Long Walk PhotographyA walk, a hike, a journey.
Long Walk Photography
Are you thinking about buying the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM prime lens? I have been using this lens for a couple years now. It is one of my favorite lenses. In some ways it is versatile, in others it is not at all. Read below for the pros and cons from my point of view.
Hi, My name is Jason Nihart and today I am reviewing the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM prime lens. You can find it here on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LMm0Ok A small commission may be earned.
The EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens is a lightweight, compact, easy to carry lens that is a fantastic addition to your camera bag. I use mine for portrait, landscape and macro photography when using an extension tube. This is actually one of my favorite lenses. It is along the lines of having a regular point and shoot camera, and using an extension tube, I have had excellent results with macro photography.
For the quality and other pros of this lens, the price is excellent.
This lens is very light weight and compact. Very easy to transport. Taking up very little space in your camera bag.
I find the quality to be great. I have had no problems with chromatic aberration. The images have been sharp, even using the extension tube. The image above is a crab spider on a dandelion.
I find the lens very easy to use in most cases. But because it doesn’t have a zoom feature, I knocked it down a bit. It is a lens that is easy to get used to, but still has limitations when composing the image.
Specifications:
Focal Length and Maximum Aperture:
50mm f/1.8
Lens Construction:
6 elements in 5 groups
Diagonal Angle of View:
46°
Focus Adjustment:
AF with full-time manual
Closest Focusing Distance:
1.15ft/0.35m
Filter Size:
49mm
Max. Diameter x Length, Weight:
2.7 x 1.6 in., 5.7 ounces
69.2 x 39.3mm, 160g
The price for the Canon EF 50mm lens is a little more than $100 for a new lens and under that for a used lens, at the time of this posting. The exact price changes between vendors and locations.
The quality is excellent, the newest version of this lens has optimized lens placement and coatings which help deliver better color balance and reduce lens ghosting and flare.
Versatility, I don’t think the lens is very versatile at all. It has a low minimum focal distance of 1.15 ft. which is great. But other than that the lens is fixed and you need to move the whole camera to change any aspect of the composition. Or move the subject which might not be possible. If standing on a bridge photographing a waterfall, you may not be able to move forward or back to get the composition you want.
The lens has been great for macro photography. It has produced sharp images of subjects that are only 1/4 of an inch. The Crab spider above is about 1/4 in. and the eyes are in sharp focus. The extension tube does mean you need to get within about 4 inches of your subject.
This lens is very easy to pack into your bag, it is tiny and very light, my thoughts, others may think it takes up precious room that spare batteries or something else might better be used.
It is a very easy to use lens. Your feet are the zoom, or tilt your body. The composition of the photograph is made by you, you move to get what you want. The 50mm lens is very close to standard human vision. Standing up and snapping a picture may give someone the feeling of being there, good. Or you can change perspective and give a view point that others wouldn’t think about, but it would still be what they would see if they were there.
Ready to buy? or want to look at the accessories that can come with the lens? Check it out here: https://amzn.to/2LMm0Ok on Amazon.
If you found this review helpful, check out the blog page for other reviews and posts, or the gear page to see what other equipment I use.