Camera Labs

Hi everyone,

I was watching some reviews of the 650D on youtube (damn, that touch screen looks delicious) and in some of these reviews they mentioned to go for a body-only deal and go for the 'plastic fantastic', instead of a kit-lens. Google told me that this lens is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II. Does anyone have any experience with this lens? It seems to good to be through, being 'only' 100 euro's.

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"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein

That's indeed a wise assumption, but in this case it's completely false. The "plastic fantastic" as it's called is not a fast focusing lens or extremely well built, but the optics are incredible. Even more so when you consider how cheap it is. The newest kitlenses aren't that bad either though, and you will have both a bit of zoom and IS available then. I think it's a difficult choice to be honest.

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Cameras: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 40D
Lenses: Canon EF 17-40/4 L USM, Canon EF-S 60/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L USM, Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Want list: Canon EF 24-105/4 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro L IS USM

The 50mm f/1.8 has its uses, as does the kit lens. It all depends on what you want to use it for, but the kit is more generally versatile.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Whilst this lens is very good value for money and offers sharp optics on a budget I would not get it instead of the kit lens. I would get it as well. If you only had the 50mm you would struggle with many areas of photography such as landscape and group portraits as it is not wide enough. The 18-55mm offers good versatility for a first lens which is why many people go for it. The 50mm would be good for portraits and low light photography but I would get it along side the 18-55mm.

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

While the 50mm f/1.8 falls within the kit lens' focal range, I don't think it's a comparable lens when put against the kit lens, not just because of the arguably sharper image quality but also because of low light performance and your depth of field (blurring the background more easily while only having the subject in focus), not to mention its fixed focal length making it less flexible e.g. less suitable for wide-angle or landscape shots.

I agree with James in saying it's a lens you would generally buy to go alongside the kit lens rather than replace it.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

But it is defenitely worth getting? It does add something, even though it's a 'cheap' lens.

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"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein

Yes getting it along side the kit lens is a great idea!

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

As they say, "your mileage may vary" but I do think it's a lens worth giving serious thought to buying. In terms of IQ, I think it has amongst the best bang for your buck.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

Well, the idea so far is to get the 650D body (so no kit lenses). Then get the Tamron 70-300 SP VC USD and the Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II VC LD.

The addition would then be the 50 mm plastic fantastic. I presume it still adds a lot for the 50mm range.

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"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein

Hmmmm to be honest I am not so sure about that. If you have a 17-50/2.8 from Tamron, then I think the plastic fantastic is still nice, but way less useful than in the situation with the kitlens. I could be mistaken though, so if people have a different point of view on this please share your opinion .

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Cameras: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 40D
Lenses: Canon EF 17-40/4 L USM, Canon EF-S 60/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L USM, Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Want list: Canon EF 24-105/4 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro L IS USM

I agree with MTK. I forgot you were buying those two lenses. With the 17-50mm you have a constant f2.8 aperture which would be pretty good for portraits and low light photography. The 50mm is therefore less useful. It is however still a good lens to buy for a beginner. Having a fixed focal length makes you work harder to get a good composition and as a result of that you can improve your photography a lot faster. It would also be good for the times when there is very little light or when you know you are only going to be taking portraits.

Hope this helps,

James

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

It did! Thank you all for your input. I'll put the 50mm F1.8 on 'hold' for now. I think I have everything now:

Canon EOS 650D body, 17-50mm Tamron 2.8 VC, 70-300 Tamron 4.0-5.6 VC, Lowepro Nova 200 AW (or maybe the 190 AW, still in doubt about that one), 2x 16GB Sandisk Ultra memorycards (class 10, 30 MB/s) and a spare battery (probably the original, just to make sure).

Am I missing something? Maybe a flash and tripod, but those are "extra's", right?

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"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein

Yeah and it doesn't stop there, the optional list goes on and on:

UV filters
Pola filters
ND filters
Battery grip
Flash
Tripod
Monopod
Cleaning cloth

And to be honest: loads more could be added. But to start off with you have a fine list of stuff on there .

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Cameras: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 40D
Lenses: Canon EF 17-40/4 L USM, Canon EF-S 60/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L USM, Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Want list: Canon EF 24-105/4 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro L IS USM

I hate to say it as it's a cliche but it really does depend on how, where and what you're shooting. On some occasions, a flash and/or a tripod/monopod can be essential items but on others, they are extras.

A tripod is handy when you're shooting at a low shutter speed - image stabilisation accounts for some small movement but it's most unlikely to help if you're doing handheld shots at long exposures.

If you attach a lens hood to your 17-50mm lens, it would be worth doing a shot or two at 17mm with the built-in flash. With my 15-85mm, I get a vignette from 15-24mm with the flash due to the lens hood i.e. I'd have to either remove the lens hood or use an external flash to avoid getting the vignette.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

Oh noes! My poor bank account!

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"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein