For the 50mm f/1.8 II IQ doubters

[smorter]

Ok firstly I apologise for the bad quality and composition of the below photo but I was a bit rushed for time

Anyway today during a model shoot I thought, "I'm disappointed how some posters and I always get ridiculed when we say the 50mm f/1.8 II holds its own wide open even against L primes like the 85mm f/1.2L II, 35mm f/1.4L and Supertelephotos like the 300 f/2.8L IS and 400mm f/2.8L IS"

Many posters are adamant the 50 f/1.8 II is soft as vaseline till at least f/2.5 or f/2.8. It makes my blood boil (I'm kidding)

I really beg to differ so I grabbed the poor model today (who probably thought I was a weirdo), and told her to stand still whilst I mounted my 5D Mark II, put on my 50 f/1.8 II lens, opened Live View and zoomed in to 10X, manually focused, and took a photo of the model, focusing on her face. Yes I'm a sad pixel peeper, I know

The unaltered, straight out of camera RAW conversion is shown below (DPP Raw conversion, standard settings) of the lens at f/1.8 wide open. If you do not believe it you are welcome to right click and save the file, and examine the EXIF

Full Frame:


100% Crop:



I don't know why some 50 f/1.8 II are soft wide open but I suspect either sample variation or AF errors (or user errors). But I don't think this lens should be dissed for IQ based on these poor performing copies. Dissed for QC, certainly, but not IQ

Let's be honest, the lens is an AF and build quality disaster, but at least it's sharp

I will try and debunk the bad bokeh myth some other day, I can only take one weird shot of a model per day

[timbo76]

This lens is amazing for the cost. I use it all the time.

[adamo99]

Who gives a damn what other people on some internet forum say?? I also have this lens, and my experience mirrors yours. Razor sharp, but feels like it could be built by Fisher-Price or Mattel.

[vitacura]

It is a great lens for the price!

[twoshadows]

Good pic, pretty model. Yeah, I'm a believer, lol.

[professorman]

Originally Posted by twoshadows

Good pic, pretty model. Yeah, I'm a believer, lol.

Great lens. It also boils my blood when people talk crap about it. This lens was the gateway drug for me. I loved it so much, I upgraded to the 50 f/1.4, then got the Sigma 30 f/1.4. I am now about to trade the 50 f/1.4 for a 85 f/1.8 and try to pick up a nifty fifty again. I LOVE the nifty. No on can debate the price-quality.

[linh811]

what lens give us some more pics of the girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jblaschke]

I love my mk I version. Had (actually, still have) the mk II, but the build quality and awful MF drove me nuts. Splurged on the original version and have nothing but love for it now. IQ is identical. Very, very sharp when stopped down some, but even wide open it is sharper than most common consumer lenses.

[Brett]

I think I must have had what you appear to have: the rare copy that's very sharp. I base that on the fact that most people consider this lens very soft wide open, but mine was very sharp at f/1.8.

[gabebalazs]

I think many people think it's soft because if the AF misses even a little bit (which does occur) at f/1.8 the pic is already OOF and soft. So I think a lot of users don't even know they do have a sharp copy because they never test the lens at MF, live view (if available).
However, I'm sure there are variations between copies too regarding sharpness.

When I do 100% crop tests for my 7D, I always use the nifty, granted not at 1.8 but 5.6 (going for the ultimate sharpness).

[damnnit]

I noticed that on my old 40D and my current 50D, the 50 f1.8 is very soft until about f2.8. However, on my 5D images come out ridiculously sharp even wide open. This is my 2nd copy and I dont know if the first copy had issues but anyone who uses my cameras agree. Its an awesome lens on full frame.

[Seven11]

Aren't there other factors to consider with image quality besides sharpness? I had what I considered to be a sharp copy of this lens, but really didn't like the distracting bokeh, slow AF, and build quality. I think there is a reason "...for the price" is usally used when describing the qualities of this lens.

smorter, I think you've done a great job of showing what the lens is capable of, but I would love to see a side-by-side comparison to some of those Ls you mentioned.

[Andy R]

i love mine to death...use it all the time nice pic btw :P

[Jill-of-all-Trades]

And this is why I just bought the lens today.

[themadman]

Just because people on the internet say the nifty fifty is soft and bad, doesn't make my lens any worse =P

Edit: I think I have discovered why the nifty fifty has a bad rep. I think it is because it si recommended to people who are just getting into photography and many of them have no clue what they are doing and complain about it. Once people get better and get better lenses, these lenses are "worlds apart" or "ina different league" than the nifty fifty, when in reality, both the photographer is better and the better lens might be just more versatile.