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Review by cedm on 10 June 2008

Individual review
Build Quality	1
Reliability	4
Sharpness	5
Bokeh	3
Other Image Quality	4
AF Accuracy	3
AF Speed	3
AF (difficult conditions)	1
Value for money	5

Pros:  cheap, fast (f1.8), light
Cons:  lousy build quality, AF can hunt a lot under low light situation

Overall, it's a decent lens; it's fast, sharp and inexpensive. The focal length makes it ideal for portrait photography.

Excellent value for money for small budgets.

However, don't expect too much from a sub USD100 lens: it's all plastic and don't feel solid at all. AF is pretty much unusable at night.

That said, you won't find a better prime lens for twice the price. At three times the price, go for the EF 50mm f/1.4: it does everything better.

Review by Andrew on 21 May 2008

Individual review
Build Quality	2
Reliability	4
Sharpness	5
Bokeh	4
Other Image Quality	4
AF Accuracy	4
AF Speed	3
AF (difficult conditions)	2
Value for money	5

Pros:  Very fast lens for very little money.
Cons:  Awful build quality, but at this price...

Was my first lens purchase after buying a DSLR on a recommendation from a friend. Don't regret it at all. I'll be honest, the build quality is as bad as generally said on reviews, when I switch the lens from AF to MF it feels like it's going to snap. However, I've had this lens several months under some rather rough conditions and its not only functionally fine but also cosmetically perfect. It feels cheap, but don't think it won't hold up to everyday use.

This lens has a fast maximum aperture of F/1.8 which lets you shoot in low light without flash, as well as producing very interesting and shallow depth of field. The five bladed aperture leads to interesting, but not aesthetically bad bokeh. It's something of a signature of the lens. Getting used to a fixed prime and this lenses aperture is rather hard - no convenience of a zoom means you'll get quite a bit of exercise. And at F/1.8 the depth of field is so narrow that it's very easy to miss focus on a shot - off by a couple of inches and it's OOF. Once you do get used to it, it produces excellent images with great contrast. And even better, mount it on a tripod and stop down to F/8 to F/11, and it becomes extremely sharp for studio use, or under sunlight.

This lens can be found very cheaply, and don't take the relatively low numbers it receives the wrong way - they're objective ratings of its features in each department. Overall I would rate this lens a 4/5 despite its flaws, and certainly worth adding to a collection.

Review by jmarshall on 20 May 2008

Individual review
Build Quality	3
Reliability	4
Sharpness	5
Bokeh	2
Other Image Quality	3
AF Accuracy	3
AF Speed	3
AF (difficult conditions)	2
Value for money	5

Pros:  Cheap, great value, fast f/1.8
Cons:  Focusing accuracy, bokeh

This is the best value Canon lens, without a doubt.

You'll be getting very sharp and contrasty images, but be careful to focus correctly at wider aperture. The bokeh isn't anything special, so while it works okay for portraits, there are better options.

On the downside, when focusing, this lens is quite noisy and often fails to find focus properly. I'd recommend using the focus assist on a Speedlite if you can.

Review by lonelyjew on 20 May 2008

Individual review
Build Quality	2
Reliability	3
Sharpness	5
Bokeh	4
Other Image Quality	4
AF Accuracy	3
AF Speed	3
AF (difficult conditions)	2
Value for money	5

Pros:  Shockingly sharp, amazingly cheap, very fast
Cons:  poor build quality but what can be expected of such a cheap lens, autofocus isn't too great

This is an awesome little lens, for the price you can't beat it.

The first copy I bought had terrible focus issues however, when it did focus, the results were simply stunning. My second copy faired much better but it still is hardly perfect in regards to focus accuracy. I've settled on taking repeat shots of the same thing and usually get good results going this route.

Build quality is bad but, as I said above, what can be expected for a lens that costs less than $100?

It is soft wide open but stopped down just a bit and it yields great results. It offers great opportunities for low light shooting for those who, like myself, hate the flash as well as giving new/poor photographers a lot of creative options with bokeh.

This is a great little pocket lens that is well worth its low price tag.

Review by jjacula on 16 May 2008

Individual review
Build Quality	2
Reliability	1
Sharpness	3
Bokeh	4
Other Image Quality	3
AF Accuracy	1
AF Speed	3
AF (difficult conditions)	3
Value for money	5

Pros:  Great value for the money
Cons:  Terribly inconsistent

For the price, it's hard to go wrong with this lens. The real issue I have with this lens is its focusing inconsistency - from one shot to the next, without moving yourself or the subject or the camera, the focus point will jump ever so slightly. As a result, you have to shoot triple what you normally would and pray you have one that is spot on where you want it to be. But still, for the money, this is a terrific lens. I have far more expensive lenses in my kit, but I'm still not selling this little gem ... just in case I need it again someday!

Review by tim on 12 May 2008

Individual review
Build Quality	2
Reliability	3
Sharpness	3
Bokeh	2
Other Image Quality	2
AF Accuracy	1
AF Speed	2
AF (difficult conditions)	2
Value for money	4

Pros:  Good image quality, cheap
Cons:  Focus accuracy and reliability not good, some lens flare

This is a great starter lens, especially given how cheap it is. The lens has two main issues:
- The focus motor isn't reliably accurate. For fun stuff it's fine, for professional work get the 1.4 or 1.2 USM
- It flares quite a bit if the sun directly strikes the lens.

Review by Cujo on 1 May 2008

Individual review
Build Quality	4
Reliability	3
Sharpness	3
Bokeh	3
Other Image Quality	3
AF Accuracy	1
AF Speed	1
AF (difficult conditions)	1
Value for money	5

Pros:  great lens for the cost, performs great in low light, can't be beat for the price
Cons:  slow AF in low light

My work horse lens for the longest time in low light situations for my general band shooting in poorly lit bars etc. Only shoot with it in manual as in auto and in low light it tends not to find the focus or takes time to find focus.