Canon EF 50mm F/1.8

[mary13]

Hi all
I am looking at buying the Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 lens tomorrow but do not know much about it.
Just wondering if someone could explain anything about this Lens as so many people rave on about the nifty fifty.

What type of photos will I get with this Lens and how does it compare to the lenses I have at the moment.
It seems the photos are sharper and clearer but are they more close up?
I currently only have the 18-55mm & 75-300mm lenses which came with my Canon 1000D.
Would love any opinions.

[MarkChap]

It is a 50mm prime lens with a maximum aperture of f1.8

"what kind of photos will I get with this lens" - well that really depends on what you photograph, I imagine you, could, get landscapes, portraits, sports even the odd architectural photograph with it, if you so desired.

"It seems the photos are sharper and clearer but are they more close up?" - only if you position yourself closer to your subject.

[chaosboi]

The 50mm primes are great for portraits as at that focal length as it will not distort the facial features like a wide lens. The 1.8 will give you nice depth of field and also great for shooting in low light due to the large aperture.

[fillum]

Hi Mary. The framing you see through the 50mm f/1.8 will be pretty much the same as your 18-55mm when set at 50mm. The big difference is that instead of being limited to the widest aperture of f/5.6 (?) on your zoom, you will be able to go out to f/1.8 on the nifty-fifty. This means you can get higher shutters speeds (good for low-light or fast-action photography), and also means that you can get nicely blurred backgrounds (for portraits etc) more easily.

Regarding what the lens will do, I find Flickr a good source for sample images (just search on the lens type). For something widely used like the nifty-fifty there are even dedicated groups such as this one (and there are probably others).
Edit: If viewing Flickr, if you click the "Actions" button above the photo then click "View Exif Info" in the drop-down you can see what settings were used for the image (if available).

I can't comment specifically on the lens performance because I shoot the good brand*, but nifty-fifties are generally regarded as having some of the best performance for the price.


Cheers.



* attempted humour

[achee]

I was going to say play and learn with your existing lenses until you understand focal lengths and aperture enough to know if and why you need a 50 1.8... but then I thought, well they are so cheap just about everyone should have one!

Generally speaking I think primes are good for still or posed situations, where you have the time to zoom with your feet, and low light situations.

[Presotto]

the 50mm 1.8 was the first lens I bought for my 1000D. To say I love it is an understatement. I do like to take a lot of portrait shots so it just suits me perfectly. The low light advantage is also fantastic. Although on the cropped sensor of the 1000D you're getting more of a 85mm on full frame, which is also great length for portrait. And like mentioned before at around $100 - $130 how could you not have one!

[mary13]

Thank you all for the great replies, unfortunately I do not know enough about Photography yet to respond fully to your replies, I need to learn a lot more about (Aperture & Focal Length) but I like the blurred backgrounds.
I am going to buy the Lens tomorrow so that I have it to practice with as they are so cheap - Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 for $89.00 at the moment.
I love taking photos of my much loved Golden Retriever and am hoping to get some nice portraits of her once I get used to the Lens.

[Film Street]

50 1.8 otherwise know as the 'plastic fantastic', don't even think about it just buy it. It's not very solid but it's so cheap. It's a must for canon shooters who only have slow zooms. Buy it, put it on your camera and don't take it off for three weeks. That's how you will learn what you can do with it.

[Nazz]

Hey Mary, I bought one today. Having heaps of fun with it ! Yep, for the price, you can't go wrong

[ausguitarman]

50 1.8 otherwise know as the 'plastic fantastic', don't even think about it just buy it. It's not very solid but it's so cheap. It's a must for canon shooters who only have slow zooms. Buy it, put it on your camera and don't take it off for three weeks. That's how you will learn what you can do with it.

Been plenty of good advice but this summed it up nicely .

Had one and enjoyed it that much I upgraded to the 1.4.

[Papou]

Didnt need one really because i allready had a Pentax 50mf1.4 for the K10D, but spotted the canon f1.8 for sale at JB HI Fi for $149, bargained it down to $139 and finally got it for $119 elswhere!!! now for that price i definetly had room in the bag for one lol.
And Nazz that should do you rather well for your Orchid shots...
brilliant for low light and portraits as previouse mentioned.

[hus]

Don't know why Canon does not include this lens as a basic setup instead of giving out the 17-55. People will be more impressed with their new camera because of the images they'll get.

