Lowest Price Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens

There is really no reason not to buy this lens, unless you're considering upgrading to the 50mm 1.4 lens for a faster and more durable lens, albeit at nearly 4 times the cost. This could be worth it, but unless you change lenses like it's your job (which it might be), or work in ridiculous conditions (America pretty much doesn't qualify), there's really no need. For the price and the great quality that you get in return, this lens has no equal. The 1.8 aperture is unbelievably useful, especially for stopping action, which IS does not help anyways.

The sharpness of the lens is a nonfactor. This is also true of almost any lens made in the last 50 years by a reputable dealer. Sure, the lens is a little sharper stopped down from f/1.8, but the biggest limit to the sharpness of the picture at large apertures is in fact going to be the depth of field, not the actual sharpness of the lens. Since only one point is in perfect focus, the rest of a 3D object will be progressively less in-focus as it gets farther away from or closer to that point, limited entirely by the depth of field.

Treat this lens right, and you'll have it for a long time. The question to ask yourself if you're considering the 50mm 1.4 is if you think getting a wider aperture is worth the cost. Or, if you don't care about the wider aperture as much (most people don't often need it), then ask yourself if you think you'll go through 4 of these lenses in the time you would go through one of the 1.4's due to cheaper build quality. In my opinion, if you think you might, you should be more concerned about protecting your lenses.

Overall this is a spectacular wide aperture lens, the color rendition is excellent, and it makes for a fine short telephoto on a 1.6 crop factor camera, or a great normal lens on full frame. And while using this lens as an everyday lens is fine because of it's low-light capabilities, be aware that this is not a wide-angle lens, especially on a 1.6 crop factor camera. So you might need to back up a few steps to get everyone in the picture, which is OK so long as you have the space. If you need a wider lens, the 18-55mm IS lens is actually quite good for the price, with the only real competition coming from the much more expensive 17-40L, or the 18-55mm 2.8 IS, which cost 6 - 10 times as much.Get more detail about Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens.