Light weight, image quality excellent, cheap, (mine cost £45 second hand), fast

Lack of USM but I can live with that

Can't disagree with the previous comments, I wouldn't be without it.

Customer Service

None needed

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Much better than any of my earlier MF 50mm lenses (Pentax)

Cheap,Fast, Very sharp stopped down, DOF scale,
metal mount vs. plastic on the MkII

Arc Drive Focus-slightly slower and noisier than a USM, but not bad at all.

If you can find this lens - BUY IT . I feel that it is the best value for the money. When stopped down to f5.6, 11x17 enlargements are Tack Sharp!!
Price is below $100 on the used market, well worth it.

Customer Service

None needed

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28-105USM
50mm MkII

Kinda cheap in price on the used market. Solid construction, and nice optics. Nice to see a autofocus lens with a depth of field scale.

AF is slow but there's manual focus.

Takes nice sharp images and a great buy if you can find it one the used market. The FD50 1.4 is a bit sharper but the Ef50 1.8 type one feels more solid, and has better glass I think, than the type two version. Nice contrast. Sharper than the Canon 28-105 at the 50mm setting.

Lens will be hard to find since this has a more sturdy metal mount, and more sought after because of that and its optics, and not plastic like the type 2 1.8 EF. If you see it used, don't delay and just get it!

Customer Service

None. Purchased used.

Similar Products Used:

Canon FD 50 1.8
Canon FD 50 1.4
Canon EF 28-105 3.5-4.5

Build quality, metal mount, distance scale, killer optics

non-USM autofocus motor

A great standard lens if you can find one on the used market. Very sharp at f/4 and smaller apertures, and excellent build quality.

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FD 50/1.4 SSC

quite possibley the sharpest lens canon ever made for the consumer in mind.
Inexpensive.
Fast f/1.8. is perfect for low light/ no flash situations
and this is one tough lens.
DOF scale window and a metal mount finish off this lens perfectly

very loud for such a small lens,

they replaced this lens with the questionable 50 1.8II. (no DOF scale or Metal mount)
now only avaible used.
the price is going up for these lenses, I am going to buy a 2nd and the price is now in the $80-$110 range, but ti is still a great bragin.
everyone should have at least one prime lens and this is it.

Customer Service

not needed

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None

SHARP!!! Fast, light, inexpensive, and well constructed.

Loud autofocus motor, but at this price and optical performance, I don't really care!

This is easily the sharpest lens I own. With this lens transparencies are tack sharp from center to corners from f/2.8 to f/11, and even pretty sharp at f/2. It blows away a plethora of zooms in optical performance, and it is cheap to boot. However, this lens is out of production so you have to do a little searching to find it. The series I version of this lens (which is the one being reviewed) has nice construction: a focusing distance scale, DOF markings, a nice focusing ring, metal mount, and a groove for a lens hood (ES-65III). I mention this because the series II lens, which is the one in production now, does not have any of the above. The series I lens is definitely worth searching for, and chances are you'll find one on eBay.

Customer Service

None needed

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50mm setting of various zooms

Sharp optics and better than expected contrast and color rend. A nice solid metal mount

it is noisy, but most lens of this class are

This is the tradional style 50mm lens of nice quality and construction. You can find them on the online autions and they actually are increasing in price. That alone indicates the quality of the optics of this little lens.
This is the type of lens Camera makers once included in camera kits before the days of "Zoom" lens. For my self, I now find it easier to attach a good 28-70mm f/2.8 zoom, than this little "tiger".

That being said, this lens is still used allot by friends whom I loan it too to learn photography to. I highly recommend it to a beginner who wants to learn the basics the most of us did way back when. Why canon would redesign it with a "plastic mount" is a mystery. It just goes to show how the "Standard" 50mm lens has now taken a back seat to the Zooms of today. a Simple little lens that takes great photos.

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Most Nikon 50mm lens of this class

Incredibly sharp and affordable.
A very solid consumer lens.

Canon stopped producing the MkI and opted for the cheaper to produce MarkII.
Somewhat slow focusing
Very small focusing ring

If you can find this lens, buy it! It is a great lens, takes up very little space in the camera bag and produces very sharp results. I have not used the MkII. If you want an EF 50mm lens either save up for the EF 50mm f1.4, or but this one. For $50, I am extemely pleased.

Customer Service

None needed.

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Auto-Takumar SMC 55mm f1.8 and various other lenses.

Metal lens mount, DOF scale, light wieght

No longer available, only the lower quality Mark II is current.

Great lens at a low price. Not up to the Leica but very sharp. If you can find one buy it fast before someone else does.

Customer Service

Never needed

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Leica 50mm f/2 Summicron

Distance scale
Front element doesn't rotate
Fast f1.8 when you need it

Loud focus (but then my other lenses are USM)
Lack of full-time MF (ok I've been spoilt)
Distance not reported to camera

Used on the EOS D30 with its 1.6x cropping factor, this lens has the field of view of an 80mm lens, and thus makes an excellent portrait lens.
My only other current lens with this focal length (the 28-135) is 2.6 stops slower, and it makes a big difference!
The quality is great, and the price is good even if I had to pay a little more than for a new Mk.II.

Similar Products Used:

EF 28-135mm
Super-Takumar 50mm f1.4