Hewlett Packard EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens

Sure, it may be cheap looking, light and totally encased in plastic, but looks can be decieving. Very. Just look through this lens and you'll be amazed. I use it so much that I rarely take it off my camera. If you pay more than $80 you're being ripped off.

If you have the money, go with the 1.4 version. 1.8 is a good budget lens, but is noisy, slow to focus and soft at f11. Manual focus is terrible (no full time).
Agian, for the money, you can't get better...but if you looking for a best 50mm you might be looking at the wrong lens. :)

This lens is one of the bang for the buck lenses! Build quality is junk to be honest, but the optics are phenomenal!! It is razor sharp!!! The fast aperture makes this lens useful more often then you think! You can get very creative with the f/1.8! Bokeh is also quite nice! Some say it is not, but don't be fooled, the Bokeh is top shelf! This is a lens that every Canon owner should have in their bag!

Yes - it's got a lot of plastic, but for the money, who needs metal! Actually I was a bit concerned at first (thinking you get what you pay for) but I used it, love it and the F/1.8 has saved me on several occasions. Used this lens exclusively this past Christmas and was able to get some awesome light shots as well as great portraits in low light settings. If all your other lenses stop at 4.5...you'll love having this lens in your bag. Take your camera off program mode and have some fun!

9-2007 UPDATE
Had to shoot a track meet on a very overcast - almost rainy day and luckily had this lens in my bag. At 1.8 it allowed me to catch some excellent shots without increasing my ISO above 200. I am always concerned about noise - and try to say at 400 or below on my 'film speed'. For the price - this is a great little lens to have in your bag.

This 50mm prime lens is a great lens for not a lot of money. The only reason not to have this lens is upgrading to the higher end versions--which is what I ended up doing after using it for a couple of months. If you take indoor sports (basketball or volleyball) it is perfect for the lighting conditions that I had for indoor volleyball this season when my 85mm prime was just a bit too close to get the action from the sidelines. I normally set my EOS 10D on AV mode (f/1.8) and let it select a shutter speed. With the ISO set to 1600 I can pretty much stop the ball in action (1/750 or better). Can't recommend it enough and I really love the results it gave me.

Great quality, and an even better f/1.8 opening! Sharp, good for its price.

Just lacks a zoom - but it was never inteded for zoom anyways!

Very fast (f1.8), cheap, very good optics. You cannot afford to not buy this lens. Build quality isn't awesome, but you get a great bang for your buck with this lens.

I have only heard good things about this lens. Well, other than the build quality... Yes, it's made of cheap looking plastic. Even the mount is plastic and the front moves in and out and around as it focuses. (Hate it when it sticks out as I put away the lens and have to put it in Manual and retract it.) Still, it takes really sharp photos. Can't go wrong with this lens. For under $100, it is a must have for all who own DSLR or SLR. Unless you own higher models like f/1.2L, f/1.4 or the rare f/1.8 mark I older version with metal mount and ring (internal) focus. I try to use it as much as I can since I know I'll get good results. I change it only when I need the long reach and zoom. It's not for shooting an event since you have to move around too much to get the right shots but for portraits, it's hard to beat. I strongly recommend this lens to everyone who doesn't own a prime lens already.

Ok, lets start off simple and to the point...

It looks cheap, feels cheap, IS cheap! But somehow this lens can perform near the Canon L lens range without the L Price tag. This was my first prime lens and i cant honestly say it was the best choice i made lens wise.

Its pros are simple...
- Cost efficiency,
- Quality pictures,
- Good performance,
- Very Handy.
- Its very good with night shots specialy due to its fast apature of F1.8.
- It uses 52mm filters which are very cheap price wise
(i 've had to pay alot of $ for 72mm filters ie: tamron)
- Its VERY GOOD for portraits!
- Its very light...

Cons are straight forward aswell...
- A little soft at wide open (1.8)
(But if stopped down to F2.2+ it gets razor sharp)
- No zoom other than your feet(but to be expected on a prime but had to say it),
- Auto-focus can hunt in low light at times,
- Auto-focus can be a tad slow,
- Prone to flaring outside in daylight
(cured with a lens hood sold seperately *-*boo canon!*)
- AF motor is noisy but not too bad.
- It may be too light for some photographers preferences.

To each its own...

Overall i would buy this and keep this in my lens collection till i die. I can easily justify replacing it 3times if it kept breaking. Why? At $90CAN (what i payed for it) its still 10x cheaper than any lens that performs against or near quailty wise. Because of this lens, i love primes lol!

This is the so-called "plastic fantastic" - because it has a plastic mount that replaced the metal mount of the Mark I version. None the less, the lens has generally proved very reliable in use and indeed seems to have fewer build problems than the more expensive and faster EF 50mm f/1.4 lens, based on complaints on sites like photo.net. It sells for as little as US$40 (used and a lucky buyer). For such prices, it cannot be beat, and it's good even objectively as well as a bargain. On a camera like the XT and 20D and their successors, it is the equivalent of a short telephoto -- that is, what is called a "portrait lens". For this use, it may be too "sharp" and crisp, (Aunt Maude will hate her wrinkles) but you can always make Aunt Maude happy by clapping on a 'diffusion" filter just like those they used to use on Doris Day and other aging movie stars.

For information on this and other inexpensive prime lenses from Canon, see my Guide on eBay on that subject.

What can I say... this lens its the cheapest and first lens everyone should start using... Im professional photographer and Im really happy to have that lens, useful, cheap, has a lot of bad things but you really dont need L series lens to take a good pictures, this lens is perfect for portraits... and remember not camera or lens takeing a pictures... person behind camera do...

