Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens

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LOVE this lens. Im a beginner photographer, using a Cannon Rebel T6. I wanted to up my game with depth of field. This lens is amazing for portrait & up close pictures. Its so affordable & the quality turns out great. Would definitely recommend if youre looking for an affordable, easy to use lens to up your photo game.

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So here is the review that I think a lot of people are looking for. How does the 50mm f/1.8 REALLY work in a low light setting. My experience, this lens is epic. I bought it specifically for live event shooting and it was a pain in the butt searching all over the internet looking for reviews on this topic. So I am doing it for anyone else out there who was in the same boat as me. I LOVE THIS LENS FOR LIVE EVENT / INDOOR / NIGHT SHOOTING! I attached a photo I took of Ashley Monroe when she was in LA. This venue was pitch black, only lighting was shining down on stage. If you are going to shoot a live event with this lens I found for a super dark venue that f/3.5 was perfect. Then you can tweak the ISO settings and what not depending on what light you are dealing with. This photo I took while standing, I was in Manual shooting, my settings were F3.5 - my ISO at 1600. This lens does great in very very low light. It does a fantastic job at focusing and capturing the light as long as you are aiming your crosshairs right on your target and you are able to hold your breath long enough to fire off 2 or 3 photos before exhaling. If you bump it down to f/2 or f/1.8 you will need a tri pod. but even with a tri pod I dont think you would get great results in low light. Hope this helps someone out there!

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BUILD QUALITY: Let’s first talk about the build quality of this new lens. The 50 STM has had a massive upgrade in this area, and feels absolutely fantastic. From the moment I picked up the lens, I knew that it was a complete redesign from the old model, and it sure needed it. On the rear of the lens we now have a metallic mount, something I’m so glad to see. Moving up from the plastic mount has increased it’s weight slightly, but also hugely increases the longevity of this lens. On the front we’ve now got a 49mm filter thread, which is even smaller than the old 52mm thread.And even the little things like the AF/MF switch has gotten an upgrade. It’s no longer a little button that seems like it could break easily. Which is just great to see. FOCUS RING: One of the old nifty fifty’s worst parts was it’s focus ring. It was small, fiddly and in the wrong posititon at the end of the lens. And fortunately on the new 50 stm it’s all been changed. The new focus ring is fantastic. The new focus ring is very similar to the ones used in the 24mm STM and the 40mm STM, and is wider now making it very easy to pull focus with. Something that was almost impossible to do on the old version. It’s still a focus by wire system, but I quite enjoy that these days. Not only that, but it’s now also full time focus which means no more breaking the lens when you forget to take it out of Autofocus. MACRO: Now this is definitely not a macro specific lens, but one area in which they did upgrade this lens is it’s minimum focus distance, which means you can get a little closer to your subject. Where as on the old nifty fifty the closest you could get was 45cm away, now the new model you can take photos from around 35cm. And paired up with a crop sensor body like the Canon 70d, you can really get some nice close up shots with lens before investing in a dedicated macro solution. BOKEH: Now even though the nifty fifty was a cheap lens, it still produced some fantastic images with a very shallow depth of field. It’s bokeh was a little funny though because it only had 5 aperture blade. On the new 50 stm this has now been upgraded to 7 rounded aperture blade and I’ve found that it produces some lovely bokeh. It’s very smooth and very creamy, and because it’s not a funny shape, it’s also not so distracting. Now to me it’s not a huge deal because I didn’t mind the old 50’s bokeh shapes, but I guess it is a nice upgrade. AUTOFOCUS: Of course one of the biggest new changes to this lens is the inclusion of an STM or stepping motor. Now I’ve used the 24 stm, 40 stm, 18-135 stm and I’ve been impressed with them all. And I can safely say the 50mm STM is just as good, its very fast and snappy and a massive upgrade from the old version. IMAGE QUALITY AND SAMPLES: So it’s all well and good to talk about the lens, but I always think it’s good to take a look at a few sample images to see just how good it is. Please take a look at the attached images on this review to see. From my testing I’ve got to say I’ve been so impressed with this lens. Especially for $125. The bokeh looks fantastic, chromatic aberation has been greatly reduced compared to the old version, and vignetting if almost no existent. Once you knock it down to around f2.8 this lens is about as sharp as you’d get for any lens around this price range. Colours are handled very well as well and can really pop if you get them in the right conditions. So overall Ive loved the new 50 STM, what a brilliant lens.

