Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens

Pros:
- Huge aperture, sucks in more light than a black hole at night
- Sharpness at f/5 is very comparable to much more expensive L lenses
- Extremely light weight, perfect for travel
- Recessed glass, making it less prone to scratches

Cons:
- Not very sharp in the corners at f/1.8 (though still better than the kit 18-55mm f/3.5-f/5.6 lens)
- No peripheral illumination correction available in most Canon SLRs for this lens
- Build quality is super cheap, though it being an inexpensive lens, I can always buy another one if I damage mine
- Non-standard filter size makes it very hard to find a cheap hood for this lens
- No IS, but large apertures don't really require stabilization anyway

Final word:
Still one of my favorite Canon lenses. I usually carry this and my 24-70 f/2.8L everywhere I go.

The much touted "poor build quality" of this product is irrelevant UNLESS you are an "embedded" photojournalist. You know - war zone type of action.

The pictures are incredibly sharp, which is what I was expecting when moving away from zoom lenses. The 1.8 aperture makes fast low light photography possible...BUT! - in low light the lens tracks a lot, focussing and re-focussing over and over. Use "MF" mode in low light OR where you want a very shallow DOF.

50mm just does not work out for close-in portrait photography, where you don't have the room to manoever. I just had this experience in a crowded restaurant, really struggled to compose optimally. A 35mm would have been the dog. This 50mm is ideal for what is called "street photography", and fine for portraiture if you have the real estate to jockey for position.

If you want to upgrade from your kit lens i would suggest to buy this lens right away without any hesitation. I have listed out points according to my use and importance.

(1)Build quality is plasticky(so avoid from dropping it down)but the optics are of very high quality.
(2)Overall sharpness is very good and color reproduction is excellent.
(3)You can create wonderful BOKEH.
(4)Pretty good AUTO FOCUS during daytime.
(5)The major drawback is the sound during auto focus. It is annoying but I shoot with this lens usually during the nights and use manual focus. So its not a big deal for me.

After all its the cheapest canon lens money could buy.

Hope you all enjoy shooting with this lens..

I've been owning this lens for about 3 months now, and I've only good things to say about it. Those people who are giving it a low rating are probably expecting way too much out of it for the price they're paying. Come to think of it - it's priced at around Rs 5.5K and you get a fantastically large (f/1.8) aperture for that money!

The focal length 50mm is also highly practical and I've used it to take pictures of people and landscape with equally pleasing results. The larger aperture can come in handy while shooting portraits indoor.

And with outdoor photography, it produces stunningly sharp pictures that will make some of the photographers with more expensive lenses envy you.

The lack of zooming in and out does not annoy me at all for the fact that the focal length if 50 mm is extremely practical in many situations.

If I've to say anything bad about this lens at all, that would be the build quality. But then it's not too bad either, and what is to be expected at this price?

Clearly, this is a winner!

I have owned this lens for over a week now. I was in need of:
1) Light weight
2) Fast
3) Cheap/Economical
lens for a wedding shoot. The experience of ordering the lens and getting it in 29 hours is extraordinary. Thanks Flipkart!

The lens meets and beats the criteria that I listed. I have a full frame camera and therefore the selection of lenses is limited and expensive. What I needed was a fast lens that I could use for wedding photography (I do not use flashes), with the limitations in lighting that goes at closed outdoors. I bought this lens with the idea that it is fast (F1.8 is fast enough with the right combination of ISO is not-well-lit places. I was amazed by the clarity of objects in focus that it delivers. I am yet to go through the pictures in detail, but I noticed a mild stretching towards the edges of the frame. Well, a slight crop solves the problem which otherwise would cost 20K more.

The image quality at the F5.6 is definitely inferior to the 35-350mm F3.5 lens which I have used all the while. But hey! what better can I ask for at 6780/-? Good enough.