Comments on: New Toy: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens

By: Adam Parker

Adam Parker — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 04:50:14 +0000

This is a great little lens. I have been able to get great shots with it, and, like you said, the price can’t be beat. I put a review of the 50mm f/1.8 up here and I hope it helps show some more about the optics of this lens.

I think I will bite the bullet at some point and pick up the f/1.4 USM at some point, I would like the better focus speed it offers.

Thans again for the post, good read.

By: bbum’s weblog-o-mat » Blog Archive » SLR Lenses: Seeing Ghosts

bbum’s weblog-o-mat » Blog Archive » SLR Lenses: Seeing Ghosts — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:52:15 +0000

[...] shot was taken with the 50mm f/1.4 lens, at f/1.8. This is a completely fantastic lens that I have raved about [...]

By: ..:blog.maccarocks.com:.. » Using Flickr to power a photography portfolio

..:blog.maccarocks.com:.. » Using Flickr to power a photography portfolio — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 02:41:59 +0000

[...] a Canon prime 50mm f/1.8 (aka Canon Nifty Fifty) from ebay for £45 which according to many, many, many reviews is an excellent lens to start [...]

By: Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D: The Little Lens That Could… at drewd

Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D: The Little Lens That Could… at drewd — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:17:33 +0000

[...] Bill Bumgarner on New Toy: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens [...]

By: bbum’s weblog-o-mat » Blog Archive » Butterflies (And Too Much 50mm is Too Much 50mm!)

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 04:02:29 +0000

[...] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License. Amazon.com Widgets « New Toy: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens [...]

By: loose ends » Blog Archive » 50mm

loose ends » Blog Archive » 50mm — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 19:35:06 +0000

[...] a bunch of interesting and noteworthy people have caught on to the bliss of photographing with a 50mm prime lens, and i [...]

By: Photographic ramblings « scattershot genius;

Photographic ramblings « scattershot genius; — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 23:23:00 +0000

[...] few good photography-related discussions of late — namely, Bill Bumgardner’s reflection on prime lenses, with related commentary by James Duncan Davidson. I wholeheartedly agree… my 50/1.4 is the [...]

By: Yokimbo » The Best Deal in Photography

Yokimbo » The Best Deal in Photography — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:14:12 +0000

[...] mentions Bill Bumgarner’s comments on John Gruber’s notion that a $100-ish 50mm f/1.8 lens will drastically change your [...]

By: bbum

bbum — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 15:08:15 +0000

I don’t think that I or anyone else commenting on this post has implied that the $76 50mm f/1.8 is a great lens considered in any other context but performance for the price.

At a price point of $76, it can’t be beat. The lens you are referring to — the Canon 50mm f/1.2 L — comes in at around $1,300. Huge price difference for only incremental performance improvement. Sure — it is a huge increment, but does not compare to the transition from “no 50mm fast lens” to actually having a 50mm fast lens.

One area that the 1.2L simply cannot compete is that of weight; the f/1.2L is 4x the weight of the 50mm 1.8 consumer lens.

Frankly, I would rather spend $1,100 on the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM and keep the 50mm f/1.8 as the always-on-the-camera general purpose beater lens.

By: Peter Hestbaek

Peter Hestbaek — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:59:52 +0000

While I agree that is is cheap and there is a long way (moneywise) up to the L glass, I think that the difference is well worth the money, of course depending on your needs.

I just bought the canon 50mm f/1.2 L and while you, under some circumstances, may be able to get just as good results with the 1.4, but… if you use the L combined with a pro camera (5D and up) and pro software (capture one), you will be able to get better results with the L glass.

Thats my take on it

Peter