View Single Post
  #2  
Old 13-11-10, 00:33
robski robski is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kent UK
Posts: 3,739
Default

Are you looking for an upgrade or to extend the range.

Lets first look at the 50mm f1.8

Pro
Scores 8 out of 10 for optical performance - which is pretty good for a cheap lens.

Con
Poor build quality - easy to break
Noisy focus motor.
minimum focus distance of 0.5 metre
Poor out of focus quality (bokeh)

I have owned this lens and found I could not make much use of it and sold it on.


The lens you were sold with the 40D was not the original kit lens (which would of been something like 18 - 55mm). The 35 -80mm would of been a kit lens for a 35mm film camera.

The 40D has a sensor which is smaller than 35mm film. Because of this a crop factor of 1.6 is referred to when talking about lens. What this means is that you multiply the focal length by 1.6 to give you the equivalent Field of View (FOV) of a 35mm camera on the 40D.

So your 35-80 on a film camera will give you a field of view equivalent to 56-128mm on the 40D. In other words Normal lens (50mm) to a short Telephoto lens.

As you have said the 35-80 already pretty well covers what the 50mm can do. The trouble with the 1.6 crop factor is that what was wide for 35mm film is normal on the 40D.

The Canon 24 - 85mm f3.5 USM is a nice lens and can be picked up second hand for your price range which will give you a bit extra range.

Otherwise you can pick up the original 40D kit lens second hand cheap as many folk upgrade. Plenty of Sigma and Tamron lens in the 18 - 50mm range also.
__________________
Rob

-----------------------------------------------------
Solar powered Box Brownie Mk2

Captain Sunshine, to be such a man as he, and walk so pure between the earth and the sea.

WPF Gallery
Birdforum Gallery
http://www.robertstocker.co.uk updated
Reply With Quote