Low price Excellent image quality sharp! light weight

Cheap build quality

I've owned one of these lenses previously in Canon FD area, so I knew what to expect when getting the EOS version. This lens is a killer deal for its price. Optically its sharp and with decent color. The price is super low. Its lightweight. It doesn't focus as quick as some lenses, but I've not had issues with this. Its a very plastic lens, but this is what you get for its low price. I wouldn't want to drop one of these lenses. I plan to replace this lens when the Canon 50mm f1.2L lens comes out- if the rumours are true.

Cheap price, decent performance.

Cheap price means cheap parts and build quality.

Great lens for the beginner/novice. Set wide open it's a touch soft, but not unusually so. Let the camera do autofocus with this lens, as the manual focus can be a bit touchy. Overall, it's a fantastic lens for the money. However, there could be some improvements. First, it's an all-plastic housing. For the weight of the lens, it's not an issue. I'm mainly concerned about long-term durability (i.e.: wear and tear). Second, the barrels don't seem to fit so snug, and the inner one tends to wobble a tiny bit if I try to focus manually. It makes focussing by hand REALLY hard. In AF mode, it's fine. The end of this lens takes 52mm filters - a pretty small size. I used a step ring to bring it up to 58mm and can now use my other 58mm filters and caps. People tend to complain about the build-quality of this lens, and I have to join their ranks. However, that doesn't mean that it's a complete piece of junk. This lens has out-lasted and put up with more use/abuse than my 18-55 "kit" lens that came with my Digital Rebel (300D), so it's not bottom-of-the-barrel. And for a lens that's under $150, it could be considered a great "disposable" lens, if you needed one to take lumps you wouldn't put other more expensive lenses through. The people that should buy this lens include novices looking to shoot with their first 50mm prime lens. Get the hang of shooting with it and, when it breaks, buy the 50mm f/1.4.

Price, light weight.

A little fragile, but not as bad as some imply

This is a frustrating lens, mainly because it makes me question the thousands I've spent on L-glass. Sure, it's not L quality in terms of build, or indeed image quality, but for a 10th of the price it does an amazing job. Focusing can be a bit dodgy, but then again at f1.8 the slightest movement of subject or photographer will show up in the photos. If you take your time and get the focus right in the first place, the lens works well.

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17-40L 70-200L 28-135IS USM

Sharp, contrasty, light and fast.

I always read complaints about build quality, for $84 dollars who care! Like I said, I must have got good copy.

I just got this lens new, for the price it's a decent build quality. I must have got a good copy. Overall It's sharp and contrasty, the bokeh is wonderful and super in low light. I'm simply amazed with the sharpness and color rendition. I will be using this lens a lot more than my Canon EF-S 17-85MM f/4-5.6 IS USM for indoor and people shots. I am very happy to have this lens. This little baby will be on my camera most of the time......

Great pictures at this price! You can't beat it. Good colors, and works well with skin tones.

Build quality. If you lug around your camera in dangerous places or somewhere where your camera can get heavily damaged..please..save yourself some money and buy a sturdy lens. Autofocus doesn't work well. Just save some time and use manual, although the ring is plasticky and annoying. But i still get great pictures! :)

I must say that after using this lens for about a year, its great. It's sharp and contrasty. I like how my pictures turn out, very good and colorful. This lens works good for portraits, since the dof is good. Good bokeh on this lens. But im having problems with the build quality. The front falls off (where like the lens goes in and out) and i constantly am fixing it. But other than that, its great

Customer Service

Never needed it, cuz my parents bought this lens 15 years ago, i can't even get a warranty.

Cheap, good imagery, fast aperture

Flimsy build that negates all the good qualities. No focus scale.

I had this lens for 3 days. Performance was O.K., sharp and contrasty. But, the build is terribly flimsy. I have never creamed a lens in fifty years of photography (including a couple of years as a combat cameraman in Vietnam, and some other environmentally hostile areas) but, a slight ding on a doorframe as a passed through the door and the lens was in two pieces - part on the camera and frontelement on the floor.

Customer Service

N/A

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50mm f/1.8 MK-I - better build with equivalent optics. A bit more expensive used than the MK-II new. Should tell you something.

Large aperture Very sharp Lightweight Great Value

none so far

I planned to purchase this lens from a local Canon store when my girlfriend surprised me with this on my birthday. I too am in love with this lens! Large aperture, sharp photos. A must have for any Canon EOS user. Makes a nice background blur for portraits. Great for night indoor shots too. Downright affordable.

Customer Service

none so far

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Sigma 18-125mm DC EF-S 18-55mm

- Very Sharp - Good price - F1.8 makes for a bright viewfinder

- Plastic everywhere, mount and all - Manual focus ring is too small - No distance scale

If your looking for a very sharp and affordable lens: this is the one for you. Here in Canada EF 50 f1.4 is almost four times the price which point people towards the 50 f1.8 II instead. Now if you compare other manufacture's 50mm f1.7-1.8's to the EF50mm the Canon would be the last pick for sure. The plastic construction is very light weight and a bit flimsy. If you have a EF50 f1.8 mk I keep it! or if you can find one for a good used price don't hesitate.

Customer Service

none needed (however if your picky like me you may need to look a few and pick the best one before you buy. Some have loose front focus barrels.

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Canon 50f1.8 Fd Minolta 50f1.4 MD Minolta 45f2 MD Canon EF 50 f1.8 (should have kept it!) Nikkor 50 f2 Ai AF Nikkor 50 f1.8

CHEAP, fast apeture, pretty sharp.

God aweful build quality, slooooooooooow and noisy AF.

A cheap lens that is much sharper than anything in it's price range. I recommend that every EOS user has this lens, since what is a SLR setup without a prme lens?

f1.8 very sharp and contrasty cheap allmost a disposable lens

a bit plastic not as solid as the mk1

A gem of lens what can i say that hasn't been said.I own two and put one on a 2x converter while im doing portraits that way it makes a great portrait lens(as long as you have a decent teleconverter)

Customer Service

not needed

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various canon tokina sigma