Yup, another new toy to talk about on my blog. This time instead of talking about my drumset this is about my camera and it’s accessories. Since I bought my Rebel just about a year ago I’ve fast stretched the camera to it’s limits. I’m often in need of better a better ISO range not to mention some faster FPS. I often sit and dream about the 5D Mark II, and that’s all I can do for now…dream, as the body for the camera alone is about 2100 dollars. JUST out of my price range 
. The lucky duck he is @tylerdking I believe has the regular 5D and not the 5DII, if you have the 5DII I’ll probably be stealing it. With the 5D I know he has been using his own 50mm f/1.8 so check out those photos HERE
With that being said I FINALLY received my own 50mm f/1.8 yesterday in the mail. You see there was this issue where I moved back from school in IN to home in MO, and I ordered a wireless keyboard and this lens hoping that by the time they shipped to my house in MO, which is where I sent them, that I would be there ready to enjoy them. Sadly mistake and ruining my trust in the USPS it was 3 weeks later in which I finally got my stuff. tisk tisk tisk
Good news is is that the lens is great. As soon as I got it I ripped the packaging open and stuck it on my camera. I tried to quickly shoot a picture of something in my room to compare this 50mm to my 18-55 kits lens. Below are the two shots as best I could do.
click to enlarge
#1 – 18-55 kit lens
f/5.6
Shutter 1/10
ISO 1600
click to enlarge
#2 – 50mm prime lens
f/1.8
Shutter 1/60
ISO1600
The great thing about the 50mm shot is the very shallow DoF (Depth of Field) as you notice only a certain area that I focused on is in focus while everything else falls out of focus pretty quickly. This kind of effect is great for portraits allowing you to focus in on a subjects face, especially the eyes, creates a whole new look to your photograph. Also you’ll notice that the shutter speed is much faster on the 50mm as is the f stop or aperture. Effectively these both let in more light to the sensor. Of course this lens isn’t for everything. It’s a prime lens which means it has no zoom. You’ve got to be able to get up close and personal with whatever you are shooting. Not ideal for shooting sports from the sidelines, or trying to photograph wildlife. That is unless the wildlife will get close to humans. But this lens does create some buttery bokeh.
The build quality of this lens seems to be mostly plastic, which could pose an issue if you aren’t careful with your gear like I am. It’s more expensive brothers are built out of metal but they also cost about 4 times more than this lens. Students can’t afford that kind of glass yet. Thankfully the lenses are still made out of glass though and work just fine if you are careful with the lens. It’s very similar to the kit lens in this aspect of build quality. Like I said just take care of it.
One other thing you can notice about the lens is the color profile. I didn’t edit the pictures above at all, except for shrinking their filesize for easier web use. You can definitely tell the difference in the color the 50mm produces compared to the kit lens. Honestly though right now, I prefer it. It appears to be a little more vibrant, but that’s probably because it lets in more light.
Speaking of more light, this means this lens in theory will perform better in low light. It really sounds like I have some more testing to do and more pictures to take, but overall if you are looking for a cheap and good prime lens especially this 50mm from Canon then don’t hesitate to pick this one up. They are almost disposal at their price (Around $80) if you are pining for an even heftier prime lens then be ready to fork out about $250-$360 for it’s bigger brother. It has a better build and faster aperture at f/1.4. That’ll be a lens I look forward to getting someday. Until then let me know your thoughts on the pictures and lenses. I’ll be sure to post more shots soon. Thanks a ton for reading.
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