Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II

This is a review of the Canon 50mm F1.8 mk2 Lens. The EF 50mm f1.8 II is a simplified version of the original EF 50mm F1.8 of 1987. This is probably Canon’s cheapest lenses available, however, the image quality of the lens is superb. This fast lens is used as a standard lens on a full frame dslr or a 35mm film camera. However, on a APS-C format dslr, it acts as a short telephoto lens at 80mm equivalent. Combined with a wide aperture of F1.8, this lens is suitable to be used as a portrait lens.

The EF 50mm f1.8II is made up of 6 elements in 5 groups and has a filter thread of 52mm. The exterior of the lens is made from black plastic. The built quality feels extremely poor, which is probably one of the downsides of this lens, however at this price range you really wouldn’t expect anything better than this. If you’re looking for a solid lens, than this is not the right choice for you, try looking at the F1.4 model or better, try the amazing L series-lens, the Canon 50mm F1.2L. Of course, one of the advantages that it’s made from plastic is this lens is extremely light, at a featherweight of only 130g. Thus it wont add much extra weight on your bag if you’re carrying it along. A very good lens for travelling light.

This lens could be easily switched from auto focus(AF) mode to manual focus(MF) mode (or vice versa) by changing the AF and MF switch located on the lens. On manual mode, you can focus by turning the focusing ring located right in front of the lens. The auto focus performed well in most cases except in low light where it would take awhile to focus occasionally which is quite annoying sometimes. Besides, the noise is quite loud when auto-focusing. My suggestion on using this lens is try using the manual mode as you could at the same time improve your photography skills. Once you’re used to the manual focus, you would find focusing on subjects faster and more accurate.

The minimum focusing distance of this lens is 0.45m or 1.5 ft. equivalent. You wouldn’t want to use this lens for close up shots. Another important thing to note is that the out-of-focus backgrounds, which is anything but smooth with a distinct tendency to render bright highlights as obvious pentagons is not very pleasing. Here are few examples of it, notice the pentagons on the blurred background.

@f3.5, ISO3200, 1/125sec

@f4, ISO3200, 1/125sec

In conclusion, the price/performance ratio of this lens is really hard to beat. Although there are a few downsides of this lens but thats not much you could ask for really at this price. This prime lens is extremely sharp, especially when stopped down. It also shows minimal chromatic aberration, and has relatively low distortion. Besides, APS-C users will also benefit from extremely low vignetting. Given the price of this lens, this is a must-have-lens for every photographers unless of course if you could afford the EF 50mm F1.4 which is 3 times the price or the 50mm F1.2L which could dig a hole in your wallet. Lastly, unlike most premium canon lenses which are made in Japan, this lens is made in Malaysia! My home country. haha, proud to own it.

Sorry that i couldn’t compare it with the 50mm f1.4 or the f1.2L because i dont have any of those, but you could probably get some comparison reviews at some photography websites.

Here are some of the photos taken using the Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II: