Customer Ratings & Reviews

Definitely a lens everyone should own. Known as the "Nifty Fifty", Canon's 50mm f/1.8 II is a plastic fantastic all-around lens for every photographer. It can be used for street photography, portraits, macros (to an extent), and a plethora of other things. The autofocus is always spot on (albeit a little bit loud), and is good for night shots so long as you shoot wide open. At f/4, the center is sharpest. At f/8, the corners should lose the minor vignetting. The only real downsides* are the entirely plastic build (which does not compromise image quality), which requires safer care** than most other lenses, and the loud and somewhat slow autofocus, which isn't the best for quietly taking photos. Yes, if you have the money for them, you should go for the f/1.4 or f/1.2, but consider this: you could buy and break ten of these f/1.8's and still not spend more on them than you would on an f/1.2. If you have some money to spare, buy this lens. You won't be disappointed. (*I also wanted to note something about the Autofocus. Do NOT move the focus ring while the lens is set to AF. Because of the fragility of the lens, you could potentially break the focus motor by moving the focus ring while it is set to AF. I didn't add this into the main review because it's kind of common sense to most photographers. But some people have done it.) (**To protect this lens from bumps, buy the lens hood THAT IS BUILT FOR IT. Do NOT use a third-party hood on this lens. Buy Canon's ES-62 Hood w/ Hood Adapter 62. It may add a bit more vignette.)

I wanted to purchase a lens that was capable of an aperture setting of F 1.8 so that I could shoot Auroras and close up portraitures. For a stationary lens it performed as expected during low light situations and portraits.

I have no idea why I waited so long to add this lens to my arsenal. For the price and the quality of images it produces with my Rebel XS, it might just be the best photography investment I've made yet. My macro images are incredibly crisp, amazingly more so than those taken with my kit lens. The ability to focus at such a short distance on flowers and insects has taken my photos to a whole new depth, and I am very much an amateur. At the right is a sample of my flower/insect photography using this lens. The textures and details of these things are almost more visible in my images than they are with the naked eye. See the photo of my cat at right, and the crisp texture of his fur. And I can't forget how well it performs in low light. This is my go-to lens when light is low at the end of the day, or when I'm in a shaded area like a forest. I probably reach for it more often than my kit lens now. You can't go wrong with this lens, especially considering the price jump between this excellent lens and Canon's higher-end macros.

This lens makes a great addition to any bag. The max aperture of 1.8 is great, especially considering the price. Note: using a prime (fixed focal length) lens for the first time can be unusual, but after you get used to it, it can be quite fun! Many of the pictures on my flickr were taken with this lens, check them out: https://www.flickr.com/photos/51924711@N07/

This is a great lens for anyone that wants a larger aperture (f/1.8) without spending a ton of money. I bought a Canon T3i which came with the standard f/3.5-5.6 lens. I decided I wanted to try a lens that would let more light in, so I bought this one, which is f/1.8. The photos are incredible! The detail and light are great, and this lens is only $115 (and usually on sale for ~$100). The only issue with it is that there's no zoom. It's not so much an issue, as just something you have to get used to -- instead of rotating the lens you just have to move your position. I mainly use my camera for taking photos of my kids, which means lots of movement and often in doors. This lens works great for that. Now I almost always leave this lens on my camera and rarely use the standard lens.

This is an amazing lens, especially for the price. I unfortunately purchased it shortly before the announcement of the newer version. If you really want to get this lens I recommend looking around to get it on sale or just getting the new one.

Awesome affordable lens that offers high quality pictures, and is a ton of fun to use. Light lens, perfect for walking around with. No zoom requires more thought in getting well composed photos, makes you a better photographer in the long run

This is my first prime lens. I usually shoot with a zoom lens. My personal goal with a lens is to not have to do anything with the photo after I take the shot. I really do not like to have to crop the photo. Since this is a 50 mm, this is comparable to what the eye normally sees. I love that I am able to focus on an object and have the lens pick exactly what I was trying to portray. The photos that I have uploaded were directly from my camera. Part of the reason this lens is so cheap is because it does not have the image stabilizer technology. The lens is fast enough that you will not need it. It also captures more light than my other lenses. I do use this lens for work purposes. The pictures that are produced are perfect for marketing purposes. (The pictures are not from work). Since the lens is fast, I am able to catch motion shots. The other reason that I use this lens is for theatre shots. It is too noisy (as in loud) to be right next to the stage. It is very distracting for the actors. Also with the light conditions in a theatre, it is very hard to not have a slight blur. For a personal use, I love using this lens more than my others. I do have four lenses in total. The other three are zoom. I love it for how I can compose images, don't have any kind of lens creep, and how FAST the lens is. Because of this lens, I am asked on photo shoots all of the time. Definitely worth the investment.

I recently used this lens for some street photography and it performed great. Fast focus and since it wasn't a big telephoto lens it didn't draw a lot of attention to me so I was able to get some great candid shots. Great for ambient light shooting.

Happy with results as lighting decreases r/t speed

A great lens that completely lives up to all the hype. The cheapest of the three Canon 50mm, it will do the job for anyone just getting into portrait work. It feels plastic-y (like everyone notes) but at the price, you can just buy a new one if it breaks. MF and AF work well and have gotten me some great shots. I approve and recommend. Note: Photos are both taken with this lens on a Canon T4i.

I'm getting great pictures, great memories with this product

This Lens Rocks! I know there are better lens out there BUT nothing can ever comes close on this value. I love using this lens on close up and taking a picture in semi-intimate mode and get a fantastic depth field shot.

Got this lens to take photos of bands in low light conditions. People think I am a pro . . . I am not but this lens sure helps even me.

Great lens for the money. Takes awesome portraits. Depth of field is awesome!

Love this lens. Probably my favorite lens! Good for personal or business use.

This is my new go to lens for my canon rebel sl1 .. I use mainly fixed lenses seeing I'm taking photos of mostly dogs, kids and babies. I have the 40mm pancake lens, the stock 18-55mm kit lens and this one. I most just use this one now. Great buy!

I love this lens. It was recommended to me by a fellow student. It was very good advice. It is my favorite lens!

If you have a Canon DSLR U have to have this lens for great quality and depth of field. You just have to.

So happy I bought it. Easy to switch out lenses. I knew I needed to purchase this lens since I have one for my Canon AE1. I now use a Canon 60D. Very happy!