Canon's best bang for the buck!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Price, Optical Quality, Price, Speed, Price

Cons: Bokeh, Build Quality, Manual Focus

The Bottom Line: 
At $70 the only reason not to buy this lens is that you have an extra $230 and are buying the 50mm F1.4. This is Canon's best value.

Author's Review
Generally speaking, Canon's consumer lenses produce mediocre images at best. There are a few exceptions, and the 50mm F1.8 II is one.

The biggest strength of the lens is two-fold. It produces fantastic images, and is dirt cheap. New, it will run you about $70. Folks, you could easily spend that much money on the filter you'd use for the lens!

The lens sports a maximum aperture of 1.8, making it ideal for use in low light photography.

On a DSLR with an APS-C sensor (1.6 crop), the lens functions as a decent 80mm Portrait lens. Due to the 5 blade aperture diaphram, the background blur is not as great as other canon lens (such as the excellent 85 F1.8 or the 50mm F1.4). Better blur is important for portraits, because it makes subjects stand out.

In addition to the quality of the bokeh (blur), there are some other shortcomings with this lens.

The lens does not have the USM motor, so focusing isn't as quick nor is it silent. Add in that the focus ring is worthless, rendering manual focus unusable. No USM also means that the lens doesn't support Full Time Manual focusing (which allows you to turn the focus ring even with AF selected). Compound that with no distance window, and this lens is not suited for manual use.

For those with Canon EX series flashes, this lens does NOT provide distance data for those flashes. But neither does the 50mm F1.4 for that matter.

Finally the last problem with the lens is the plasticky feel. It doesn't have that substantial feel that Canon glass is known for.

So what are my thoughts on the lens?

Based on the quality of the images I've gotten with this lens, I would replace it in a heart beat if it ever go damaged. The quality is that good. Wide open its a little soft, but stop it down, and this lens produces sharp results.

Why should you pick this lens over the more expensive 50mm F1.4?

If bokeh, USM, and manual focus are important, then you should get the 1.4. Its sharp at F1.8, has great blur, and has USM (though the micro motor drive, not the ring motor). It also sports that good canon feel.

If those things aren't as important, then you'll be greatly rewarded by this lens.

At $70 this lens is a keeper. If you want a little more in the way of quality, you can usually find the 50mm f1.8 I used for $100.