50mm 1.8 – MitchRyan's Blog

Upon reading the title some of you might be confused and say “What?! An L lens is a Pauper’s Lens?” Calm down, calm down. Put down the torches and pitch forks and let me explain.

Seriously the Canon 24-105mm IS USM L Lens is by no means a pauper’s lens. In fact this is a very pricey lens in its category. But it does not mean a pauper like me can’t save up and get this lens for the proper reasons. Spending a fortune on this lens actually will save me few thousand bucks in the long run and save me the hassle of selling a camera lens I no longer can use. So, why did I choose to have this? It’s because I can use it now with my current DSLR and would still be able to use it when I go full frame in the distant future.

I needed an all around lens I can use with my current DSLR body which is the 550D. A lot of my friends were suggesting the 17-55 f2.8 or the new 15-85mm. I know these 2 are great lenses. I have tried out these two lenses and they were fantastic for the crop framed DSLR’s. Others suggested the 18-135mm and the 18-200mm lens (which were no better than my kitlens). But the thing is I won’t be able to use them when I upgrade to a full frame. So, i will have to sell them, haggle with the price, etc etc and then add some more money and get a full frame compatible lens. And that is a big hassle.

With my current DSLR body the 24-105 is a great walk around lens. Not to mention it is a very sharp lens, built like a tank, weather sealed, full time manual focus. creamy bokeh, smooth zoom and focus rings,and an f4 all through out. It is my go to lens for out of the country travels and road trips and portraiture. And during times when I want to bring only one lens this is the lens I choose to bring. Well it is not that I have much to brag in my lens arsenal but the thing is I still use my 18-55 kit lens for landscape and big group photography and my 55-250 zoom for portraiture and Zoo photography.

I chose to drop my fortune on this lens because it fits exactly the description of the lens that I need. A walk around lens that I can use now with my 550D and can still use in the near future with a full frame body. And most of all it is an L lens. Cheers!

Being a teacher does not really rake in a lot of dough. And if you are a Photography enthusiast at the same time it would be a bit of a drag gathering all the goodies of photography. Well, it is not really that bad I should say. Even for a family man like me.

For someone like me who is always on a tight budget(LOL), I make it a point to find something that is rather good but still within my budget. Search and research is the key.

For this review I will be talking about the Canon’s nifty fifty. The good ole 50mm f1.8 Mk ii.

But let it be known… This review is not a professional review. This is a users review.

This lens has received a lot of very good feed backs from users.(My self included) It is quite popular in the country where I come from and very popular here in the country where I am living at present.

Let us start talking about why it is sought by many beginners and budget photographers like me. First, the price. At 3000 Thb (94 USD) this lens was really intriguing. This was the first lens I bought to boost my photography arsenal. But of course before I threw in the dough, I dug out all of the reviews of this lens in the internet. Scouring you-tube and blog sites with tags of this lens. Almost all of them had the same thing to say… “GET THIS LENS!” Second, at f1.8 this lens is really enticing. An f1.8 means a lot of light can pass through the lens and into the sensor and that is a good thing for low light photography, for blurring out back grounds, portraits, even for video this lens is awesome. And the last but not the least… it is a prime lens… no zooms.. a fixed focal length lens and this means it should be a sharp lens… and it is indeed a very sharp lens! Well nothing comparable to an L lens but it is indeed plenty sharp.

Now nothing is ever perfect. A lot of people would be asking… “If this is such a good lens then why is it so cheap!?”

That would start me off talking about its down sides. This lens being a very cheap lens manifests its cheapness in its physical build. The first time I held it.. it felt like a toy. I had doubts when I went down to the camera store to buy it. But being in a very tight budget I had no choice. I badly needed a prime lens for portraiture at that time . The plastics it is made out of is really cheap looking. It jiggles about when you give it a shake. LOL! The focus ring rotates when focusing. Not to mention it is quite.. I mean really loud. You would be able to hear it when focusing. Another complaint of pro-photographers is that it gives a pentagon-ish to oval-ish shape bokeh. Unlike the L-lenses. The bokeh it produces is round-ish.

To some photographers these downsides are deal-breakers. To some, a challenge. For me, these downsides are ignorable.(Is that even a word?) I have used this lens for a very long time. I have enjoyed the results it gives. And for me Photography is all about enjoyment.

If you want the best value for your money this is the lens for you.

P.S If you have the money to burn get the Canon 50mm 1.2 L lens. If you are planning of turning pro but don’t want to burn that much cash, get the Canon 50mm 1.4 USM lens. Cheers!

If I had missed out something, or made a mistake about something please feel free to leave a comment down below!

Jessica Carin Photography

MitchRyan's Blog

Thailand: A Home Away From Home

Tag: 50mm 1.8

Why I Chose The Canon 24-105 mm IS USM L Lens

The Nifty Fifty Canon 50mm 1.8 Lens Review