. The replacement Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art is big and heavy, so because of that not the most logical partner for an EOS M10. The Tamron 45mm f1.8 IS USD is an ok lens, but I do not know how well it behaves on EOS M.

The Canon EF 50mm f1.8 STM is a cheap and quite good lens, the bokeh not too smooth but not that bad either. So, quite a logical, light and small choice.

Thanks!

chrisno wrote:

22mm on M system is 35mm and not a decent portrait focal length

50mm f/1.8 is an excellent choice for the price

if you do not mind soft edges, corners and no autofocus, take this 50mm f/1.1:

50mm f/1.1 - Bokeh Beast for $160!

Thanks for the recommendation. I spent a lot of time researching this lens after you mentioned it, and I ended up ordering it last night for $173 shipped. Hope it doesn't take too long to get here from China (it has already been shipped).

This will be my first manual focus lens for the M6. I spent some time with my 22mm and 18-150mm (at 150mm for shallow DOF) in manual focus mode to see if I can live without AF. I was able to take plenty of sharp shots with focus peaking and some practice.

Since I only bought this lens for it's supposedly great bokeh, I will be shooting it wide open a lot. It will definitely take a lot more practice and patience to get used to MF at F/1.1. Looking forward to the challenge!

Oh, and I also just picked up a 50 1.8 STM, and my ef-m adapter arrives tomorrow, so it will be interesting to compare the two. I'll post on this forum as soon as I am able to do that comparison.

ps: This is my first post here!

doraemon784 wrote:

Hi, I recently got my M10 and 22mm 2.0 but I have been quite disappointed with the amount of bokeh that I get when I am taking portraits. So I have been looking into some other lenses that may give better results and after extensive searching online, it seems like either 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 is a reasonable option for me. But seeing that 50mm 1.8 is only 0.2 different from my 22mm in terms of focal length, I was wondering if this would still make a whole difference in terms of bokeh.. or would 50mm 1.4 be a wiser choice for me?

Thanks!

try the 50mm 1.8 STM - it's better bokeh that 22mm but longer focal lengths - 85, 100, 135, etc will be better

www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

matrix44 wrote:

Thanks for the recommendation. I spent a lot of time researching this lens after you mentioned it, and I ended up ordering it last night for $173 shipped. Hope it doesn't take too long to get here from China (it has already been shipped).

This will be my first manual focus lens for the M6. I spent some time with my 22mm and 18-150mm (at 150mm for shallow DOF) in manual focus mode to see if I can live without AF. I was able to take plenty of sharp shots with focus peaking and some practice.

Since I only bought this lens for it's supposedly great bokeh, I will be shooting it wide open a lot. It will definitely take a lot more practice and patience to get used to MF at F/1.1. Looking forward to the challenge!

Oh, and I also just picked up a 50 1.8 STM, and my ef-m adapter arrives tomorrow, so it will be interesting to compare the two. I'll post on this forum as soon as I am able to do that comparison.

ps: This is my first post here!

You are welcomed!

I will get a piece of mine also just for the bokeh difference between 1.8 and 1.1.

Besides bokeh, 1.1 is very useful in tight areas because dof is so thin, you can blur the background behind the subjects even its a few inches apart.

My Kamlan 50mm F/1.1 arrived today, which was a lot earlier than expected. I'll post a more detailed review later, but initial impressions after playing around with it for an hour or so are very positive. I am really enjoying the bokeh and shallow DOF. I also received my 50mm F/1.8 STM and Canon EF adapter, and that is another incredible combination. I'm happy I bought both and they fulfill totally different needs. More soon (including sample photos, photos with lenses mounted on my M6, etc.).

aeronium wrote:

matrix44 wrote:

My Kamlan 50mm F/1.1 arrived today, which was a lot earlier than expected. I'll post a more detailed review later, but initial impressions after playing around with it for an hour or so are very positive. I am really enjoying the bokeh and shallow DOF. I also received my 50mm F/1.8 STM and Canon EF adapter, and that is another incredible combination. I'm happy I bought both and they fulfill totally different needs. More soon (including sample photos, photos with lenses mounted on my M6, etc.).

How's manual focusing on with it? I imagine f1.1 to be super shallow so getting sharp photos might be a challenge.

With a camera offering focus peaking and/or "magic zoom" (EOS M + Magic/Tragic Lantern) it should be pretty easy.

From the video it is not totally clear if indeed the lens offers f1.1... The odd behavior of no real change in blur from f1.1 to f2 either points to an issue with the aperture stopping down, or with it not really being f1.1.

brightcolours wrote:

With a camera offering focus peaking and/or "magic zoom" (EOS M + Magic/Tragic Lantern) it should be pretty easy.

From the video it is not totally clear if indeed the lens offers f1.1... The odd behavior of no real change in blur from f1.1 to f2 either points to an issue with the aperture stopping down, or with it not really being f1.1.

This lens are reviewed numerous times and everyone seem to agree it is legit f1.1.

One of biggest plus besides bokeh is the extreme low light performances, you can gather about 3 times more light than  50mm F/1.8.

The biggest downside is that it is really hard to nail perfect focus. When you focus the eyes, the nose already got blurry.

But for the price it is really hard to complain, it does remind me a lot of 50mm F/1.2 and 50mm F/1.0 from Canon, which costs 10 times+ and weigh like a brick.