EF Nifty-fifty STM with M6II

I spent my 2022 budget purchasing a refurbished M6II plus a bunch of accessories, so no Sigma 56 or Canon 32 until next year, at least. This means that for the occasional portrait I will have to stick with the EF 50 1.8 adapted. Considering the corners will not be really important for this use case how much will I be missing compared to the 1.4 primes I mentioned? Has anybody tried this combo? Depending on the background distance and light available I could also use the 28mm…

Just stop down a little. f/2.8 will give you good sharpness. Subject closer to the camera, back ground further away.

nnowak wrote:

The 32mm and 56mm are sharp wide open. The EF 50mm f/1.8 is quite soft with low.contrast wide open. You will need.to stop the EF 50mm down to f/2.8 to get sharpness comparable to what the other lenses can achieve wide open.

By 28mm, I am assuming you are referring to the 28mm f/3.5 macro. While that lens is sharp, the focal length and aperture are pretty lousy for portrait use.

Looking at your gear list, the RP and 24-105mm L at 105mm might be the best option. If you specifically want to use the M50 or M6 II, then your EF 50 will have to do.

Thanks, nnowak. Agree on the RP with 24-105 at 105mm. Was asking about the M cameras specifically since they are more and more my go-to gear when traveling or walking about due to size and weight. I will test the nifty-fifty with the M6ii when it arrives, should be a good combo stopped down a little as you and thunderstorm suggested. And, indeed, the 28 macro (48mm ff equivalent) would not be ideal for sure, unless it’s more of a full body or group portrait.

nnowak wrote:

The 32mm and 56mm are sharp wide open. The EF 50mm f/1.8 is quite soft with low.contrast wide open. You will need.to stop the EF 50mm down to f/2.8 to get sharpness comparable to what the other lenses can achieve wide open.

Both EF and RF 50 f/1.8 STMs are pretty sharp wide open in my experience.

By 28mm, I am assuming you are referring to the 28mm f/3.5 macro. While that lens is sharp, the focal length and aperture are pretty lousy for portrait use.

Looking at your gear list, the RP and 24-105mm L at 105mm might be the best option. If you specifically want to use the M50 or M6 II, then your EF 50 will have to do.

Fjzk wrote:

I spent my 2022 budget purchasing a refurbished M6II plus a bunch of accessories, so no Sigma 56 or Canon 32 until next year, at least. This means that for the occasional portrait I will have to stick with the EF 50 1.8 adapted. Considering the corners will not be really important for this use case how much will I be missing compared to the 1.4 primes I mentioned? Has anybody tried this combo? Depending on the background distance and light available I could also use the 28mm…

I used the EF 50mm f1.8 ii for quite a while before buying the Sigma 56mm f1.4 a year ago. I also owned and used 8 other vintage primes including 6 Minolta 50s, Yashica ML 50mm f1.7, and the Asahi SMC 50mm f2. For years I shot with a Canon newer FD 50mm f1.4 lens on Canon F-1s and T-70s.

The Canon EF 50 was in the top 3 --- fantastically sharp and contrasty across the entire frame at f5.6 and f8, still excellent at f4, and very good at f2.8. Only the Yashica ML 50mm f1.7 beat it --- the Yashica had similar sharpness but at one stop wider than the Canon.... at f2.8 it was as sharp as the Canon at f4, for example.

So I agree with the other posters, stopped down a little it's an excellent lens. Wide open the Sigma 56mm f1.4 and Canon EF-M 32mm f1.4 are in a different league... before using them I didn't think any lens could possibly be truly 'sharp' at f1.4, based on my decades of vintage lens experiences.

I see you have the EF-M 22mm f2 which is a great prime, but for others reading this looking for a budget prime it's still on fire sale as a refurb for $119 with free shipping.... they're practically giving it away.

https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/refurbished-ef-m-22mm-f-2-stm-lens

My experience with the EF 50/1.8 is that its most undesirable feature is not its lack of sharpness wide open, but rather its color bokeh or spherochromatism. This gives a green edge to any high-contrast feature beyond focus. You can avoid it by paying close attention to backgrounds, by using B&W, by selectively reducing saturation in post, and by stopping down.

This is a common feature of simpler 50 mm lense. The EF 50/1.4 has it too.

I’ve no idea if the EF-M 32 mm of Sigma 56 mm suffer similarly. Anyone care to comment?

That said, despite its technical limitations, I’ve used it to take some of my favorite photos.

Regards,

Alan

I believe my photos will give you the perfect answer.

In China, photographers, like all enthusiasts in the world, are very demanding sharpness. But models, girls don't care!

The following are the largest aperture:

There is a popular word in China called "Atmosphere sense". It is very metaphysical. The optical quality of the lens is no longer important. What is important is to bring people a sense of beauty at first sight.

Have a good time!

Larry Rexley wrote:

Fjzk wrote:

I spent my 2022 budget purchasing a refurbished M6II plus a bunch of accessories, so no Sigma 56 or Canon 32 until next year, at least. This means that for the occasional portrait I will have to stick with the EF 50 1.8 adapted. Considering the corners will not be really important for this use case how much will I be missing compared to the 1.4 primes I mentioned? Has anybody tried this combo? Depending on the background distance and light available I could also use the 28mm…

I used the EF 50mm f1.8 ii for quite a while before buying the Sigma 56mm f1.4 a year ago. I also owned and used 8 other vintage primes including 6 Minolta 50s, Yashica ML 50mm f1.7, and the Asahi SMC 50mm f2. For years I shot with a Canon newer FD 50mm f1.4 lens on Canon F-1s and T-70s.

