Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro Reviews

Rating
Reviewed by:

magic@photos
( Expert)

Review Date
December 26, 2009

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5,
1 votes

Review 1 of 9

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:

This lens more than surprised me. It proves that you don't have to have all the latest technology in a lens for it to be good. the optics are excellent, AF is fast enough for landscapes, portraits and macro work...and very accurate. I have used it on my 5D mk II, and the excellent optics complements the 21.1 MP perfectly.

Strengths:

Optics, accuracy

Weaknesses:

noisy AF

Similar Products Used:

EF 50mm f/1.8 II, EFS 60mm f/2.8 macro

Customer Service:

N/A

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Rating
Reviewed by:

1961sg
( Professional)

Review Date
April 6, 2005

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
2.20 of 5,
5 votes

Review 2 of 9

Price Paid: $399.00 from MacBains

Summary:

What a plesently surprising little lens. It is tack sharp with fabulous contrast even wide open and at any focusing distance. Granted, it doesn't focus as quickly as the USM macros but at half the price of the nearest USM lens who cares. I mean where will you need superfast focusing with macro anyway, unless you're shooting an uncooperative bug or hummingbird and even then small focusing adjustments are done reasonably quickly. To be honest the only thing I didn't like about it is that it doesn't go down to a true 1:1. 1:2 instead, but this can be helped by the use of close up lenses. For the money this lens is one Canon's underated gems. Get one and go bug hunting... you won't regret it.

Strengths:

Price Sharpness Contrast light weight

Weaknesses:

Is it a true Macro if it doesn't focus down to 1:1 ?

Similar Products Used:

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm F:2.8D Sigma 50mm Macro F:2.8 MF

Customer Service:

Non needed yet

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Rating
Reviewed by:

shlomi
( Intermediate)

Review Date
March 18, 2005

Overall Rating
4 of 5

Value Rating
4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
2 votes

Review 3 of 9

Price Paid: $320.00 from B&H

Summary:

I bought this lens after reading the very positive reviews in this site. I was very disappointed and returned it after a couple of days of shooting, and got a 50/1.4 instead. This lens is exactly what it looks like - an old compact macro. It is suitable for close range macro. As a general lens it is not really usable - it misses focus in *many* situations. There are no complaints about sharpness. However colors are somewhat washed out, and bokeh is not great. For shooting people, there is no comparison between this one and the 50/1.4 - the latter wins hands down. Get this lens only if the macro feature is its main intended use. If you want the full prime quality go for the 50/1.4 and you will not be sorry.

Strengths:

Decent sharpness Build in hood

Weaknesses:

Dreadful AF Washed out colors

Similar Products Used:

Canon 50mm f/1.4

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Rating
Reviewed by: Rollins
(Expert)

Review Date
September 12, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
4 votes

Review 4 of 9

Price Paid: $225.00 from B&H Photo

Summary:

This baby is SHARP!!! I use it mainly as a standard lens. I shot some pictures at Antietem Battlefield and the shots of the fields show every blade of grass in the field crystal clear. I shot an old brick church and noticed no distortion at all and again the sharpness of the lens just slaps you in the face! Its build quality is very good and it auto focus also is very good -- although it is not USM AF. Hey, I knew it didn't have USM when I purchased it, I just wanted it for its SHARPNESS and lack of distortion. So when I purchased this lens I bought it with an attitude 'that it better be sharp' AND IT IS! An excellent purchase!

Strengths:

Sharpness all across the lens! No distortion at all! Built in lens hood, lens is recessed, with no flare! I haven't used its Macro feature much since I have other Marco lenses. Very good build quality for this price range.

Weaknesses:

None

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF 20mm, EF 24mm TS, EF 28mm f/2.8, EF 35mm f/2, EF 90mm TS, 70-200mm f/4 L, EF 300mm f/4 L

Customer Service:

None

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Rating
Reviewed by: dadas115
(Intermediate)

Review Date
April 22, 2003

Overall Rating
5 of 5

Value Rating
5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5,
2 votes

Review 5 of 9

Price Paid: $180.00 from B&H Photo Used

Summary:

All around great performer and excellent value for the money. This lens sees a lot of use from me because it is small, sharp, light and works very well with extension tubes. I waited a long time to finally buy this lens because I kept reading reviews saying that 50mm didn’t give enough working distance for wildlife. I have not found the working distance to be a problem at all. This is one of my all time favorite lenses.

Strengths:

size, weight, cost, sharpness

Weaknesses:

build quality (but what do you expect for this price?) and AF is a little slow (not really a problem for me)

Similar Products Used:

EF 100mm f/2.8 macro USM EF 180mm f/3.5L macro USM EF MP-E 65mm f/2.8 macro

Customer Service:

This lens is too inexpensive to have fixed. I dropped my first one and broke the aperture. The estimated cost of repair was $200.

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