Sunday, November 6th, 2011 @ 09:30am | Author: Ashley

{Ashley} Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens Review (26 photos).

I’ve had my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens for over one month now, so I thought I’d let you know how it’s going!

First of all, the camera I use this lens on is a Canon 450D (EOS Rebel XSi). And the lens itself is dirt cheap at about $100 — I couldn’t pass up trying it!

Now I’ve read A LOT of reviews about A LOT of cameras & lenses – on forums, camera sites, Amazon, etc. It gets tiring, because each one is the same — there’s a good chunk that love it, a chunk that hates it, a chunk that thinks the price was good (and another that thought it to be too pricey), ones that always use it, ones that used it once and never again… You get the picture. Which is exactly my point – where are the actual photographs taken with these lenses & cameras?! I absolutely LOVE that people can upload their photos to Amazon. It puts everything I need at my fingertips — information, cost, reviews, & most importantly EXAMPLES!

So while I may throw in some specs or opinions, I’d like to let the lens speak for itself. Here are a batch of the photos I’ve taken with the 50mm in the past month:

(click each for larger image)

50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC*

*Straight out of the Camera (no editing other than resize/watermark) – examples

The very first photo I took with the lens was about 9:30p, in very low light, of my car key on my bedside dresser. The key was on the very edge, and in the background on the left is a glass on a coaster – only about 5 inches behind the key. It was a quick snapshot – my hands were a little shaky – so the photo easily blurred in the low light, but it wasn’t extremely blurred. An excellent low-light lens.

50mm | ISO 800 | 1/8 sec at f/1.8 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5	50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0
50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/60 sec at f/2.2	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC
50mm | ISO 160 | 1/4000 sec at f/1.8 | SooC	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/500 sec at f/6.3 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/60 sec at f/2.2 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/200 sec at f/4.0	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/200 sec at f/4.0
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/200 sec at f/4.0
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/80 sec at f/2.5 | SooC	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/125 sec at f/3.2 | SooC
50mm | ISO 800 | 1/25 sec at f/1.8 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/50 sec at f/1.8 | SooC	50mm | ISO 640 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC
50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC	50mm | ISO 400 | 1/50 sec at f/2.0 | SooC
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/2000 sec at f/13 | SooC	50mm | ISO 200 | 1/250 sec at f/4.5
50mm | ISO 200 | 1/500 sec at f/6.3

So if you’re a Canon user and considering a new lens, I definitely recommend this one! Although it’s a prime lens, it’s great for a walking-around lens – small and lightweight, and able to capture your “on the fly” photos rather well (it’s quite speedy, and again I say, great in low light). And it’s CHEAP! haha :)

RESOURCES:
Amazon
Google Shopping

Saturday, October 8th, 2011 @ 02:00pm | Author: Ashley

{Ashley} Saturday Show & Tell (1 photo).

This week seems to have been super hectic for me; I didn’t get any posts up or anything! I did manage to take and edit a BUNCH of photos of my new baby niece. They’re currently awaiting review by mommy dearest, so sorry, no previews yet. However, this week, I’d like to share with you a few items that have been in my possession practically every day this week…

• My new 50mm f/1.8 II lens. In fact, the only time this lens came off the body of my camera was to photograph it. It’s been a huge challenge for me to work with a fixed focal length, but I’m learning to love it. It forces me to focus on other elements of a photograph.
• A fabulous Dijon mustard-y colored tote for hauling my “overnights” with me everywhere I go. It’s never actually this empty — I usually can’t close it… I recently picked up this Merona bag on clearance at Target.
• Okay, technically, the rock has only been in my possession since yesterday, but it’s too cute to not include. My new friend Virginia picked it up from the beach during her trip up to the Upper Peninsula. :)