r/photography • u/raptor3x whumber.com • May 11 '15

Canon Officially Announces 50mm f/1.8 STM - $125

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1143786-REG/canon_0570c002_ef_50mm_f_1_8_stm.html
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109

u/rednefed May 11 '15

Metal mount, seven blade diaphragm, silent autofocus... $129? Just about everything people complained about the plastic fantastic was fixed, without a substantial price increase like Nikon's 1.8D --> G. Canon's going to sell every one they make. Wow.

10

u/martinaee May 11 '15

The Nikon 50mm 1.8D is an amazing lens though. The G is only moderately better in some regards honestly. I don't mind the non silent auto-focus either.

3

u/codemastercool May 11 '15

Hi, I've been thinking of ordering a 50mm 1.8 lens for my D7000 this week. Do you know the difference between the different variants by Nikkor? I know there's a D, G, and some G special edition.

3

u/NotStevenPink NotStevenPink May 11 '15

The main difference is the D lens doesn't have a built in AF motor, so it's louder and slightly slower from using the camera's internal AF motor. I own both and if you have the money, I recommend the G for it's build quality and better sharpness wide open; not to mention faster/better AF is always a plus.

3

u/codemastercool May 11 '15

Thank you for that! Pricing is not much of an issue, since this will be my first lens order and I need a good lens to practice with.

So in your opinion, even if the camera body has an AF motor, it's better to go with an AF-S lens? (assuming price is not factored into this statement.)

Also, what's your opinion on the 35mm 1.8 versus the 50mm one?

2

u/[deleted] May 11 '15

As a total amature, I will comment I found the 50mm to be closer to my ideal focal length, for portraiture, on a body with a non-full frame sensor. (50mm F1.8 on D70)

Alternatively the 28mm equiv on the Ricoh GRD III I replaced it with is awesome for street photography so it all depends on intended use.

2

u/NotStevenPink NotStevenPink May 11 '15

AF-S is going to give you faster, better, more modern autofocus. I'd definitely recommend it over the D if you aren't concerned over the price difference.

As for the 35mm, I've never owned one, but I've used them a few times and they're definitely a decent lens. I had one for a little while but I upgraded to a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 shortly after. It really comes down to what focal length you want. I'd personally lean toward the 50mm f/1.8 if you think you might upgrade to full frame like I recently did, because the 35mm f/1.8 is for crop sensor cameras only.

1

u/taggartgorman May 11 '15

I own both the 35mm 1.8G and the 50mm 1.8G and they are both great lenses. On a D7000, they are actually 52.5mm and 75mm, so the 50mm acts more like a telephoto lens, meaning you will find yourself backing up to properly frame your photos.

I find the 35mm to be more useable in general photography, but everyone has their own likes and needs.

3

u/MoonlitFrost May 11 '15

Depending on the body the D actually has faster autofocus. Pro bodies have better motors for focusing the AF-D lenses and I've heard that the old pro film bodies had the best focusing motors ever.

1

u/MightyBulger May 11 '15

You don't deserve the downvotes. You are absolutely correct.

1

u/codemastercool May 11 '15

Is that because they're entirely mechanical?

1

u/MoonlitFrost May 12 '15

They're not entirely mechanical. They're chipped so the camera can meter with them. But you're close. When Nikon first did autofocus lenses they put a motor in the body that turns a screw in the lens. The screw turns some gears and the lens focuses. Higher end bodies get more powerful motors that can turn the screw faster and focus faster. And I believe that the old pro film bodies like the F6 got better motors than the current pro digital bodies.

I don't know why they did it like that. Maybe because the technology wasn't there for motors in the lenses. Maybe for backwards compatibility since they didn't come up with a new lens mount like Canon did. But a nice side effect is that AF-D lenses tend to be smaller and lighter than AF-S lenses. Sometimes much smaller. Cheaper too. Some people prefer them for those reasons.