Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens(UK version)

Canon's EF 50mm 1.8 II will definitely be one of your favourite lenses!

This little piece of optics promises to deliver very sharp pictures with the least amount of investment. And it lives up to that promise!
The 50mm 1.8 II is one of the sharpest lenses I own.
It is really light (130g.) and it feels more like a toy that a camera lens.
It has a plastic mount which might not be to evryone's liking but it is adequate for strength given the lense's weight.
With a maximum aperture of f/1.8 this is a "fast" lens. It is perfect for low light situation where a flash is not wanted or needed.
It has Auto-focus mini motor is kind of loud. I mean, when this lenses focuses, you know it! But it is very accurate.
A great lens for portraits and full body shots given its light bokeh plus a perfect travel lens since its compact size and light weight make it ideal for traveling.
A great, creative and fast lens! Definitely a must-have (unless you are willing to spend that "something-extra" for the 50mm 1.4 or 1.2).

This lens 'transforms' the DSLR camera into a 'compact' camera, due to it's ease of use as you don't have to zoom. As the zoom is fixed, the lens is optimized for best performance at that 50mm zoom and as such gives more sharpness and detail than most zoom lenses I've used. Of course there is also the advantages of having a larger aperture, enabling faster exposures and better low light performance. Taking the price into account, I give this lens a 10/10 for what it's designed for.

I bought the EF 50mm f/1.811 lens, to go with my slr550 camera, i needed it for my final year in uni, to take close clear shots, with fantastic focus, and clear non grainy imagery. The EF 50mm f/1.811 lens was, a reasonable price, well worth the money, especially for those of us on a budget, and gave me everything i needed from a quality lens/attachment, there are probably better, far more expensive lenses on the market, but i feel i got the best i could, without compromising, my photography, and my art.

As I was weaned on fixed focal length lenses thought it might be good to get back to composition by body movement and the constraints of the lens rather than just the twist of a zoom ring. I guess the first thing you notice is its size (small) and build quality which is a little plasticky. But the images, wow, especially on Aperture Priority. At f8 razor sharp corner to corner at f2.8 perfect for portrait with wonderful bokeh effects . Landscape again depth of field superb when stopped down to f22. It really has made me look at things in a whole new way. Put a raynox 250 macro lens on the end and you enter a whole new world of Imaging. However on Auto Focus it struggles and hunts at close range but then manual focus is so smooth its no problem.
Likes : image quality stunning , extremely versatile and portable,far superior to the 18-55 kit lens. If you do a lot of portrait, landscape and studio work and are on a tight budget BUY IT !!
Dislikes: plastic build but if cared for will last a very long time and at £70 GBP you can't go wrong .
I have a Canon 18- 135 IS II and 75 - 300 ISII but the 50mm is now my preferred choice of lens. It's goes far beyond a point and shoot lens ( though images on full auto mode are still amazing) I borrowed a D3100 and Nikon 50mm took the same shots in same light conditions, exposure etc the Canon was superior in every way.

This lens is great for the price and is ideal for a first "prime" lens. The wide aperture of 1.8 is a great advantage and can produce pictures with a very shallow depth of field, and a small pin point focus.

The lens feels very "toy like" and on smaller models such as the 1100D/550D/600D etc it will make the camera feel very light and look more compact. Auto focus is rather sluggish and you will find it easier to take pictures using manual focus when being a bit more creative.
Macro capability is poor, which is disappointing but that may not be an issue for some people.

The 50mm focus length is more like an 80mm on a cropped sensor and this may be "too close" for some people. Personally i would prefer a 35mm or 24mm but those are out of my price range for now, so i'll make do for the 50mm.
If you take self portraits a lot (while holding the camera) it's really not going to be suitable, as it is far too close and becomes irritating.