CanonEF 50 mm 1.8 STM Lens - Compact and Lightweight Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras, Fast Aperture, Smooth Focusing - Ideal for Portraits and Creative Photography

Great price for an industry standard lens. Sharp, fast, great for low light. Excellent build quality as expected from Canon, packaging could have been a little better - box was untaped.

Great non intrusive wide lens, great for carrying long distance and are photography, also on darker environments without flash. Recommended for quality shots.

Great lens! Takes nice shallow depth of field. Highly recommend!

I bought this to pair with a 7D as a lightweight walk around lens. I wanted a camera package that was relatively portable and compact that I could sling into whatever bag I was taking out with me at any given time. My 7D and 17-55 2.8 were not cutting it in this regard.I have been draw to the mirrorless cameras as a solution, but I had not been sufficiently impressed with the handling of them in my limited camera store trials. Given the prices and performance compromises of these units I decided instead that for £150 I would have a ago with the 40mm 2.8 to see if I could benefit.Let me say this upfront, I am not trying to insinuate that a shorty forty mounted to a 7D is comparable in portability to a mirrorless system - it's not. However, what it does do is make the 7D a lot more comfortable to haul around on a casual basis when the prime purpose of the trip is not photography. The arguments I have seen online about this lens being pointless on a bulky DSLR miss the point of people celebrating the lack and size and weight of this lens.I wont go into yet another review of the image quality of this lens as it is well documented as a good performer and I can only agree. Yes it isn't the pinnacle of lens performance but it certainly very good and better sharpness wide open than the 17-55.To me this lens was always about the handling and portability, allowing me to take my camera out more. Yes there are other lightweight canon lenses, but depth of the package is not to be underestimated either when trying to cram it in somewhere. Also the lack of lens depth makes it more comfortable if carrying the camera over the shoulder with a strap, as the lens is not intrusive or off balance.In terms of the focal length being 'wrong' for APSC...as with other primes I find that I adjust and work with the focal length I have. It may not fall within one of the classic focal lengths but it is certainly suitable for a number of situations and subjects. I think this is a bit overblown, as is any concern over the AF motor noise. Under normal conditions and operation it is quiet and not intrusive. Speed could be a bit faster (certainly not as fast as USM) but very practical all the same. It also keeps up relatively well in SERVO mode.All in all this lens is a great performer not just for the price but for any real practical considerations. What it does give you over any other lens in the Canon lineup is lightweight compact handling. The only thing I am still struggling with is a suitably compact lightweight case to pair the system with (if anyone knows of something I would be delighted to hear about it).Recommend it.

I've just bought this lens to replace my 50mm f1.8 lens which fell apart after 6 years use. I was attracted by others' reviews and the compact design, fast aperture of 2.8 and the fact it's an EF lens so when I eventually upgrade to a full frame Canon, it will still be useful. I've been using it for best part of a week so far and I'm very pleased with it. It's great in low light, ultra compact and great build quality for the money. I paid £150 with p&p, and it's already come down 20 quid in price, but it's worth the extra 20 quid and more.The lens has more detail throughout the frame than my old 50mm f1.8 II Canon lens and I am now feel i should have gone straight to this lens in the first place. It gives me 64mm focal length on my 1.6 x cropped sensor of the 60D I use, which to be fair is perfect for group shots and portraits. I'm slightly more in the face of portrait subjects than with the 50mm, but the lens has a much smaller profile being a pancake design, so it hasn't yet seemed to intimidate any of my subjects. The focusing is quick and near silent. I've used the manual focus ring on the lens which is oddly, but cleverly electronic, so there is a fraction of a second delay, but it's still quicker than auto focus (depending on you of course and how quickly your eyes focus on the viewfinder). The build quality is excellent and it has a nice weighty feel in the hand, but feels perfectly balanced on the camera. Shots are sharp throughout the frame at all apertures that i have found, whereas the 50mm 1.8 could soften a little round the edges at f1.8 (but was ok from around f3.2 and above).I can see me using this lens for most shots now other than wide angle shots. It's not often i use zoom functions on my longer lenses, so this could be my 'walk around lens'. Each to their own i know, but i love it. The 50mm lens was a great lens, but unfortunately, the ease at which it appears to have broken (haven't a clue how it happened, because I didn't drop it or knock it) has put me off buying another. If I ever do go for another 50mm it will probably be the £1200 L series f1.2 when i eventually upgrade to a 5d III.....one day. Right now, that's far too expensive for me to justify as I'm not a pro (not yet anyway ;-)) Right now, this lens fulfils 90% of shooting requirements from a focal length point of view. Clever Canon.It's made in Malaysia, not Japan, which was my only slight apprehension when buying this lens, but I'm very pleased so far and the build quality is great as i said.If you don't quite want to stretch to £300ish for the f1.4 50mm and are, like me, now non-confident in the 50mm 1.8 II, this 40mm f2.8 EF is a great, economically in between alternative and i highly recommend it. By the way, I ordered it on a week day in the morning and had it by tea time the next day direct from Amazon.

Good quality and fits cannon camera perfect