the nifty canon 50mm lens - is it worth it?

[h0ughy]

well its coming up to that time of year when i have gone around SOL for yet another turn, so i was looking for some form of a present for myself the family can give (also just in time for astrofest) So I was thinking about a "nifty 50".

it is worthwhile getting one?

[skysurfer]

Depends on what you want to do. Usually they have a large aperture f/2 or brighter. This allows steady camera shots for a couple of seconds. Do you have a Fullframe or an APS-C camera ? In the latter case the FOV is 24º (long side) and max. exposure time to prevent trails 10 sec. In the Fullframe case the FOV is 40º and max exposure is 16 sec.
Using 1600 ASA yields nice shots particularly if you stack them and get stars of mag 7-8 on the picture.

It is considered as 'standard lens' but this is only partially true.
For Fullframe (which was the only option in the time of film rolls) is is rather close to the standard perspective as we see it with our eyes, but in APS-C it is slightly telephoto: 80mm for APS-C or 75mm for APS-N(ikon).

[h0ughy]

mainly astro work

[Octane]

As skysurfer mentions above, the 50mm becomes approximately 85mm on an APS-C sensor. The absolute perfect head and shoulders portrait lens.

It can also be used for mosaicing landscapes.

If you were after a 50mm equivalent, then you'd be after something in the 35mm focal length range.

Otherwise, the 50mm f/1.4 is great bang for buck. The thrifty fifty, (f/1.8) feels like a plastic toy, but, delivers exceptional images for the investment.

I had moderate success with both the f/1.4 (stopped down to f/2.5) for astro work.

H

[jjjnettie]

The lens is best stopped down to at least F4.
It helps not only tighten up the stars, but helps reduce coma too.
It's a good, cheap, fun lens Dave.
The focus ring is a bit iffy on some though. I use a tiny tiny wad of blue tack, rolled into a sausage and pressed into the ring and lens body to give added resistance.
For me it's a keeper.

[CapturingTheNight]

It gets my vote. Should be in every Canon users kit. Can't recommend it highly enough for the price. As jjj mentions, stop it down to F/4 and you have a very, very good widefield lens.

[bojan]

Sorry for this intrusion, H (I know that you know it very well), but 50mm is ALWAYS 50mm..
What is changed when using 50mm lens with APS sensor (versus FF) is field of view, due to the fact that APS is smaller (1.6x).
While I fully understand the "equivalency" of terminology here, I think we should still stick to a correct one - "equivalent" focal length is misleading and incorrect term.. for the sake of novices.

Otherwise, fifty-nifty is a good lens, but people should be careful, there were bad reports.
We talked about it earlier on this forum - it seems there are two or three batches out there, one of them was pretty bad (coma in one corner, even down to f4).
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=41657&highlight=canon+50mm
Try before you buy...

[Merlin66]

A defacto "standard" - well worth having.
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/canon_50_1p8_ii_c16
The other one to consider is the 85mm f1.8 prime
http://www.thephoblographer.com/2011/05/26/long-term-review-canon-85mm-f1-8-lens/
(This is being used with a Star Analyser "objective grating" to record stellar spectra down to 8mag)

[h0ughy]

thanks guys and gal!

[Octane]

bojan,

You are, of course, 100% correct. :)

H

[acropolite]

Dave, if you're considering the 1.4 it might also be worth looking at the Sigma 50mm F1.4, the reviews of that lens have been excellent. To quite one review

[Tandum]

Just how big is that lens bag of yours, isn't it full yet :)

[gregbradley]

Dave I would consider a 50mm not ideal for astro work unless you are going to track your shots. Its bright and fast but a bit too zoomed in to be useful unless the camera is being tracked.

A wider field lens say 14mm is more useful. The Samyang 14mm seems to get good reviews and good bang for your buck but it is more expensive than the 50mm F1.8. 50mm F1.4, I am not sure what they cost.

Greg.

[koputai]

I've found the Canon 35mm f/2 to be a very good widefield lens. It's nice and sharp, and easy to focus (end stop is infinity).

I just wish Canon would put correction data for it in DPP.

Cheers,
Jason.

[h0ughy]

well i went with the standard 50mm 1.8 - the price was right to have dew form over it ;) - and all the images will be tracked