The Canon EF 50 was in the top 3 --- fantastically sharp and contrasty across the entire frame at f5.6 and f8, still excellent at f4, and very good at f2.8. Only the Yashica ML 50mm f1.7 beat it --- the Yashica had similar sharpness but at one stop wider than the Canon.... at f2.8 it was as sharp as the Canon at f4, for example.

Really? Interesting!  I have a Yashica laying around here....

So I agree with the other posters, stopped down a little it's an excellent lens. Wide open the Sigma 56mm f1.4 and Canon EF-M 32mm f1.4 are in a different league... before using them I didn't think any lens could possibly be truly 'sharp' at f1.4, based on my decades of vintage lens experiences.

I see you have the EF-M 22mm f2 which is a great prime, but for others reading this looking for a budget prime it's still on fire sale as a refurb for $119 with free shipping.... they're practically giving it away.

https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/refurbished-ef-m-22mm-f-2-stm-lens

Very nice!  Thanks for posting.

Fjzk wrote:

nnowak wrote:

The 32mm and 56mm are sharp wide open. The EF 50mm f/1.8 is quite soft with low.contrast wide open. You will need.to stop the EF 50mm down to f/2.8 to get sharpness comparable to what the other lenses can achieve wide open.

By 28mm, I am assuming you are referring to the 28mm f/3.5 macro. While that lens is sharp, the focal length and aperture are pretty lousy for portrait use.

Looking at your gear list, the RP and 24-105mm L at 105mm might be the best option. If you specifically want to use the M50 or M6 II, then your EF 50 will have to do.

Thanks, nnowak. Agree on the RP with 24-105 at 105mm. Was asking about the M cameras specifically since they are more and more my go-to gear when traveling or walking about due to size and weight. I will test the nifty-fifty with the M6ii when it arrives, should be a good combo stopped down a little as you and thunderstorm suggested. And, indeed, the 28 macro (48mm ff equivalent) would not be ideal for sure, unless it’s more of a full body or group portrait.

I had the EF 50mm STM and used it mainly for portraits as well. It is sharp in the center wide open and will be very sharp stopped down to 2.8 across the frame as others stated.
It is a nice budget option as it sells at very low proces used.

I replaced mine with dedicated Sigma 56mm which is 2 classes above the Canon. The EF-M Sigma is slightly smaller/shorter than EF50mm with adapter attached.

Enjoy your new camera!

Sharpness for portraits for girls, especially when they hit their 40s, is totally overrated.

Thank you all for the comments and sharing your experience with this lens. Looking forward to trying out the new camera next week!

KEG wrote:

Sharpness for portraits for girls, especially when they hit their 40s, is totally overrated.

At certain amounts of plaster it's not portrait anymore, then it becomes architecture.

Yaixi wrote:

There is a popular word in China called "Atmosphere sense". It is very metaphysical. The optical quality of the lens is no longer important. What is important is to bring people a sense of beauty at first sight.

Have a good time!

Lovely portraits, make it easier to understand ‘atmosphere sense’

Fjzk wrote:

I spent my 2022 budget purchasing a refurbished M6II plus a bunch of accessories, so no Sigma 56 or Canon 32 until next year, at least. This means that for the occasional portrait I will have to stick with the EF 50 1.8 adapted.

My budget means I can't get the 32 f/1.4 yet either. What I did get for the price of a secondhand EF50 f/1.8 is a brand new TT Artisan 35mm f/1.4 manual lens in native EF-M mount. It's surprisingly good.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313937345405

Review: https://youtu.be/1s-rv-QVmzU

User1303423862 wrote:

Fjzk wrote:

I spent my 2022 budget purchasing a refurbished M6II plus a bunch of accessories, so no Sigma 56 or Canon 32 until next year, at least. This means that for the occasional portrait I will have to stick with the EF 50 1.8 adapted.

My budget means I can't get the 32 f/1.4 yet either. What I did get for the price of a secondhand EF50 f/1.8 is a brand new TT Artisan 35mm f/1.4 manual lens in native EF-M mount. It's surprisingly good.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313937345405

Review: https://youtu.be/1s-rv-QVmzU

Thanks for sharing, this is a beautiful lens and creates great images indeed, will take a closer look!

Fjzk wrote:

no Sigma 56 or Canon 32 until next year, at least.

Too bad.  I think I just paid about $350 for the EF-M 32.  Maybe they're still available at that price if you're lucky.

ThrillaMozilla wrote:

Fjzk wrote:

no Sigma 56 or Canon 32 until next year, at least.

Too bad. I think I just paid about $350 for the EF-M 32. Maybe they're still available at that price if you're lucky.

That’s a great deal indeed. But I think if I were to buy 2 fast primes now, to complement the zooms, it would be the 56, for portraits, and the 16, for walking about - after years using an Iphone I became very used to the ~25mm focal length for casual photography.