The EF 50mm lenses are a group of normal prime lenses made by Canon that share the same focal length. These lenses are based on the classic double-Gauss lens, with the f/1.8 being a standard six-element double-Gauss with an air gap and powers between element 2 and 3[1] and its faster cousins adding additional elements[2].
These lenses have an EF type mount that fits the Canon EOS line of cameras.
Six EF 50mm lenses have been developed and sold. Two are L series lenses and three have Ultrasonic motors.
Since the f/1.2L, f/1.4 and f/1.8 lenses can provide very similar wide-aperture shots but have very different price tags, they have naturally been the subject of many in-depth comparisons.
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When used with a Canon APS-C (1.6x crop) DSLR camera or APS-H (1.3x crop), the field of view of this lens is similar to an 80mm or 65mm on full frame camera. There will be an apparent magnification of approximately 1.6x (or 1.3x) in the final image, since the "cropped" image will fill up the sensor. This is due to the crop factor inherent with APS-C or APS-H (crop) sensor digital SLR cameras.
An example would be taking an image of a rock using two cameras with the same lens. The first camera an 18mp full frame and the second an 18mp APS-C, both shooting the same composition in a stationary position. The first image will be more "wide" while the second image will be more "magnified". After bringing the results into an image editing program and enlarging the first image so that the rock is the same size in both images, one will see that the enlarged image is approximately 160% (1.6x) of the original. Simply put, the field of view of the APS-C will be 1.6 times smaller the original giving an appearance of magnification. (A smaller field of view is similar to a larger zoom.)
The major advantage to this extra "reach" would be the utilizing of the full sensor space for a cropped image rather than having to crop afterwards, thus utilizing parts of the sensor that would have otherwise been wasted. The major disadvantage is the change in perspective; since the focal length has not actually changed, it will be like shooting an 80mm (APS-C) or 65mm (APS-H) shot with the perspective of a 50mm lens. The resulting image will appear to have a less pleasing background blur and unlike using a real 80mm lens for the same framing.
Current Canon full frame cameras include: EOS 5D Mark II and EOS-1Ds Mark III. Current Canon APS-C cameras, in ascending order of price, are the EOS 1100D (Rebel T3), EOS 550D (Rebel T2i), EOS 600D (Rebel T3i), EOS 60D and EOS 7D. The EOS-1D Mark IV is the only current Canon APS-H based camera.
The discontinued EF 50mm f/1.0L USM is a professional L series autofocus lens. On the used market sells for as much as double the original retail value. It was the fastest SLR lens in production during its lifetime.[1] This lens has a metal body and mount, and plastic extremities. It also features a wide rubber focus ring that is damped, a distance window with infrared index, and the ability to set the focus range from 0.6m to infinity, or 1m to infinity. In common with the EF 85mm f/1.2L USM it uses an electronic "focus by wire" system and requires power from the camera in order to manual focus. The 8-blade diaphragm and maximum aperture of f/1.0 give this lens the ability to create extremely shallow depth of field effects and to support low light situations. The optical construction of this lens contains 11 lens elements, including two ground and polished aspherical lens elements. This lens uses a floating front extension focusing system, powered by a ring-type USM motor. The front of the lens does not rotate, but does extend when focusing.
Despite its price and large maximum aperture, the 1.0L was not a particularly sharp lens at any aperture, and the two cheaper 50mm options offered far better sharpness when stopped down beyond about f/2.8.[6] This, combined with the high production cost and low sales volume, led to it being discontinued in 2000 and eventually superseded by the f/1.2 edition.
The EF 50mm f/1.2L USM is a professional L series lens designed to replace the EF 50mm f/1.0L USM. It is the shortest of the two f/1.2 lenses Canon makes, the other being the EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM. It is constructed with a metal body and mount, and plastic extremities. This lens features a wide rubber focusing ring that is damped, a distance window with infrared index, and is weather-sealed. A circular, 8-blade diaphragm and maximum aperture of f/1.2 give this lens the ability to create very shallow depth of field effects with smooth background blur. The optical construction of this lens contains 8 lens elements, including one ground and polished aspherical lens element. This lens uses a floating front extension focusing system, powered by a ring-type USM motor. The front of the lens does not rotate or extend when focusing.
The EF 50mm f/1.4 USM is a consumer- and professional-level lens. It is the least expensive f/1.4 aperture lens that Canon currently manufactures. It is constructed with a plastic body and a metal mount. This lens features a distance window with infrared index. An 8-blade diaphragm and maximum aperture of f/1.4 give this lens the ability to create shallow depth of field effects. The optical construction of this lens contains 7 lens elements, without any special lens elements. The lens uses a front extension focusing system, powered by a micro USM motor. Even though this lens uses a micro USM motor, it still has FTM (full-time manual focus) available. Auto-focus speed of this lens is fast, but not as quick as most ring-USM-based lenses. The front of the lens does not rotate, but extend up to about one centimeter when focusing.
The EF 50mm f/1.8 is an economy level lens (discontinued in 1990), which has been replaced by the EF 50mm f/1.8 II. The body is plastic but the lens mount is metal, and it features a distance window with infrared index. A 5 blade maximum aperture of f/1.8 gives this lens the ability to create depth of field effects.
