Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II Photography Camera Lens Review

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens Review

Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II

Camera Lens for Photography: 

When the point is quality camera lens in low budget, I'd love to recommend Canon 50mm 1.8 II to every Canon DSLR camera user. Canon ef 50mm f/1.8 II is the one of the cheapest Canon lenses(around $100) and lightest lens (130g) in the Canon line-up. This lens is very user friendly on most of the Canon cameras. It has Gaussian optics that provide sharp delineation from different focusing distances. The build quality is not very good but good enough to recommend positively because the lens produces quality images. If you see the lens you may guess why the price is low. Sometimes the lens feel like a toy than a optics because of its build quality. But you will never regret buying this lens because of its picture quality.

Choose right camera lens for your Camera: 

Canon 50mm 1.8 is the cheapest prime lens after kit lens. Nikon users can go for Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D or NikonAF-S 50mm f/1.8G. NikonAF-S 50mm f/1.8G produces better image than that of Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8D.

Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II specification:

The lens provides a micro motor auto focus. That why you don't have to go manual all the time and the AF speed is impressive. The price is ultra low and weigh is ultra light. You will feel comfortable holding it. The focus ring positioned at the very front and is very narrow so you may feel problem while shooting in manual mode. Lets go to the detail specification:

Lens Specification:	Detailed Specification of Canon 50 mm f/1.8 II
Lens Name	CANON LENS EF 50mm f/1.8 II ( EF for "electronic focus". That means there is a built in auto focus motor in the lens body.)
Lens Construction	6 elements in 5 groups
No. of diaphragm blades	5 straight blades.
Angle of view	(horizontal 40°, vertical 27°, diagonal 46°)
Focal Length	50 mm
Max and Min. Aperture	Maximum 1:1.8 / Minimum 22
Closest Focusing Distance	0.45 m or 1.5 ft.
Max. Diameter x Length	2.7" x 1.6", 4.6 oz. / 68.2 x 41.0mm
Filter diameter	52 mm
Max. diameter x length	68.2 x 41 mm
AF actuator	Micro Motor
Weight	130 g

Owners Manual (PDF)

Performance and quality of Canon EF 50mm EF1.8 II:

It is not only the cheapest lens of Canon but also one of the sharpest lens of canon. It is cheaper than other lenses due to its build quality. Manufacturer spend a little money on the body but not in the optics.

★ Distortion: You may face some minor barrel distortion same as the Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM but the level of distortion is negligible.
★ Focus: This lens comes with a speedy auto focus motor. There is switch to turn manual focus on or off. While in auto focus mode don't turn it, it will go against the auto focus motor. The speed of the focus motor is good enough but you may find some noisy sounds.
★ Mechanics: Almost all of the body made of plastic with high quality glass optics. The focus ring, barrel exterior, filter threads and mount all are made of plastic.
★ Sharpness: Canon 50mm 1.8 produces very sharp images. While shooting wide open like 1.8 or f/2.0 you may face soft photos but if you narrow the aperture to f/8 to f/11 you will get awesome photos. In some cases you will find it gives sharper images than the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Lens.
★ Bokeh Quality: If the background is so far you can have decent quality bokeh. Bokeh shows how nice the background blur looks when the background is out-of-focus. If you get some colorful lights at a distance then you can have nice bokeh background. Shoot with the maximum aperture during concerts, wedding ceremonies or street lights at night to get awesome bokeh.
★ Ergonomics: The most negative point of this lens that it has a super-tiny focus ring made of simple plastic which will hurt you if you want manual focus. It is very small to operate unless you are very careful. And there is no focus scale. The first version of this lens has a metal mount ring but the updated version with the plastic mount.

Optical Quality:           ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘
Mechanical Quality:    ☘ ☘
Ergonomics:                ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘
Usefulness:                  ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘
Price/Performance:      ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘
Overall:                        ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘ ☘

Reasons to buy Canon EF 50mm EF1.8 II:

★Lightweight. ★ Very sharp picture quality.  ★ Fast
★ Affordable.  ★Decent Bokeh, ★Excellent pictures.

Limitations of Canon EF 50mm EF1.8 II:

★ Focus hunts in low light     ★ No image stabilizer  ★ Looks fragile.
★ Does not look professional ★ Cheap build quality  ★The tiny focus ring, positioned at the very front, so it's not really convenient.

Sample image of Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II

We have discussed enough about the lens. Now lets see some sample images.

Recommendations and Photography Tips: 

I personally used this lens before and i found it awesome. You can go for a Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM if your budget is not low but if you are in a tight budget this one is for you. This lens may not be so useful for very professional photographers but this is a must lens for students, amateur photographers and semi-professional photographers.

☼ Use lens hood in sunny condition.
☼ Use manual focus during low light.
☼ Put on lens cover when not in use.
☼ Don't pick up a camera by camera lens, always hold and move your camera by camera body.

Where and when to use Canon 50mm 1.8 II lens: 

You can get great images if you use it wisely. You can use this lens in different events and conditions.

★Very good for low light photography ★ For Wedding photography ★ For family portrait
★ For food photography ★ Newborn photography ★ For Concerts ★ For Street Photography
★ For Portrait photography (Learn rule of thirds in photography) ★ In bright daylight (Learn sunny 16 Rule of photography).

**Remember photographer behind the camera is the most important thing of photography. A good framing idea, exposure knowledge and light understanding can fully change the picture quality.

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Thanks.