Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

$92 - $110
50 mm
autofocus prime lens
f/1.8


Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars by 1,802 users at B&H Photo Video

"Use it in low light or for portraits, or as a general walk around lens. It's the one that stays on my camera all the time now. "

"I purchased this lens because it's small, sharp, fast, light and cheap. Something I can put on my Canon body and take with me on business trips "

"Little on the loud side when trying to focus."

Full frame

This lens is compatible with Full frame cameras such as the Canon 6D, Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 1D X.

horizontal angle of view
39.6°
50mm
35mm equivalent focal length

APS-C (1.6x crop factor)

This lens is compatible with APS-C (1.6x crop factor) cameras such as the Canon T3i, Canon 70D and Canon T5i.

horizontal angle of view
25.1°
80.5mm
35mm equivalent focal length

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II vs other Canon EF (Full-frame) lenses

	Prime lens
	Typically very sharp

	Inexpensive
	$91.94

	Wide aperture
	f/1.8

	Very light
	132 g

	Quite short
	41 mm

	Great wide angle lens
	50 mm

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II vs other Canon EF (Full-frame) low light lenses

	Supports autofocus
	Easier to use

	Small diameter
	69 mm

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II vs other Canon EF (Full-frame) lenses

	Poor macro
	1:6.7 (0.2x)

	Lacks a silent focus motor
	Louder and slower

	Poor telephoto lens
	50 mm

	No image stabilization
	Risk of blur

General

	Min focal length	50 mm
	Max focal length	50 mm	below average
	Zoom range	1x	below average
	Magnification	1:6.7 (0.2x)	below average
Aperture

	Wide minimum	f/1.8	above average
	Wide maximum	f/22
	Tele minimum	f/1.8	above average
	Tele maximum	f/22
Features

	Auto focus	Yes
	Focus motor	None	below average
	Image stabilization	None	below average
	Fisheye	No
	Tilt-shift	No
Form factor

	Lens mount	Canon EF (Full-frame)
	Length	41 mm	above average
	Diameter	69 mm
	Filter size	52 mm
	Weight	132 g	above average
Angle of view

	Wide horizontal	39.6°
	Telephoto horizontal	39.6°
	Wide vertical	27°
	Telephoto vertical	27°
	Wide diagonal	46.8°
	Telephoto diagonal	46.8°
Angle of view (On Canon EF-S APS-C 1.5x crop cameras)

	Wide horizontal	26.6°	below average
	Telephoto horizontal	26.6°
	Wide vertical	18°	below average
	Telephoto vertical	18°
	Wide diagonal	31.7°	below average
	Telephoto diagonal	31.7°

	Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
	Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D
	Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM

Speech is free, but discussion at LensHero is moderated! Please discuss the your opinion of this lens here, and discuss feedback for LensHero at our support community.

Showing 7 comments

joey

(6:56 PM, June 08, 2013)

Can you use a cannon ef 50mm 1:1.8 (not II) on digital camera

Michael

(7:41 PM, January 20, 2013)

For the price, this thing is really amazing. It obviously excels at getting shots in low light, but try stopping it down a bit when the light is more favorable - at f/8 it can sometimes beat out my L zoom lens.

matias elgart

(5:46 AM, September 14, 2012)

light, cheap and non-intimidating to your photo subjects. i've taken some of my favorite pictures with this lens. sometimes not very sharp at all, though, and i've missed a couple of good shots as a result. worth the money and practical.

Oren E

(4:05 AM, December 04, 2011)

Really liked your city (HCM) by the way. that mix of old and new. I'm using 600D and just ordered this lens off ebay. Looking to get better sharpness than the kit lenses (18-55mm and 55-250mm) I got.

Ginny Le

(11:08 PM, February 01, 2011)

It's really cheap and brings you wonderful DOF. I first hated the pentagon bokeh in live view mode but it doesn't show in photos therefore it doesn't matter to me.

dcbryan

(6:18 AM, January 02, 2011)

I wouldn't say that's the only bad thing, it's also cheap as hell breaks very easily. But for $70, what more could you ask for.

POOFACE

(9:32 AM, December 19, 2010)

The only thing bad about the lens is that you can see the arpature in the bokeh. This gets really annoying as the nice fuzzy dots ( that you normally get) turn into fuzzy pentagons sometimes.

“LensHero will help you cut through the sheer number of lenses out there to find the few you want to read more about” - LifeHacker	“Finding the right lens on Lenshero is incredibly easy!” - Revell Photography
“I am in love with LensHero.” - Shoot from the Belly	“Kind of a little bit in love with LensHero” - @alicetragedy
“No technical stuff whatsoever, just plain and simple questions complete with examples so that any user can understand” - Karel Donk, Photographer	“I love that I can pull up different lenses in my price range that will fit my DSLR.” - Jennifer Sutton

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

reviewswhat are people saying

compatibilitywith digital cameras

Full frame

APS-C (1.6x crop factor)

Pros

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II vs other Canon EF (Full-frame) lenses

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II vs other Canon EF (Full-frame) low light lenses

Cons

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II vs other Canon EF (Full-frame) lenses

Specifications

General

Aperture

Features

Form factor

Angle of view

Angle of view (On Canon EF-S APS-C 1.5x crop cameras)

Competitors

DiscussionWhat do you think about the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens?

Showing 7 comments