50mm Lens

The 50mm lens is a classic piece of kit, it’s basically the WYSIWYG of the lens world. The idea being that it will give an image that correlates to what your eyes see, albeit at a reduced field of view.
The lens was a standard fitting on most 35mm cameras for a number of years, and made famous by many of the great photographers in particular Cartier-Bresson and Elliott Erwitt. There’s a good article here on shutterbug.com with some more info.

I recently picked up Canon’s EF 50mm f1/8 II Lens, and I have to say it’s a really fantastic. I am completely taken with it, and have had it attached to my 350D body for the past few days. In comparison to the (approximate) 50mm setting on the EFs 18-55 lens that comes with the 350/400Ds as standard there really is just no comparison!
With an aperture going to f1/8, it lets in plenty of light. It’s great for available light portraits and candid shots.
This aperture gives a shallow depth of field, helping to removed any background mess, which can be very effect in close up portraiture.
One negative is the plastic enclosure and general build which does feel a little cheap, but for the price maybe that’s to be expected; and given just how inexpensive (trust me, it’s pretty cheap!) it is, it’s hardly a complaint.

It really is very difficult to find fault with the lens, and I’d highly recommend it to any Canon users out there, particularly if you’re moving away from the EFS 18-55 that came with your camera and looking for that first prime lens to start the lens collection. It’s an opinion shared by a good many others, take a look at the discussion here on fredmiranda.com.

It’s also available to buy on amazon; Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens