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Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Zoom Lens
by clarkjames
a 70-200 is a very popular lens, I own the 70-200 2.8 IS which I use professionally but really it's just too heavy to carry around with me on vacation. The f4 version is half the weight and much more compact so is a joy to carry. The f4 version works ok in good light, but in the Uk the light is never good so you'll find yourself ... struggling to get handheld shots at 200mm without cranking the ISO
for shooting in a studio, or on a tripod this lens is great, but for handheld shooting the IS version is a lot easier to use and more versatile. Canon make great 70-200 lenses, this is a great lens, but it has limited appeal- don't buy it just because of the price, buy it because it is the one you really want/need, if you don't want 2.8, or don't want IS it's a fantastic lens, but if you really do want the more expensive one and you go for this one then you might be disappointed. Personally I can't recommend this lens, i'd say either get the IS version or get a handful of f2 prime lenses (50mm f1.8, 100mm f2), much more versatile.
it is incredibly sharp, but 200mm f4 needs a lot of light, or you will get motion blur. it is a very nice lens for portraits though, and you can get a nicely diffused background shooting wide open
my advice is save up and get the IS, if you don't want the weight of the 2.8 lens
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Canon EF 50mm f1.8 MK2
by clarkjames
for the price you really cant beat this lens, although this lens is clearly build to a price, and when it breaks (and everyone I know that has one has broken one- including me) you'll see why.
I managed to fix a couple of the ones my friends broke, but mine was beyond repair- I ended up purchasing a 50mm 1.4 second hand to ... replace it and it only cost about twice what the 1.8 cost- which sounds a lot but i'm still using the 1.4 3 years on, the 1.8 lasted only 1 year.
The good thing about this lens is that it's so lightweight, the 1.4 is light but this is even smaller and lighter, it really is no trouble at all to slip this in your bag or your coat pocket, and makes a good 2 lens kit with a more general purpose zoom lens on the camera.
For the money this lens is sharp, even wide open at f1.8 and puts most zoom lenses to shame. of course the trade off is the loss of versatility, and on a crop sensor camera (aps-c) it can be too 'zoomed in' for most purposes- portraits are where it does excel though.
The af makes a noise when it focuses, but it's pretty quick in good light but can struggle in low light.
The main fault of this lens is the build quality, it's completely plastic, and as such can't take much of a beating. In that respect despite being cheap it can be a false economy because if you break it then you've lost your money- if you're a keen photographer then i'd recommend saving for the 1.4, but if you're only going to use it very occasionally then this lens is an absolute bargain
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Canon EF 50 mm f/1.4 USM
by clarkjames
I just love this lens, what's not to like about a small, light, cheap lens with fantastic IQ!
The images can be a little soft at f1.4, but with care it does product a sharp result- getting your shot in focus is the real challenge here but if you nail it then you're rewarded by a sharp point of focus with smooth ... bokeh.
IQ at f2 is a lot better and then at f2.8 onwards it's about as good as it's going to get- incredibly sharp edge to edge, puts the pricey zoom lenses to shame.
The lens is really lightweight, and without the hood (you have to buy the hood separately as canon don't include one) it is practically pocket sized, it is no effort to carry this lens with you.
The lens has dual purpose, because on full frame (where it's arguable more versatile) it can be the only lens you ever need, useable for everything from street photography to loosely cropped portraits- but on APS-C it has the field of view of an 80mm lens, which can be a little long for many applications, but it excels for portraits.
it's not all rosy though, the front lens barrel does wobble a bit when manual focusing and after many years of use I think the wobble has gotten worse- that being said I do use this lens a lot, and I give it a bit of a hammering, but it's still enough to make me consider the 50mm L is this lens should ever break on me. But for most users this 50mm should be all you'd ever need, the L remains in the realm of the professionals and the super rich, the 50mm 1.8 should probably be avoided as it is too fragile and although it is much cheaper it's better to buy the 1.4 as it will last longer, has better IQ and a much much better AF system.
I have had no problem with the AF on this lens, it works well in low light (a lot better than the 1.8) and can track moving objects too- it's perhaps not quite as zipply as the 70-200 2.8, but that lens is about 4 times the price.
I would recommend the lens hood as the lens can exhibit flare when shooting close to the sun, the lens hood makes the lens less portable but makes the lens look really cool (if you care about looks).
The canon 50mm 1.4 is a fantastic lens, and I recommend that every canon shooter gets one. They are quite cheap to buy new, but if you get one used then you can pick up a real bargain, but if you do get one used make sure the lens barrel is solid and doesn't wobble like mine does.
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