Photos 2004-2009
Canon 50mm 1,8 II test
For quite some time I was considering getting myself the 50mm 1,4. But then again I was not sure whether I would really use it. The temptation with this 1,8 alternative for very little money was simply too big :-) And I must say it is very good for what you pay.
Some people say that the built is lousy. I say there is nothing wrong, there is in fact very little which can be built awfully wrong. The short tubus, the lenses inside, the narrow manual focus ring and thats it. No wobbling whatsoever. So for this 100 Euro it is solid enough !
It does not come with a lenshood but a rubber lenshood designed for 52mm will do the job just fine.
Some sample shots starting at stop 1,8 to 2,5. They are 100% size crop of pictures taking from a brush. No sharpening applied....
## 50mm at 1,8 ##
## 50mm at 2,0 ##
## 50mm at 2,2 ##
## 50mm at 2,5 ##
It shows very obviously its weak side at the extreme 1,8. But this was to be expected. Already 2,0 is good and getting better (by the way. max f is 22).
Here another one showing a complete pic not at 100% to demonstrate the contrast. In that respect I am pretty spoiled by the 100mm Tokina and nothing compares to that but this lens is good also.
Finally a portrait crop - really nice (click on the picture to see 100% size)
So all in all the 50mm 1,8 II is in fact a nice toy. It is light, sharp, reasonably built, price attractive. The only downside I could mention here is that I did notice on the open side (2-3,2) the Autofocus was not always 100% spot on. This is my experience now only after a couple of hundred testphotos. Time will tell whether this is an issue in practice. I intend to use it for portraits only. My standard lense will remain my Canon 17-40mmL, yet this 50mm is light enough so it can come along :-).