the canon 50mm f/1.8

[sneg]

canon 50mm f/1.8,considering this lens as it has amazing reviews,I'm looking from my first proper lens for my new canon 40d with 35-80 kit lens,but as I'm new to this not sure what subjects it would be suited too,would it be suited to landscapes? I'm thinking not? I live near a beach so would like a lens for sunset shots over the sea and also semi close sand shots, stuff like that,so should I be looking at another lens?I like to buy quality stuff first time round but only have about £200/£250 for this first lens,cheers

[robski]

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.

[sneg]

thanks for the detailed reply,was just what I needed,well spotted about the lens,it was from an old canon 100 I had years ago and still in great shape,I'm just thinking that the 24-85 wouldn't really increase my range much? or would it,would a better buy be a 24 or 28 prime?

[robski]

I have owned a Canon 28mm f2.8 prime and found it suffered from colour fringing on the edge of the frame. My 28 - 105 f3.5 zoom performed better at 28mm which was rather disappointing as you would expect the prime to be superior. The equivalent FOV is 45mm on the 40D still a normal lens. Needless to say another lens I sold on. Reviews of the 28mm f1.8 also mention colour fringing.

The 24mm F2.8 review look much better but your be lucky to find this second hand. FOV 39mm on the 40D still not what you would call wide. New is outside your price range.

The original 40D kit lens would give you and equivalent FOV of 28-88mm.

If you could dig really deep into your pocket I would suggest the 17-40mm F4 L. You see plenty second hand.

[sneg]

thanks again,the canon 17-40mm sounds just the job!I think that would cover the subjects I mentioned above well ,just need to find a deal on one now.cheers

[sneg]

just did some hunting for a deal on the canon 17-40f4,I keep seeing the tamron 17-50 f/2.8 getting mentioned,it's about £200 cheaper,is the canon worth the extra? not sure if I would need the faster tamron?

[robski]

I have no experience of the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR Di-II LD ASP IF but the reviews look promising. With lens build quality is a factor affecting price.

If the Tamron fits your budget then go for it. Sigma and Tokina seem to be very hit and miss. I think Duncan said his wife debbi (Mrs Yelvertoft) uses this lens and loves it.

[sneg]

went to buy the canon 17-40 from Jessops today,none in stock

[Fixer]

warehouseexpress.com £50 Cashback £479.00

I ordered a 400mm a few months back got it in the post the next day

[sneg]

thanks for the link Fixer,I've taken a look but it seems the £50 cash back is with a camera purchase but it's still the cheapest I've seen the lens go for,cheers