50mm f/1.8 on a crop-sensor?

[Gig103]

Hi all,

I had a friend tell me that now that I have an SLR I need to get the Canon 50mm f/1.8. I agree that something with that aperture is great for indoors, and the price is right at under $100, but since my friend shoots full-frame (Canon 1Ds), I'm wondering if I this lens is still practical for indoor shooting, since it's equivalent to 80mm on my XSi?

I thought about a 20mm or 24mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 but they are $300-$400 instead of $80.

Recommendations?

[i2iSTUDIOS]

50mm 1.8 (or 1.4 or 1.2) are all great lenses FF or crop, can't go wrong.

[vachss]

The 50/1.8 is dirt cheap. Just pick one up and see if you like it. If not you can just sell it and lose maybe 20 bucks in the deal. Personally I don't use my 50 a lot on my 1.6x body, but for the occasions when I want a portrait lens it works great.

One thing to realize about wide aperture lenses is that the depth of field wide open is very narrow. This can give a nice effect in portraiture, but for lots of other subjects you may prefer to stop down and a slower lens may work just as well. If you have the bucks I think that the 17-55/2.8IS is a very nice general purpose lens for 1.6x Canon bodies, and the 2.8 with IS is often more useful for indoor shooting than the brute speed (and razor thin DOF of the 50/1.8 or 1.4). But it does cost something like 10 times the 50/1.8...

[d3l0n]

The 50mm 1.8 is ridiculosly affordable. I don't know why Canon didn't just include it in addition to the kit lens for every canon DSLR camera. It's wodnerful for portaits. The lower the f stop the better, always!. THe reason why it's cheap is that the motor isnt as fast or great like the USM nor does it have IS. It's simple, but VERY good. The best bang for buck. Everyone should have one i they don't have the 1.4.

[Gig103]

You all have good points; I shouldn't be such a cheapskate for $85 :-)

[branko]

Originally Posted by Gig103

Hi all,
I thought about a 20mm or 24mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 but they are $300-$400 instead of $80.

Recommendations?

Sigma lenses are cheaper and the 24mm is great..

[TurboFan]

Skip the sigma / tokina / tamaron. You bought a canon to shoot canon lenses. If you want to go cheap on the lens, buy a cheap sigma body.

[d3l0n]

im sticking with canon and will refuse to use any other lens than canon.. thats just my opinion. Canon lenses are really good. And for top 20 lenses... tamoron kinda makes it for maybe 1-2 lenses. They are a good substitute and alternative but.. . im sticking with canon.

[SCTexas]

Originally Posted by TurboFan

Skip the sigma / tokina / tamaron. You bought a canon to shoot canon lenses. If you want to go cheap on the lens, buy a cheap sigma body.

Wouldn't that be the same thing as saying you should only buy BMW performance/appearance parts for our BMW cars?

I think there are several lens manufacturers out there that make great lenses for the value.

[TurboFan]

Not exactly. I didn't spell out the details in my statement. So, yes, there are many companies that make better parts for the bimmer than what BMW offers, or even make things that BMW doesn't offer.

I've yet to get my hands on any 3rd party lens that measures up to the Nikon or Canon equivalent. Believe me, I've tried. I have thousands of dollars of Nikon glass, and I'd love to be able to get what I want from a $200 lens instead of a $1400 lens. Sadly, I've had no such luck. Sometimes they come close, but every review I've read, and every time I've tried them myself, they never measure up. Some reviews I've read say "for the money" they're close, but no, they don't measure up, period. The 3rd party stuff is also worthless at re-sale. The Canon and Nikon lenses hold their value very well, so in the long run, they cost less to own and use.