Should I keep my 50 1.8 II lens?

<p>Oh man! The 50 mm focal length is my favorite. I've got at least 6 of them, from the AI f/2, to the early f/1.4, and they are the most used lenses I own. I know they're not sexy and none of them attract attention. They're also among the sharpest lenses in my kit and have the least distortion.</p>

<p>Hi James. Welcome to the Canon EOS lens forum. ;)</p>

<p>Keep it. it's fast, sharp, cheap, prime lens...what more could you want? As soon as you get rid of it you'll wish you still had it.</p>

<p>How much is it, 90 bucks? Why bother thinking?</p>

<p>Perhaps using the lens for a few weeks would help you decide whether you should keep it. The 50 f1.8 is an awesome lens for the price but I sold mine after using it for almost 2 years because I realized it was an awkward focal length <b>for me</b> - too long for a standard lens on 'full-frame' (Elan 7) and too short for a medium telephoto on 1.6x crop FOV (XTi).</p>

 

<p>I find the 35 f2 much easier to use on 'full-frame' (paired with the Tamron 90mm macro). I use the Tamron 17-50 and 28-75 zooms on the XTi and I don't miss the 50 f1.8 at all. YMMV.</p>

<p>I'd certainly keep it. I do a lot of walking and always bring a camera with me. Sometimes it's the 5D with the 24-70L, or the 50 1.8 or the 17-40L or the 70-200 2.8 IS or the Zenitar 16mm Fisheye or the 300mm 4 IS or the 100mm Macro.<br>

OR I grab the 50D with one of those. One lens for the walk and of course whatever I take a picture of that day has to fit with that camera/lens combination. I find the challenge of using what I have in hand to be very entertaining and a good learning experience.<br>

Either body with the 50 1.8 is a compact and very useful combination. If I always took the 24-70 I'd get mighty lazy and a lot less creative.<br>

So my answer is: Keep it.<br>

AND USE IT.<br>

Just put it on the camera and take pictures of the kids/dogs/wife/trees.<br>

Zoom with your feet!<br>

Play with the f/1.8.<br>

HAVE FUN!</p>

 

<p>I have golf clubs that are capable of scoring a 66 for 18 holes ...yeah right ;)<br>

Have I used them lately?, no, should I sell them? probably.</p>

<p>Where it around your neck as a cheap bauble or curio reminder of supreme photo geekiness. It's a plastic junk lens with crappy focus and still so silly that Canon (still?) manufactures the 1.8 (and they badly need to fix their 1.4).</p>

<p>For sure you should keep it, a $100 dollar lens that can produce outstanding results. I recently took a panoramic of the Detroit skyline at night with this lens. I shot it with 2 different lenses. 1 attempt with the 50mm f/1.8 and another with a Canon 28-135 f3.5/5.6 IS @ 50mm. My reason for doing this was similar to yours - shall i sell it? <br>

The answer - NO WAY!<br>

The results from the 50mm were far superior in my opinion compared to the same shots taken with the 28-135 @ 50mm. The sharpness and level of detail was outstanding.<br>

I have not post processed the results from the 28-135 but you can see the results of the 50mm in my portfolio. I obviously cannot compare it with results you can achieve from the Tamron, but you should try the test. Same settings on your camera in same light at various apertures. </p>

<blockquote>

<p>As the OP explains...</p>

<p>But, more important than that is the fact that with 2 lenses having the same focal length, I would need to make decisions as to which to use (which I don't like having to do), and would likely pick the zoom for it's versatility over the prime anyway</p>

<p>So (in his particular case) why keep it? Too much choice isn't always a good thing (for some people).</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Well, that's like the guy trying to quit smoking (or overeating, drinking, or whatever), who rids his premises of the offending substance, only to get into a vicious cycle of purchasing more, ditching it again, and so on.</p>

<p>If I'm not enamoured of a lens I can always just put it in the "bad lens box" for a while, ie: shelve it, don't use it. Often I'll come back to it, or if I pick up another body, either for myself or as a gift, that extra lens will come in handy.</p>

<p>Especially in this case, considering the peanuts you could recoup by selling it.</p>

<p>keep it , is cheap and is great lens for backup lens, is hard for me to tell the diferents is image quality<br>

i say keep it</p>

yes , my answer is yes....

<p>if you break off the front barrel, it turns into an awesome reverse macro utility and it shoots awesome macro :D</p>