Prime Lens for Canon EOS 450D?

[callumpeters]

Hi guys,

I've been thinking about getting a prime lens for my EOS 450D - possibly 50mm or 80mm? Just wondered if anyone has had good experiences with either of these lenses, which is the better lens etc etc. I've heard they're good for low-light work, and obviously I've seen that they produce beautifully crisp images with equally gorgeous background blur.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

[Matthew Forrest]

Hi Callumpeters

My first prime lens was canon ef 50mm 1.8II lens and Its a must have for every canon owner the results for value for money is outstanding,perfect in lowlight also..Only around the £100.00 mark.

Hope this helps...

[ap4a]

Originally Posted by callumpeters

which is the better lens etc etc.

That depends entirely on the purpose, and your budget. What do you mostly want to use it for and how much do you have available to spend?

I've got a 30mm f/1.4 and a 50mm f/1.8 and both get a lot of use for slightly different reasons.

[donoreo]

Originally Posted by Matthew Forrest

Hi Callumpeters

My first prime lens was canon ef 50mm 1.8II lens and Its a must have for every canon owner the results for value for money is outstanding,perfect in lowlight also..Only around the £100.00 mark.

Hope this helps...

I second this. I actually purchased mine used for $90 CDN (£45 or so). It is a great little lens.

[callumpeters]

Thanks for the quick replies I'm fancying for a mix really, mostly portraits/low light work, I'll probably end up finding it comes in handy for a few things really. I've already got a 50-250mm and the standard 18-55mm, but this prime is just something a bit different. I'll take a look at the 50mm, it's going cheap on Amazon at the moment! It was around £85 when I checked earlier! Not bad. Thanks for the advice!

[wavemachine]

I have the 50mm f1.8 and it is a cracker for the money, granted it feels a little cheap and plasticy but opticly it is superb.

Another consideration in primes is a macro lens, I have the Canon EF100mm f2.8 macro, this is a great lens for getting close ups of critters etc but doubles up as an excellent portrait lens although it is pricey at around £400 I find it is a nice option as I do like a bit of macro and portrait.

Of course you need to remember that becuase of the 1.6 crop factor of the APS-C sensor on your camera that a 50mm will be an 80mm and an 80mm will be equivalent to 128mm.

[riddell]

The Canon 50mm is about the best value lens you can lay your hands on.

A quality lens (perhaps not construction) but optically quality and a lovely low price.

Every photographer should own one!

Paul.
www.photographybyriddell.co.uk

[callumpeters]

Thanks very much for the advice! I'm swaying towards the 50mm (it seems to get cheaper and cheaper over at Amazon!) and might think about the 100mm macro lens as wavemachine has mentioned. Cheers!

[rbarry]

Don't even think about it. Go and get one today from your high street store. This lens is so affordable and you won't believe how crisp until you use it for yourself. You can always get rid of it for the Canon 100 macro as and when you are in a position to upgrade, but I bet you don't. I've added quite a few lenses to my armoury since I bought the nifty fifty but have no intention of selling it.
As an aside, top of the list on my e-bay watch items is a Canon 100 F2.8 USM macro................

Reserve on line and collect at store for £87.00, no postage costs and all the benefits of instant gratification!

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/...2878/show.html