This is considered the standard lens for use with Canon SLR cameras
Amazon.com Product Description Lightweight and affordable, the Canon EF 50mm lens--which offers a fast f/1.8 aperture--is an excellent lens for people who prefer a fixed focal length. Canon's lightest EF lens at a mere 4.6 ounces, the lens boasts a traditional Gauss-type optical design that delivers a sharp performance even when wide open. As a result, the lens provides an image that's extremely close to how your eye perceives a subject, making it excellent for portraits and images that require a natural depth of field. In addition, the lens focuses as close as 18 inches, helping you take extreme close-ups. Finally, the lens offers an excellent color balance. As with all Canon lenses, the lens carries a one-year warranty.

• Focal length: 50mm
• Maximum aperture: 1:1.8
• Lens construction: 6 elements in 5 groups
• Diagonal angle of view: 46 degrees
• Focus adjustment: Overall linear extension system with Micromotor
• Closest focusing distance: 1.5 feet
• Filter size: 52mm
• Dimensions: 2.7 inches in diameter, 1.6 inches long
• Weight: 4.6 ounces

Technical Details

-50mm standard lens with f/1.8 maximum aperture
-Traditional Gauss-type optical design is extremely sharp
-Focuses as close as 18 inches for extreme close-ups
-Ideal for natural-looking shots; excellent color balance
-Measures 2.7 inches in diameter; 1-year warranty
See more technical details

 "Awesome for 2 months, now blurry" 2010-07-26
By Andrew (Austin, TX)
I have hardly used this lens and abused it in no way. After 2 months it's no good to me because I can't get a sharp picture out of it. The AF is way off. If I manually focus I can come close, but no cigar. All my other lenses are awesome so I know its not the cameras fault.


 "You get what you pay for" 2010-07-25
By Lea
You get what you pay for and you don't pay much for this lens, however, what you get for the price is surprising. If you can get past the cheap build quality you'll be pleased to find that this lens takes excellent quality photos. Shooting wide open (at f/1.8) gives you a wonderful blurred background and it's easy to achieve your depth of field goals with this little beauty. That said, I do find the auto focus to be a bit temperamental at times and do sometimes miss a shot having to refocus the lens. This wouldn't have been enough to deter me from the purchase though. For just under a hundred bucks it really is worth any little quirks and it lets you try out the feel of a prime lens without having to fork out the nearly five hundred dollars for the 50mm 1.4.

Overall, very pleased and I think this lens is a steal.


 "My Go-To Portrait Lens" 2010-07-25
By T. Sonn (Palm Coast, Fl)
For the price of this lens you can't go wrong. Picture quality is great. Its made of plastic but shouldn't but too much of a big deal for most people I'm sure. This is apurchase I won't regret.


 "50mm 1.8 should be in your bag" 2010-07-23
By nate42nd
I got this lens because it's [...] bucks. I have been pleasantly surprised. It is sharp, fast, and you can do great things with the DOF (depth of field). You need to stop up to F/2.8 - F/8 . . maybe even F/16 to get the best results. Some of my best shots have come with this lens. Everybody should have one unless you can afford the 1.4 which is 4-5X as much and not really worth it IMO. The manual focus is horrible but works fine. The lens feels like a toy, but again, it works fine. In fact, better than fine. It works great. You can also keep it if you upgrade to a full frame some day. Get the damn lens. It rules and it's one of the most inexpensive lenses out there.


 "Nifty Fifty" 2010-07-23
By Magellanous
Great glass in a cheap housing makes for prime fun. I picked this up after several friends recommended adding this to my lens collection. It's well worth the money and is a great choice for inexpensive (but great) portrait work.




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