Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 MII

     I've got a new addition to my family of lenses.  The very popular lens that every Canon shooter must have in his bag of lenses - at least that's what almost all the Canon DSLR owners who have the lens say.   This lens is also known as the Nifty 50.

My EOS 450D wearing the Nifty 50.

     Again, before I go off telling you my story on this lens, do note that this is not meant to be a professional review.  Just an experience of a hobbyist photographer who's relatively new to this hobby.  With that said, let's start.

What's So Great About This Lens?

     The EF 50 mm f/1.8 MII is designed for taking portraits.

     The f/1.8 aperture gives this length a very, very narrow depth of field (DoF).  What this means is that I can focus on one part of my subject, which will show up very clearly in focus, whilst other parts just millimeters in front and behind it will NOT be in focus.  An example is the scale model of Michael Schumacher's F2002 below.  Note that because I've aimed the focus on the Fiat logo at the tip of the nose of the car, only that part is in focus.  The rest is blurred out.

Narrow Depth of Field

     At f/1.8 it is fast - meaning, I can take photographs in low light, with a higher shutter speed than another lens, say my kit lens, with an aperture of only f/3.5.  So the bottom line is, even at low light, because it is a fast lens (= higher shutter speeds), I am now more likely to get pictures with less blur because the subject is moving. 

The Buying Experience

     I paid RM 300 for it but I believe you can get it for as low as RM 284 if you looked hard enough.  I got my copy from dSLR, the camera shop in the Digital One section of Subang Parade.  While I was there, I tried out 3 copies of this lens.  Of the 3, two produced pictures (on the LCD) that seemed a bit dim, whilst the 3 was always bright.  However, it didn't seem like the pictures were focused on where I was aiming the camera.  But I couldn't really tell for sure.  After spending close to an hour there, I finally decided to take the third one as it always seemed to produce clear images, although the focus point was iffy.  I would later find out that this was a mistake.

Problems with the New Lens

     As soon as I got home, I of course, started to take photo after photo with the lens.  I looked at the result and was puzzled to see all the photos where either not very clear or they were clearly focused on a point different to where I was aiming.  At first, I thought I was shooting it wrong, didn't stop down the aperture enough or did not have enough lighting that the AF could not focus properly.  So I kept shooting, and I kept getting the same results.  After around a hundred shots, my suspicion heightened that it could be the focusing issue I encountered earlier at the shop.  To confirm this, I did some tests with a focus chart.

    The idea behind the focus chart test is quite simple, although it can be subject to error.  Here's how it goes:

1. You set up your camera on a tripod beyond the minimum focusing distance to the focus chart.
2. You make sure the camera is at a 45 degree angle to the plane of the chart.
3. You aim your focus at a point on the chart.
4. You take a picture.
   
5. You look at the picture to see if the part that you aimed at is clearly in focus.

     Using this setup, I consistently found that this lens was focusing about 12 mm in front of where I aimed at.  I was, to say the least, let down.  To the casual photographer, 12 mm might seem like too small a number to make a big fuss over, but when you're doing portrait photography, its a big deal.  Imagine shooting a picture of a diamond ring on a woman's hand.  You aim at the ring and you expect only the ring to be in focus, whilst everything else is a blur but what you actually get is that the lady's knuckle is in focus, and everything else, including the ring, is out of focus.

     So I sent the camera in to Canon's after sales service office in Paremba square.  That was last Thursday.  This morning, I got an SMS from Canon, indicating that my lens was ready for pickup.  So pick it up I did.  I've tested it and it now focuses accurately.

Impressions

     After using it for a short while (and after having it calibrated by Canon), I've got some early  impressions of this lens.

The EF 50 mm f/1.8 MII pictured with the rest of my modestly small collection of low cost lenses.  L to R: 18-55 mm Kit Lens, EF-S 55-250 mm, and an older EF 38-70 mm zoom lens from my EOS 888.

1. The pictures it produces, so far, are really, really good.  Of course, I'll be playing with it more in the days to come.  To qualify, I don't own any L lenses, so I can't make a valid comparison on that end.  But against all my other lenses, this one wins hands down.  I'm not sure what it is.  Perhaps it is that I can do all kinds of creative shots because of the narrow DoF.
2. Bokeh (background blur) is not as bad as what people are saying in the forums.  However, I would think this is subjective.  Other people say that the bokeh is not very good because of the fact that the shutter only has 5 blades.  I think its just find.  To each his own.
3. Build quality is plasticky and cheap.  I think everyone agrees here.
4. Focusing is bloody noisy - to the point that it is embarrassing. But, hey, it takes great pictures.
5. Best bang for the buck.  For RM 300, and for the seriously nice photos it produces, this lens definitely gives you the most bang for your buck.  And I would have to agree with what people say, even with my limited use of it so far, this lens is a must have in your collection of lenses.

That's it for now.  I'll be spending more time with this lens and posting the pictures in my gallery at Picasaweb.