[Nazz]

And Nazz that should do you rather well for your Orchid shots...
brilliant for low light and portraits as previouse mentioned.

Thanks Papou. I'mhaving heaps of fun with it ! Agree 100% Hus.

Did you buy one Mary ? I got mine for $125 at our local JB Hi Fi. Tried to get lower from them lol but no cigar.

[Mary Anne]

Don't know why Canon does not include this lens as a basic setup instead of giving out the 17-55. People will be more impressed with their new camera because of the images they'll get.

I bet they would as Canon do not give out the 17-55mm lens with the basic set up, thats an f/2.8 lens very sharp and fast and not cheap.

One of my granddaughters liked my nifty fifty so much I cannot get it back and did not have the heart to ask for it, so I also upgraded to the 50mm f/1.4

[Analog6]

Ok. The lower the f stop (eg f1.8) which equates to the wider open end of the lens, the more blurred the background will be due to shallow depth of field. As you go to higher f stops / smaller aperture (the size of the hole in the lens) the greater the depth of field - ie more in focus. Go to the newbies section here for more great stuff to help you get this stuff straight in your minf.

The nifty fifty is s great lens, I find it very useful. Great for live perforn=mance work or shiots in naturally dim situations where flash cannot be used - think museums, memorial sites, hospitals, etc.

I see you are in Brisbane, try and get along to some of the local meet ups - people will help you, no need to be shy or afraid to ask. If you can get down here any time I'd be delighted to go out on a shoot with you and you can ask as many questions as you like!

Edited to add - where are you buying it? I got mine recently for under $100 at Cameras Direct shop at Labrador.

[mary13]

Hi all
Thank you again for the great replies. Yes I did get the Lens yesterday (Nazz) from Cameras Direct at Labrador (Analog6).
Now I just have to start practising with it. I was try to zoom in with it yesterday haha! as I am so used to the zoom lenses.
Just a question, sorry am still learning?? Is it best if I have my camera set to AV and 1.8 with the nifty fifty?
Just curious where the local meet ups are in Brisbane?? I also found a great book on Exposure which is so easy to understand it is: Exposure from Snapshots to Great shots (Jeff Revell).

[BabySwine]

Hi I love my nifty fifty although a pentax!. Hope i can help you here. With that lens you do want it to be on AV because you want to control the depth of field. Let me say that if you were to photograph your dog at 1.8 then only his nose would be in focus or his eyes (depending where you focused on), so what you do is keep upping the aperture value til you get all the dogs face in focus and that will help you learn. But also make sure your shutter speed is high enough for handheld. The benefit of the prime lenses over the zooms is the fall in the background of focus called the bokeh. You will love it!

[hus]

I bet they would as Canon do not give out the 17-55mm lens with the basic set up, thats an f/2.8 lens very sharp and fast and not cheap.

One of my granddaughters liked my nifty fifty so much I cannot get it back and did not have the heart to ask for it, so I also upgraded to the 50mm f/1.4

OOps my mistake I meant the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

[Schy]

Hi I love my nifty fifty although a pentax!. Hope i can help you here. With that lens you do want it to be on AV because you want to control the depth of field. Let me say that if you were to photograph your dog at 1.8 then only his nose would be in focus or his eyes (depending where you focused on), so what you do is keep upping the aperture value til you get all the dogs face in focus and that will help you learn. But also make sure your shutter speed is high enough for handheld. The benefit of the prime lenses over the zooms is the fall in the background of focus called the bokeh. You will love it!

This pretty much sums it up! to get higher shutter speeds, you will need to adjust your ISO higher to get higher shutter speeds. But if you use f1.8 during the day and outdoors, you will be fine. It would be good to know and understand the exposure triangle to understand how the aperture, shutter speed and ISO work together.

Also about the zooming, with prime lenses, you zoom in and zoom out with your feet!

[William W]

Don't know why Canon does not include this lens as a basic setup instead of giving out the [EF-S 18 to 55F/3.5~5.6 IS] People will be more impressed with their new camera because of the images they'll get.

I doubt it.
I would expect that people generally would be more impressed with the fact that they can zoom from 18mm to 55mm and also have Image Stabilization, rather than being stuck with one, short telephoto lens, on their new camera.
With other manufacturers supplying zoom lenses as 'kit", and for a long time now: If Canon began supplying a Prime Lens - a Telephoto Prime Lens as the "kit" it would be commercial suicide, because the market would be unhappy.

WW