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This lens absolutely blew me away. I have the Canon f/1.2L and used to have the f/1.4 and simply got this to see if the STM version was an improvement from the original nifty fifty. The lens now has a metal mount, which gives it an all better look and a bit more sturdiness in the hand. It is still pretty "plasticky", but youre paying $125 for it, what more do you want? Performance wise I can 100% guarantee you will see little to no difference when compared to the f/1.4, definitely not a $200 difference! The only difference is that you get not even half a stop more of light. If youre teetering on whether to get the f/1.4 or this lens. Get this lens. It may not look as pretty or aesthetically pleasing as the f/1.4, but you will get the same results, and they are stunning. I wont go as far to say its better than 1.2L, but I dont think youll find you need any need to upgrade, whatsoever, unless you have an occupation that calls to. Dont forget to perform micro adjustments with your lenses, this back focused so I had to adjust it to -5. Update 6/26/18: I have had this lens for 2 years now and still stand by everything I said above! Because this lens is so light I always have it in my bag and a lot of the time, on my camera. Crazy versatile and still sharp 2 years later.

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HIGHLIGHTS: excellent image quality, compact form factor and affordable pricing, but with few concessions in build and AF performance. CONSTRUCTION: Slightly smaller and heavier than the prior model, EF 50 1.8 II, aka nifty-fifty, but with significantly better build quality. Improvements include metal mount, sturdier barrel and AF/MF switch, larger focus ring, grippy matte finish and stepping motor (STM). Unfortunately, it has an odd filter size, 49mm, rather than 52 or 58mm common to small Canon lenses. OPTICAL QUALITY: Its the same optical formula as the nifty-fifty, but with tweaks to lens coatings and improved close focus ability. Wide open its tack sharp center frame, sharper than my nifty-fifty. Corners on full frame, e.g., 6D, are darker and softer than center but equalize by F2.8. On APS-C cameras, e.g., 70D and Rebel, there is little corner darkening or softness since nearly half the image circle is cropped out. Optimal sharpness is at F5.6. Chromatic aberration (CA) is mild and reduced over the nifty-fifty. In short, image quality is excellent open wide, even better stopped down and one ups the nifty-fifty in both sharpness and control of CA. BOKEH: I love the soft whirl of a defocused background, and this seven-blade diaphragm does not disappoint, rendering smooth bokeh and pleasantly round specular highlights. The smooth bokeh combined with pin sharp center frame really make subjects pop at larger apertures. This a great portrait lens! AUTO FOCUS speed and reliability is markedly better than the nifty-fifty. Its accurate and rarely misses focus even in low light. Focus is achieved by front element extension (nested barrel. The STM motor is quieter than the prior model, albeit not completely silent. VIDEO FOCUS on a 70D is not as fast as STM zooms but buttery smooth and great for touchscreen pulls and Movie Servo. Focus noise, while low volume, was recorded by my 70Ds built-in mic during quiet video clips. The workaround is to use an external mic or prefocus. MANUAL FOCUS is focus-by-wire: the ring merely activates the focus motor and is not mechanically coupled to the lens. Manual focus is smooth, but control isnt as good as a mechanical ring. The MF ring is thin but wider than the nifty-fiftys ring and better positioned. Like USM lenses, it has Full-Time Manual (FTM), allowing AF override without flipping a switch: simply turn the MF ring. Unlike USM lenses, FTM is only active when the shutter button is half-depressed. HOOD: The groove on the barrel is for the Canon ES-68 , locking bayonet hood. It attaches to the outer barrel, protecting the protruding inner barrel from frontal impact and flare. Its pricy but a worthwhile investment. Update (8/16/2015): The JJC LH-68 , a clone of the ES-68, is now available at less than half the cost of OEM. FINAL BLURB: The natural perspective and fast aperture make the EF 50 1.8 STM ideal for low light, travel and street photography with a full frame camera (6D). On a cropper, e.g., Rebel or 70D, its a short telephoto and perfect for portraits, indoor sports and stage. Canon got everything right with this redesign: accurate and snappy AF, sturdy build and, most significantly, vivid and sharp images wide open.

