joshchapman Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 None of retailers have been stocking them for the past few months, and I've heard that canon may be discontinuing them. It's probably just an unfounded rumour, but does anyone know anything definite? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake_wang Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 If you want to buy it, Norman Camera normancamera.com has the Mark II for $69.95. It has excellent ratings in both resellerratings.com and bizrate.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark u Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 I think demand has been very high as it is extremely popular with Digital Rebel buyers, so stock is hard to find. Having said that, there is a possibility that Canon will come up with a new 50mm prime before too long - simply because they don't have one that provides distance information to the new E-TTL II flash system that is coming out on the 1D Mk II and the Elan 7N/7NE (and doubtless most if not all future new bodies film or digital), and Canon's technical director Chuck Westfall has admitted that Canon are considering new versions of at least some of the lenses that don't provide this feature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul - Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 Just talked to Norman Camera (they are here in town), and the 50/1.8 is out of stock at both the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo locations. Their Canon rep couldn't tell them when more will be available, so interpret that info however you like.<p>As long as Norman Camera (normancamera.com) has come up in discussion, I'll mention that I have had excellent experiences with them before and after the sale. Knowledgable staff, friendly service, and their brick-and-mortar stores will match their web prices if you ask. Those qualities are getting harder to come by these days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suman Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 I was looking for that lens in last couple of months and at b&h left an email reminder. I received the email reminder sometime day before yeaterday midnight. Went to their website the next day and it was again out of stock. I already bought a mk1 version from ebay at 125 buks, in very good condition. Recently the demand is so high for this lens that even mark II used ones are also selling over 100 dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phule Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 MidWest Photo Exchange ( http://www.mpex.com/ ) has the lens for $85 according to their website. As does KEH ( KEH.com ) for $69. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nshah Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 As far as I know, it's in stock at B&H now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phule Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 Nick, The B&H website will show you that it is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barmijo Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 If you really want it, order it through Adorama. Their website accepts backorders and they're good about shipping them as soon as stock comes in. I've backordered through them numerous times with no issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_dunn2 Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 <p>Someone posted in the last few weeks that a camera store had told them that Canon had stopped shipping this lens and that rumour has it that it's being discontinued. I stress that this is hearsay (it's quite well known that some people at some camera stores are not entirely reliable sources of information, to put it politely) and a rumour.</p> <p>Personally, I can't see the 50/1.8 going the way of the dodo. It's not a dreadfully high-volume lens in this day of cheapie kit zooms but I'm sure Canon sells enough of them to make money even at its low price. So if the 50/1.8 II is discontinued, I'd expect a 50/1.8 III to replace it, and the only reason I can see for them to come out with a new version is distance measurement for E-TTL II. I suppose they could undo some of the cheapening that they did with the 50/1.8 II but I doubt that will happen. But that's just my opinion and should be treated with suspicion :-)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_larson1 Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 Since we are speculating, I will place a few facts on the table. The 50/1.8 is not the only prime lens on the "chopping block" because of E-TTLII issues. The 50/1.4, 35/2, 28/2.8, 24/2.8 and the 85/1.2L all have the same issues. Some of these lenses also also lack the modern USM motors. One could say that all of these lenses will be replaced. Personally, I tend to doubt it given the popularity of zooms. I suspect only one or two will be replaced with new models, and the rest will slowly fade into the twilight. The wide end is definately the weakest part of the Canon lineup. Frankly, I was very surprised to see two 300mm zooms released at PMA. I was really expecting a 12-24 of some sort (either EF-S, or some flavor of full frame "L"). And holding some small hope for a 24-70/4L. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_peters1 Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 <i>The 50/1.4, 35/2, 28/2.8, 24/2.8</i> <p> The really disturbing one in that list is the 50/1.4 since 50 is such a good portrait length on the 1.6x cameras. <p> I guess since the only TTL2 camera isn't 1.6x it's not *that* big of an issue, but I'm guessing the 50 focal length would be the first to get the update. <p> I would think they would be more likely to update the 50/1.4 than the 1.8 but maybe they are figuring that 3 different versions of the 50mm lens really isn't a good idea (1.8,1.4,1L) and they are going to dump the 50/1.8 and update the 50/1.4. <p> That's just speculatory though. <p> The 50/1.4 shouldn't require a complete redesign - since it already has a USM motor. That makes it cheaper to update - and if they did, they would probably see 1.8 sales drop because some of the current 1.8 market would want the ETTL-2 version, and the other part of the current 1.8 market is moving to zooms already. Maybe it's really not worth it to keep the 50/1.8. Again - just speculatory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simann Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 The 50 1.8 has not been available here in Austria or Germany for that matter for quite some time, I know, I have also been looking for one. Although many shops still offer them for sale, when you phone they all give the same answer "Out of stock and we can't give any delivery date". So it does seem that Canon has stopped supply on this model. There are a couple being sold on ebay, but if anybody thinks I'm going to pay 20% over the new price (over 110 Euros) for a second hand item, they can think again. The trouble is there is no info on a replacement as far as I can see. It could be that Canon has a lot of 1.4s which they want to get rid of before the replacement for this model comes on the market, and their way of doing this, without having to reduce the price on the current 1.4, is to create a false market for a 50mm lens. This could explain the lack of information from Canon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael_peters1 Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 My mom has a 50/1.8 MKII she NEVER EVER uses. Maybe I should convince her to sell it :P Sad thing is - I bought one on eBay. Then I went to visit mom - and she wanted me to take her EOS system home with me to clean her lenses, replace lens caps, etc. If I knew she had that lens, which she never uses - I would have just bought it from her. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michiel_bernhard Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 Michael, You are stating that Canon have 3 50mm lenses in the line up. That is true. You are also correct about the f/1.8 and the f/1.4 but the f/1.0 is officially discontinued. The 3rd one is the f/2.5 macro. Michiel, Holland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simann Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 If you are like me, and a lot of other people I would guess, who wanted a fast lens to use both inside and out and would perform well in low light conditions, and like me are more or less skint, the 1.8 was an ideal choice. The 2.5 macro is a bit of an in between and like the 1.4 also expensive, so really now, if you want to buy new, there is only ONE 50mm lens in the line up to go for, if you have the money that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nshah Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 A friend of mine was on the 'notify list' through B&H for this lens, and she mentioned that she ordered it this week from them. Apparently it was listed as 'in stock' on the B&H website for a day or so around midweek. But now it's listed as 'out of stock.' Interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corwin graves Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 For what it's worth, I just purchased the 50 1.8II from KEH last Wednesday for around $70...should be receiving it on March 3rd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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