I fancy a prime lens - is the Canon 50mm F1.8 a good buy?

[Chris71]

I've got a Canon 7D2, which is currently fitted with the EF-S 17-55mm. I've always fancied a prime lens to play about with - not really with any specific subject in mind, but to experiment and improve my photography.

Last time I looked everyone was raving about the Canon 50mm F1.8, which seemed to be regarded as a very good lens for the money. Is that still the one to go for if we're talking about a budget prime lens? Is there anything I need to bear in mind about compatability/fitment for a 7D2?

[Malcolm Feth]

It is still one of the best value for money lenses available. I don't think this will ever change. Every photography lover should have one in their pocket (unless they want to be fancy and buy 1.4 or even 1.2)

You can buy these 50mm 1.8 for 50-80 pounds... Totally worth it, although I'm not using it for car photography.

[Simpo Two]

Everyone says you have to have one. I have one. I never use it.

[Malcolm Feth]

That's only your fault, isn't? We can't force you.
My favourite prime lens is sigma 85mm 1.4.

[fido]

Just to add, on a crop sensor 50mm might be too narrow. I always find myself reaching for a 35mm even with full-frame. Obviously that would cost you more and you probably won't get f/1.8.

[Chris71]

fido said:

Just to add, on a crop sensor 50mm might be too narrow.

Compatibility is the main thing I'm worried about (well, not worried, curious...) That said, it was an old housemate who I first heard raving about the 'nifty fifty' ages ago and he didn't take photography that seriously, so I'd be surprised if he had a full frame camera.

I don't have a specific requirement for it - I just like the idea of playing around with some arty low DoF shots
- so not looking to spend very much. The 50mm F1.8 appealed because you can get them so cheaply (at least, last time I looked).

Going off-topic, what I could use is a wide angle lens for shooting cars up close indoors, but I presume that that would be a rather more expensive proposition?

[fido]

Chris71 said:

Going off-topic, what I could use is a wide angle lens for shooting cars up close indoors, but I presume that that would be a rather more expensive proposition?

My favourite lens (ever) was a 24mm 1.4 which I spent close to £4500 on! That had minimal depth of field and took fantastic car, landscape, close-up portraits. I think you need to decide what you want to take photos of - the nifty 50mm is a great way to learn before you start spending some serious wedge. I still have a fifty (or 25mm on Micro-Four Thirds) and it does get used now and again, though most of the time I use a 28mm (which happens to match the field of view for a camera phone).

[Havoc856-S]

I found it's a great lens, but a pancake 35mm was good too. F2.8.

[Simpo Two]

Chris71 said:

Going off-topic, what I could use is a wide angle lens for shooting cars up close indoors, but I presume that that would be a rather more expensive proposition?

You could get a s/h Sigma 10-20mm for not much, but they're not fast, and a by-product of wide angle is that you get less of the 'shallow DOF effect'. Very wide and AND fast will be silly money.


My point on the 50mm was that you need to stay focussed on *your* needs, as there's a tendency for people to recommend their own Porkington-Bailey 26-59mm f1.0 or whatever with little regard to your needs or wallet


PS I don't think even Beano has a Porkington-Bailey 26-59mm f1.0

[Chris71]

fido said:

Chris71 said:

Going off-topic, what I could use is a wide angle lens for shooting cars up close indoors, but I presume that that would be a rather more expensive proposition?

My favourite lens (ever) was a 24mm 1.4 which I spent close to £4500 on! That had minimal depth of field and took fantastic car, landscape, close-up portraits. I think you need to decide what you want to take photos of - the nifty 50mm is a great way to learn before you start spending some serious wedge. I still have a fifty (or 25mm on Micro-Four Thirds) and it does get used now and again, though most of the time I use a 28mm (which happens to match the field of view for a camera phone).

The nifty 50 was just for fun. I occasionally take the camera if we go for a walk and just play around taking shots of anything I think might make an interesting photo. My 17-55 is quite a hefty lens to carry round on the off chance and I like the idea of a prime lens - crisp image quality, but very basic functionality so have to be a bit more creative.

The wide angle lens is a different matter. I'm by no means a photographer, but I write about cars for a living and sometimes take my own photos. It struck me that a wide angle lens could be useful for cars that are stuck indoors in a workshop or museum. I probably wouldn't use it often enough to justify the money involved, but every so often I wish I had one.

[RobDickinson]

The nifty fifty is a fun 'gateway' prime.

The new stm version fixes a lot of issues too, I say go for it

[xjay1337]

Only thing to be wary of, is at f1.8 its very soft and looks like you've smeared butter on the lense.

Great for a gateway to a prime but not an amazing lense. I havent touched mine at all since I got a 10-18.

On a crop sensor as well it was far too impractical for me to uuse regularly in crowded environments eg car shows.

