Question about Canon lens...

Rylan Zolinski

Rylan Zolinski

Well-known member
I have the packaged 18-55mm lens for my T2i and was wondering if the 50mm 1.8 is worth grabbing? I want a lens with better low light capabilities and was wondering if there would be a big difference between the two?
 
in terms of sharpness, not so much, but in terms of light gathering: huge difference (more than 3 stops)

and that also translates to ability to blur backgrounds (although the 50mm f/1.8 has relatively mediocre bokeh, a 3 stops difference more than makes up for that!!)

I have tested both:
http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsa.html
http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsv.html
http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/bokehtests.html

also, one thing they have in common is the very bad construction quality and the nasty focus ring...
 
Everything NormanBates said is true. That said...get the 50 1.8. If you're shooting with a T2i and the kit lens, I'm guessing you're fairly new to this and that you don't have $500-1,200 to throw at your next lens, right?

My first camera was a T2i, and my first two lenses were the kit and the 50 1.8. If I were a photographer, I'd be a little frustrated with the softness of the 50 1.8 and the imperfect focus. But as a videographer, that lens is sooooooooooooo worth the money. Yeah, it's made of plastic, and the optics aren't perfect, but if it weren't made of plastic and if the optics were perfect, it'd be a $1,500 50 f/1.2.

If you can afford the $350 50 f/1.4, you should get that instead. It's a little faster, a lot stronger, and the focus is better. If you can't afford that, the 1.8 is a splendid choice for a low budget.
 
Or better yet skip the modern lens and get a vintage Zuiko 50mm f1.8 for $30, a fotodiox.com adaptor for $15 and have an incredible tool that is as sharp as it gets for next to nothing.
 
c3hammer said:
Or better yet skip the modern lens and get a vintage Zuiko 50mm f1.8 for $30, a fotodiox.com adaptor for $15 and have an incredible tool that is as sharp as it gets for next to nothing.
Click to expand...

I have an old Olympus hanging around that I forgot about. I just took a look at it and low and behold, it has the 50mm f1.8 (wasn't aware of this). I just now need an adaptor. :)
 
Last edited:
Morox said:
I have an old Olympus hanging around that I forgot about. I just took a look at it and low and behold, it has the 50mm f1.8 (wasn't aware of this). I just now need an adaptor. :)
Click to expand...
Now you'll get to find out how evil dslr's are without IS and how difficult pulling focus can be with a relatively fast lens :)

Get that thing on a tripod and lets see what kind of gold you can dig up for the measley $15 it cost to give it a try.

Cheers,
Pete
 
It's awesome for shooting photo's. I use mine all the time for all the really low light stuff. Flowers, lower light family shots, etc. I used it all Christmas and got some great stuff. Again the tripod is highly recommended. Without IS the low light shots with slow shutter speeds are really tough to do hand held.

Cheers,
Pete
 
Here's a video test of my 70-200 f4 L IS and the Zuiko 50mm f1.8

http://vimeo.com/33387227

Not stills, but you can see the bokeh and general sharpness relatively speaking are not indicative of the $1300 vs $30 price difference. Bang for your buck is monsterous with those Zuikos :)

Cheers,
Pete
 
(just bear in mind that manual focus is slow: no pictures of kids, sports, etc; and even for portraits of adults they'll have to be mildly patient)
 
I just received the adapter ring. I get errors in liveview mode or when I try to shoot in manual mode. The video function works fine though. I don't know what's up?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top