Since I used this lens I rarely use my other lenses. You simply can't resist the crisp image quality.

Noise is not a problem for me since I only shoot daily family pictures. Focusing is fast enough so you don't notice it if it was faster.

Build quality is poor. It uses all plastic housing. That's why it is so cheap. But an advantage is that it is also very light! You won't realize this until you hang your camera on your neck for a day's trip...

This lens makes taking pictures indoors very easy! Definitely a must have, especially if you do not have an add-on flash. I have yet to use it outdoors, but I'm sure it will be as wonderful outdoors as it is indoors!

As I was trying to collect a budget set for my photo-adventure, I found some shots made with Canon EF 50mm f/1.7 II lens. At first I thought it must cost a lot, like my dream lens - Canon 85 f/1.2 USM for around $2,000. When I checked the price I was shocked - below $100!

So I got it as soon as possible... and here's my opinion after trying it for some time:

PROS - Very cheap. Very light (it's plastic but it doesn't bother me). Beautiful bokeh. Pretty fast (you can shoot in dark rooms without a flash with higher ISO settings). Very sharp, especially in good light.

CONS - Autofocus loud and sometimes slow (especially in low light). With maximum aperture (f/1.8) and close shots you better switch it to manual - the depth of field is really shallow.

Bottom line - for a budget shooter it's a great lens. You won't make such miracles as with the $2,000 lens so if you have enough money - go for better. Otherwise - there isn't any cheaper choice with such a quality!

This is a fantastic little lens, very cheap and a HUGE opening (f stop of 1.8). This big opening allows for the dramatic blurred background that you may wonder "how the do that?". It's ideal for people portraits and product photography because of how you can single out the subject.
There are better quality lenses with similar characteristics, but none at such a low price point. It's a no brainer if you want to find out if a prime lense with a bug f1.8 is for you.
Be careful, prime means that this 50mm lens doesn't zoom any more. That's it. It's fixed at 50mm, so if you want larger you need to move closer. If you want more coverage you need to move further back. It's actually a lot of fun despite these "limitations".

Canon's 50mm 1.8 is their cheapest prime lens, but inside is some decent glass. This is a great lens for portrature.

I've used the 50/1.8 for years because the simple design of the optics produces great pictures. Images are sharp, distortion-free, and the lens is almost immune to flare. It is in fact one of Canon's sharpest lenses when stopped down past f/2.8.

The only problem with the 50/1.8 is that it is so cheaply built, it lacks even the most basic features. The focusing ring is tiny, and flimsy. It is impossible to manual-focus this lens with any accuracy, it needs to be auto focused.

Another complaint about this lens is that the aperture mechanism has only 5 blades. This results in the out-of-focus areas looking a bit harsher than they would with a better lens (an effect called "bokeh"). This isn't an issue when the lens is stopped down enough to keep everything in focus, but for some styles, it just doesn't have that "expensive lens" look in the blurry areas.

Those limititions should not stop anyone from buying the Canon 50/1.8 because at the price there is nothing like it. If you've only used zoom lenses, try this one out, it will help you be more creative.

I needed a fast lens that would be able to take pictures in low light conditions. My EF-S 17-85 was too slow without a flash. I came across the EF 50mm f/1.8. As per many of the reviews it is cheap ($80),small,light and basically looks like a toy. Using a prime lens took a little bit of getting used to. There is no zoom. Your feet is your zoom. But the pictures it produces are very sharp. There have been many a time where I was able to take low light shots of people on the move without a flash that my 17-85 would never of been able to capture. At f/1.8 it is a little soft but bokeh is good but not great. I tend to use it more at f/2.8 - f/5.6 where it is sharp. Using ISO 800 or 1600 with f/1.8 or 2.8 you could take amazing pictures in low light conditions. It's a very fast lens. Auto focus is noisy and tends to hunt at low light. The manual focus ring is narrow.
Value for money this is a 5 star lens. |And it's a lot of fun to use, especially for those who have not experience prime lenses. If I find that I need to replace this, I may opt for the more expensive 50mm f1.4 for it's build and superior bokeh.

What makes this lens a great ebay deal is it's wonderful lowlight capabilities. I was shooting a wedding where I was informed that flash photography was not permitted. This was no problem due to my having this lens in my bag - and the pictures were terrific. This gets a good rating only because it is cheaply built. The quality of what this basic little lens can do is nice. A real deal for the money, I have not been disappointed.

This is my favorite lens. Great for any portraits. f1.8 is excellent in low light. If I lost it, I would definately get another

Since it is so inexpensive, this is the best value lens for Canon.
I use it more than my 70-200mm IS for taking picture for my baby. f1.8 is great.
I also bought the f1.4 version but can't really tell the difference except f1.4.
I shot some really great picture with this lens, so my wife allow me to buy more lenses. haha...

I was trying to upgrade my Canon lens that came with the camera. I was looking at L series when I came across an article that said every canon owner should buy the EF 50mm f/1.8. This is an incredible lens for the price. I keep it on my camera at all times and go from there. Much better picture quality than the 18-55mm that comes on the camera.

I was looking for a new lens, one that could really give my pictures a boost in quality while saving me some money. This lens really brought about some quality and a wow factor. The f/1.8 really makes what could be an "alright" picture into one with a lot more artistic depth. The body of the lens is plastic so it's light weight but it can get a lot of dust inside.

This is definitely a great lens for those who want quality quickly while saving up for a much more expensive lens. I would recommend it fully!

Cheap, fast, and sharp lens!! Very good lens for up and coming photographers on a budget, like myself.