Compare 50mm Lenses for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

A 50mm lens is practically a requirement for every single lens reflex camera owner. This is not a wives' tale, it is the "old" industry standard. The development of zoom lenses has made the "50mm rule" a relic. Many photographers who are new to the business or hobby are not aware of the premise at all.

However, when you consider the quality of images that are produced with prime lenses verses zoom lenses, the prime lenses win almost every time.

Canon has developed the technology of the 50mm lens to a point where it really should be a "standard" in every photographer's kit.

Think about it. Changes in focal length that happen during the "zoom process" necessitate much more complex technology to deal with unwanted effects like barrel distortion or vignetting. Since the Canon 50mm lenses are already fantastic in their engineering, if a new development in lens glass comes along, they just have to replace the glass and all is good.

There are 3 models of the 50mm Canon lens.

** 50mm f/1.2 L - expensive but fantastic (it's an L lens)

** Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM - the mid-grade lens with excellent image quality and a very competitive price point

** 50mm f/1.8 - cheap but fantastic

There is not much difference to note unless you look a little closer. The aperture and the quality of construction are where the differences come in to play. At the top of the list is the most solidly built lens, in fact the top two have a better build quality, and the also contain more glass elements than the third one. But it is image quality that is the determining factor to the viewer, the the image quality of these three lenses is very close indeed. This is especially true for someone who views your images with a "normal eye" .

Canon has essentially taken the great technology and used some less expensive "wrapping" in the form of plastic casing to make the 50mm f/1.8 lens really affordable for virtually every Canon DSLR owner.

Aside from producing really good images, this cheap 50mm lens for Canon cameras has another really distinct advantage for photographers who are just entering the digital SLR market with cameras such as the Rebel or the newest mid-range 60D model. Because of the 1.6 "crop factor" of these cameras, the 50mm lens length becomes the same as 80mm on a regular 35mm camera. This is the perfect length for doing portraits and other similar photo jobs that require a medium telephoto lens.

Here is the plain truth. If you purchase any zoom lens in the $100 price range, you will definitely be getting a consumer grade product with less than stellar image quality. If you purchase the cheap 50mm Canon lens, you will be getting top of the line image quality.

The main gripe about this lens is that is feels cheap, and while this may be true, the resulting images do not look cheap at all.

Even a lens built like this can last for a long time if proper care is taken.

Hopefully, you are ready to find out much more about this dandy little "cheap" Canon 50mm lens. Click on http://www.canoneoslenses.org/ to find out which Canon lens is the right choice for your Canon digital SLR.

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