[Simpo Two]

Good points. There is a tendency, on getting one's first 'fast' lens, to go 'woop!', slam it on max aperture and then be disappointed because all your shots are soft or just out of focus because the DOF is shallower than the AF ability/tog technique. Fast glass bings its own challenges. 'Which eye would you like in focus, left or right?'

[rich888]

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 costing approx £100 was one of the first lenses I purchased for use with my crop-sensor 700D and is absolutely superb for DOF plus it's damn fast and sharp so great for working in lower light situations, however, if space is tight you might not get the whole car in the frame, is also fantastic for use as a portrait lens, is equivalent I think to an 85mm on a full frame camera. You can use this on a full frame at a later date should you decide to make the leap though the 7D2 is a pretty impressive bit of kit so I guess you will be using it for quite a few more years.

I enjoy attending classic car shows and found that when using the 50mm lens quite often I couldn't back up far enough away due to other cars being in the way so needed something a bit wider so purchased a Canon EFS 24mm f/2.8 lens which costs approx £125 so isn't a lot more money but it does allow for quite a bit more to be pulled in to the frame, and being f/2.8 is still a pretty fast lens. It's so tiny when stuck on the front of your DSLR folks hardly notice you. Depth of field isn't so good but at least you can photograph the whole car without having to stand back 20 feet!

For the money these two lens are excellent choices.

Now I also went a bit mad and bought a Sigma 18-35 f/1.8 which I happen to like an awful lot and was my favourite choice for when attending car shows or using indoors but it does cost far more money. It also weighs substantially more and is comparable in size and weight to the Canon 135mm f/2 lens so is no lightweight, unfortunately it's not compatible with full frame cameras which is a bit of a blow for me because I now have a 5D3 which I'm getting to grips with. I knew this when I bought it I just didn't realise that I would be ordering a 5D3 so soon!!!

Hope this helps.

[justin220]

Ive got a 35mm prime and absolutely love it, but must admit it took me a while to get on with it.

As stated above, I was suffering from the 'blurry' pics until I got the hang of it

[xjay1337]

I'd find a 35mm better, or use a full frame.

Impossible at car shows as mentioned above. I'm sure someone who's not an idiot can get it to focus better but at f1.8 it's awful on my 100d.

[rich888]

Simpo Two said:

Good points. There is a tendency, on getting one's first 'fast' lens, to go 'woop!', slam it on max aperture and then be disappointed because all your shots are soft or just out of focus because the DOF is shallower than the AF ability/tog technique. Fast glass bings its own challenges. 'Which eye would you like in focus, left or right?'

Good points Simpo Two especially your comment about which eye to focus on especially if the model is sitting at an angle, or even worse and accidentally focusing on the nose, luckily OP has the 7D2 so should have plenty of focus points to choose from. I did initially fall for the tendency you mentioned to select max aperture which does provide the gorgeous blurry background effect in terms of ultra shallow depth of field, but sometimes this is not always the best choice to use especially when taking portrait photos or photographing cars unless they are square on. Ask me how I know this!

I guess this depends upon the type of effect you are trying to achieve

The thing with the f/1.8 lenses is that they allow for higher shutter speeds compared to f/3.5 - f/5.6 lenses which is very handy in lower light conditions. There are faster f/1.2 and f/1.4 lenses out there, but they cost substantially more money, as in thousands of pounds more. Have just looked across to my 5D3 and low and behold, the 50mm is fitted on it.

For approx £100 from virtually any high-street store what is there not to like about the genuine Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens - just bear in mind you want the newer STM version rather than the older version being sold off on the likes of fleabay for not much less money.

Edited to add three photos taken using my Canon 700D and Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM lens.

Edited by rich888 on Sunday 8th January 22:48

[tog]

xjay1337 said:

Only thing to be wary of, is at f1.8 its very soft and looks like you've smeared butter on the lense.

But stopped down it's great. I've had my Canon 50mm since my 15th birthday in 1988. I don't use it all that often (I'm more of a 35/85 kind of guy) but I shot about 250 corporate portraits with it over a few days last month and was really impressed. On a 5D3, stopped down to about f8, in good light, I'd forgotten just how sharp it can be. My assistant was amazed - especially as it was a fair bit older than him!

[Tony Starks]

I dont know what theyre like, but you can a Yongnuo version even cheaper iirc. Might be an idea to try to see if you get on with it. Ive just ordered the 35mm version for my 700d to see if I like it. As the canon version is a lot more expensive.

[xjay1337]

tog said:

But stopped down it's great. I've had my Canon 50mm since my 15th birthday in 1988. I don't use it all that often (I'm more of a 35/85 kind of guy) but I shot about 250 corporate portraits with it over a few days last month and was really impressed. On a 5D3, stopped down to about f8, in good light, I'd forgotten just how sharp it can be. My assistant was amazed - especially as it was a fair bit older than him!

I agree, they're much sharper at those apertures. Then again, it defeats the purpose of a prime IMO!

It's a much different lense but I did some playing around with a 24-70 F2.8 and that was lovely. And has a lovely price tag to go with it.