The optical construction of this lens contains 6 lens elements, with no special elements. This lens uses a front extension focusing system, powered by an AFD motor. The front of the lens does not rotate when focusing, making it compatible with circular polarisers.
Auto-focus speed, despite the AFD motor, is moderately fast but audible.
The EF 50mm f/1.8 II replaced the EF 50mm f/1.8 in 1991. The original (now discontinued) Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens came equipped with a metal lens mount, distance scale, IR focusing label and separate manual focusing ring. The current Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens has a plastic lens mount and is missing a distance scale, IR focusing label and dedicated manual focusing ring. Instead the manual focusing ring has been replaced by a very small thin focusing ring on the front tip of the lens. However the lens does not suffer from rotating front lens element and can be used with polarizing filters. The optics for both lenses are identical, with 6 elements in 5 groups and a 5 blade diaphragm. The 'nifty-fifty' has a 52mm filter thread.
The 50mm focal length, when used with a 35mm film or full-frame sensor, has been widely considered to match the field of view seen by the human eye.[7] When pairing the EF 50mm f/1.8 II to a Canon DSLR with an APS-C sized sensor, photographers must apply a focal length multiplier (also known as a crop factor) in order to get the effective 35mm field of view equivalent. Most entry level Canon DSLRs come with a crop factor of 1.6x, which effectively turns the 50mm focal length into a 80mm field of view (50 x 1.6 = 80mm).
Because of its low price and sharp optical quality, this lens has earned the nicknames 'nifty fifty' and 'plastic fantastic'. When shooting at f/1.8, it offers a very shallow depth of field which is beneficial for isolating subjects against a blurred background (bokeh).
The EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro is a relatively inexpensive macro lens with a minimum focusing distance of 23cm (9 inches) offering a maximum magnification of 0.5x actual size.[5] Reviewers describe the lens as having "decent"/"mid-level" build quality, with very good color and contrast, "absolutely negligible" distortion, very sharp after f/4 and peak performance at f/5.6. However, auto-focusing is relatively slow and noisy.[8][9]
The maximum 0.5x magnification means this lens is more suitable for photographing documents, products and objects at least 5cm (2 inches) wide than small insects etc. The outer barrel is grooved to accept Canon's MR-14 ring flash which can be used as the principal light source for close-ups or as on-axis fill lighting for portraits. The six-blade diaphragm provides reasonably good out-of-focus blur (bokeh) for portrait work.
First introduced in 1987, the lens is constructed with a plastic body and metal mount, and features a distance window with infrared index and magnification markings. The optional Life-Size Converter EF[10] adapts the lens to produce a maximum magnification of 1:1. Attaching the converter increases the lens focal length to 70mm, reduces the maximum aperture to f/3.5 and limits the focal range. Magnification markings for the converter are shown on the (extending) inner lens barrel.
| Attribute | f/1.0L USM | f/1.2L USM | f/1.4 USM | f/1.8 | f/1.8 II | f/2.5 Compact Macro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image | ||||||
| Key features | ||||||
| Full-frame compatible | Yes | |||||
| Image stabilizer | No | |||||
| Ultrasonic Motor | Yes | No | ||||
| L-series | Yes | No | ||||
| Diffractive Optics | No | |||||
| Macro | No | Yes (1:2) | ||||
| Technical data | ||||||
| Aperture (max-min) | f/1.0-f/16 | f/1.2-f/16 | f/1.4-f/22 | f/1.8-f/22 | f/1.8-f/22 | f/2.5-f/32 |
| Construction | 9 groups / 11 elements | 6 groups / 8 elements | 6 groups / 7 elements | 5 groups / 6 elements | 8 groups / 9 elements | |
| # of diaphragm blades | 8 | 5 | 6 | |||
| Closest focusing distance | 2ft / 0.6m | 1.5ft / 0.45m | 0.7ft / 0.2m | |||
| Max. magnification | 0.15x (1:6.6) | 0.50x (1:2) | ||||
| Horizontal viewing angle | 40° | |||||
| Diagonal viewing angle | 46° | |||||
| Vertical viewing angle | 27° | |||||
| Physical data | ||||||
| Weight | 2.2lb / 985g | 1.2lb / 545g | 0.6lb / 290g | 0.4lb / 190g | 0.3lb / 130g | 0.6lb / 280g |
| Maximum diameter | 3.6in / 91.5mm | 3.6in / 85.4mm | 2.9in / 73.8mm | 2.6in / 67.4mm | 2.6in / 68.2mm | 2.7in / 67.6mm |
| Length | 3.2in / 81.5mm | 2.6in / 65.5mm | 2.0in / 50.5mm | 1.7in / 42.5mm | 1.6in / 41mm | 2.5in / 63mm |
| Filter diameter | 72mm | 58mm | 52mm | |||
| Accessories | ||||||
| Lens hood | ES-79II | ES-78 | ES-71II | ES-65 | ES-62AD | n/a |
| Previous case | - | ES-C9 | ||||
| Case | LP1216 | LP1214 | LP1014 | LP814 | ||
| Retail information | ||||||
| Release date | September 1989 | August 2006 | June 1993 | March 1987 | December 1990 | December 1987 |
| Currently in production? | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| MSRP $ | $4210 | $1599 | $520 | $130 | ||
| Street Price $ | $1500 to $2000[11] | $1599 | $450 | $150-$200 | $140 | $230 |
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