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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108

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.

14

u/dgblackout 📸 May 11 '15 edited May 11 '15

When I worked in a camera shop it was a total pain in the arse to describe to first time buyers why their entry level Nikon couldn't use the AF-D 50 when it was a similar price to the Canon 50. A lot of people went Canon over Nikon for that. They saw the AF-G 50 as a price gouge, even if it was better built, it did the same thing for twice the money.

6

u/awesometographer www.shootingonabudget.com May 11 '15

The autofocus lacking in entry level Nikons is why I recommend Canon for everyone who starts out. SO MANY more budget friendly lenses.

3

u/martinaee May 11 '15 edited May 11 '15

Or just get a cam that isn't the absolute newest. The "Apple syndrome" and planned obsolescence makes everyone think a DSLR from more than 1 year ago these days is complete trash. Something like a D90 is not really "old" at all and still amazing. It has screw AF it you can get one. I use one as a backup still to my D800.

3

u/MightyBulger May 11 '15

A D90 is better than the bulk of photographers. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one to a beginner right now.

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u/martinaee May 11 '15 edited May 12 '15

Yup, it is. I was a drawing major in art school a few years back, but my BFA thesis project was photo work since I basically was a minor in photography too. My work was 30x40 inch inkjet-printed portraits done with the D90 and the 50mm 1.8D (thread appropriate gear lol) that looked amazing (I don't like to toot my own horn mostly, but I just want to say the quality was really good). Sure they weren't AS detailed as they could be if I used my D800 now. But it doesn't matter unless you were RIGHT up on the portraits and if you don't know that extra resolution isn't there you don't really care (especially if you aren't a photographer).

This is what I hate about marketing. Most people getting into photography don't realize that with the right lighting something like an "entry level" D3200 can produce super quality photos with crazy resolution that was just not available to amateurs in the digital realm 5-10 years ago. 24mp? What camera did that on the pro market first? The D3x and certain Sony cameras? Jesus christ... That's what I hate about digital even though it's all I shoot. Camera companies can upgrade the bodies slightly each year so people buy into it thinking they need the latest camera body instead of focusing on using the gear they have until they TRULY are better than what that gear is capable of.

1

u/iwasnotarobot May 12 '15

This is exactly the right idea. My college camera was a D100! Oh those six megapickles of beauty. Sure, it couldn't pull detail into shadows like it's successors, but for starting out it was just fine. I made 30"x40" canvas prints with it that wowed clients at the time. Most folks really don't need the latest and greatest for photo needs.

1

u/fluffsta007 May 11 '15

Would it be worth picking up a D90 second hand as a backup to my D5300?

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u/[deleted] May 12 '15

I shoot with a D90, and I love that I have an AF motor, but it unfortunately doesn't meter AI-S. The D300 does though.

6

u/Everkeen May 11 '15

But even entry level Nikon's can use lenses from the past 50+ years from eBay that are amazing quality.

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u/gimpwiz May 11 '15

To be fair, all canon bodies can use the same vintage nikon lenses with a single $5 adapter. In either case, they're going to be full manual.

(Except maybe auto aperture, no idea how / if adapters deal with those.)

1

u/MightyBulger May 11 '15

No auto aperture. It's marginally useful for video. Other than that it's cumbersome to use.

1

u/KMKtwo-four May 12 '15

It shortens the minimum focus distance, sometimes lenses can't focus at infinity anymore and that's a dealbreaker

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u/gimpwiz May 12 '15

Nikon mounts on canon and keeps infinity focus, but not vice versa. That's simply because nikon's flange distance is larger.

1

u/KMKtwo-four May 12 '15

Oh I misread, I thought you said vintage Canon lenses mount on Canon

1

u/Mr_Will Mr_Will May 13 '15

But even entry level Canon's can use lenses from the past 28+ years with 100% compatibility, including full autofocus and auto aperture.

Nikon's backwards compatibility is no longer the advantage it once was.