50mm/1.8 shots, as expected?

hirez · January 15, 2013

My first "real' post here. I've been in the hobby for a while now. Been in other forums but will be migrating here.

I finally got the standard lens added to my kit. I look forward to having a bit of fun with the wide aperture. However I am not sure what to make of my first shots, not quite what I was expecting, but not sure if i should be disappointed yet.

So my first shot is with the 50mm wide open of a lucky bamboo...

hirez · January 15, 2013

next is my old 17-85mm @ ~50mm wide open @ f5.6

hirez · January 15, 2013

then back to the 50mm stopped down to same shutter as the 17-85. (things sharpen up a bit)

Of course where I expect this lens to shine is in portrait and narrow depth of field.

Am I headed in the right direction?? I appreciate any comments, suggestions. thanks

babowc · January 16, 2013

Pictures are quite low-res, and look as if they're OOF.

Helvegr · January 16, 2013

You are going to have a very narrow DOF, and you test subject seems like it is going to be hard because you have elements coming towards the camera, pointing away, etc. You are going to have to be spot on with your focus. Its one of the things that makes shooting wide open tricky (at least for me). The images are so low res its hard to tell, but the first one might even have focused on the wall behind the plan. I'd keep experimenting before reaching any conclusions.

hirez · January 17, 2013

the pictures are cropped, not re-sized. here is a more (hopefully) objective image. its close up, wide open, in AF, and cropped:\

focus is at the top of the center (tall) screw.

ziggy53 · January 17, 2013

If this is the Canon EF 50mm, f1.8, it is Canon's cheapest lens and the AF technology is rather poor. I cannot gain consistent AF with that lens at large apertures. The EF 50mm, f1.4 USM is much more consistent to AF, if that's your goal.

The optical quality of the 50mm, f1.8 is rather good, if you can achieve prime focus of and on your subject. If your camera body supports Live View, try that in manual focus mode for still subjects, especially if you use a tripod. Some bodies support Live View at 100 percent, so use that if you can.

Manual focus with Focus Assist from the body can also work fairly well.

hirez · January 17, 2013

ziggy53 wrote: »

If this is the Canon EF 50mm, f1.8, it is Canon's cheapest lens and the AF technology is rather poor. I cannot gain consistent AF with that lens at large apertures. The EF 50mm, f1.4 USM is much more consistent to AF, if that's your goal.

The optical quality of the 50mm, f1.8 is rather good, if you can achieve prime focus of and on your subject. If your camera body supports Live View, try that in manual focus mode for still subjects, especially if you use a tripod. Some bodies support Live View at 100 percent, so use that if you can.

Manual focus with Focus Assist from the body can also work fairly well.

Thanks, this lens is just another lens for me to have fun with, and I will probably not use it a great amount. So I didn't feel I needed to make the leap to the 1.4 (although it was tempting). I am just trying to get the hang of it now so when I do use it I get what I want...hopeully

hirez · January 20, 2013

Had time this weekend to have some fun with my new lens.

Photogbiker · January 21, 2013

The last group definitely have sharp areas--now, if those were the areas you intended to be sharp is the question. The bamboo shots appear to be focusing on the wall. The screw is out, but are you sure the focus point was on the screw and were you on a solid tripod?

Ziggy (as usual) nailed the answer. I have the same lens and use it wide open sparingly, never on a moving subject, and rarely not on a tripod. If stopped down to 2.8 or so I fire away with no worries. This lens is capable of very high quality images, just needs a bit more tending in the process.

A lens to have fun with, and if it falls in the lake while you are shooting you won't cry over it.

Brett1000 · January 22, 2013

Photogbiker wrote: »

The last group definitely have sharp areas--now, if those were the areas you intended to be sharp is the question. The bamboo shots appear to be focusing on the wall. The screw is out, but are you sure the focus point was on the screw and were you on a solid tripod?

Ziggy (as usual) nailed the answer. I have the same lens and use it wide open sparingly, never on a moving subject, and rarely not on a tripod. If stopped down to 2.8 or so I fire away with no worries. This lens is capable of very high quality images, just needs a bit more tending in the process.

A lens to have fun with, and if it falls in the lake while you are shooting you won't cry over it.

I agree, try using f2.2 on other non-moving things. On a crop the 50mm can be useful for portraits and situations where you want a blurred background
also learn how to resize pics !

50mm/1.8 shots, as expected?

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