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This is a must have lens for your camera bag. The lens comes with protective covers for both ends. I have been taking excellent portrait shots with it and it is basically my go-to lens for street photography. I almost went with the f/1.4 but personally I couldnt find a big enough difference between the two for what I do. This lens is a bit slower to focus than the f/1.4 and the motor is louder but with portrait photography that makes no difference to me. If you are doing video with this lens an external mic should eliminate the sounds of the motor. One of the best things about the lens is the amazing bokeh effects that I have been able to produce (that blurry background/foreground) and that makes for some awesome shots. Again the STM is a bit loud and the focus a bit slow but for the price and the quality of this lens, it is completely justifiable. I use this on the Canon Rebel T6i. If youre a Youtuber, this is a great lens as long as your camera is mounted to a tripod, not so much for walk around vlogging. When shooting video who uses autofocus anyway. If you are a portrait shooter, you will love this lens and it will surely become one of your favorites! If you have found my review helpful, please let me know! Happy shooting!

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I just ordered this lens and I tried it out right away!! Im a portrait photographer and Ive always had a 50mm 1.8 in my bag! My older one was dropped and so I needed a new one! Im so pleased with the new STM version!! GORG colorful, crisp images!

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Im a novice. I barely know how to work a camera, and recently learned about the different camera modes my dslr has by watching a couple youtube videos. Also, I bought my lens refurbished from the Canon website, it was a little bit cheaper, around $90, but it took about a week to get to me. This is my first lens that didnt come with the camera body, and my first prime lens. Like I said before, I dont know much about photography, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. Some people dont like the build quality on this lens because its plastic with a metal mount, but that means that its also lightweight. When Im on a trip somewhere, I dont want to lug around a heavy camera and a heavy lens on top of it, so, I love that this is plastic. I havent removed this lens from my camera since Ive gotten it, and Ive taken many more pictures then I ever have before. Update*** So, I found out that my camera 70D is a crop sensor camera, and this means that this 50mm lens is more like an 80mm on a crop sensor camera. If I want a 50mm focal length, I would have to buy a 35mm lens. All this numbers stuff doesnt amount to much for me. In the end it still takes great looking pictures, and it was a great price. I took this lens to Yosemite with me, and I think it takes good landscape photos as well as portrait photos. The one drawback I have with this lens combined with my crop sensor is that I have to back up a ways to fit what I want I the picture. If Im in a small room I have to get creative to make an interesting composition rather then having the luxury of getting everything in and maybe cropping later.

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Im going to be honest when I first bought this I was still a little to use to my other lens and a bit spoiled but after actually taking to the street with this baby...I fell in LOVE! This is great for portraits and everyday in general! It forces you to move around a bit more and great for low light situations!

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I absolutely HATE the fact that this lens is so good for the price. Its a gateway lens & now I am shopping for more. This is a fantastic all around lens for photographers both new & old. I myself am brand new to the hobby (started in December 2017) & have a lot of learning to do. This is now my go to lens for Bokeh (blurry) shots, portraits, & landscapes. The Auto-Focus is fairly quick. Of course there is quicker out there but not at this price point. The image quality is clear. The lens is not so large that it would bother anyone & the weight is just right in my opinion. I just purchased an ND filter also so I can play with exposure shots. All in all.... I am in love!

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