Canon 50mm 1.8 mark 1 vs. mark 2?

[Southpaw]

Hi guys!

I'm in the market for a "nifty fifty", and wondering what the difference between the mark 1 & 2 are?

I can find the mark 2 all day long for around $100, and a local guy is selling a mark 1 for $160, and I'm wondering if it's worth the extra 60 bucks.

Are there differences in build quality? Glass? I noticed a window with settings on the mark 1, but other than that, anything else?

[William W]

The EF 50 F/1.8 was released in 1987 it and features:

> weighs about 190gms
> a metal bayonet lens mount
> a distance scale
> a separate manual focus ring
> IR focusing indicator

The EF 50 F/1.8 MkII was released in 1990, weighs about 130gms and does not feature the above, but and sports a plastic bayonet lens mount and manual focus is made by rotating a knurled ring which is located on the front of the lens.

The block diagrams indicate that each lens is optically identical to the other.

The original list price of the EF 50 F/1.8 was about twice as much as the F 50 F/1.8 MkII.

I have used both – but I wouldn’t buy either, not that either is a bad lens, both are very good value for money lenses - but I like to use FTM (Full Time Manual focussing) and I also don’t particularly like Prime Lenses with odd numbered Aperture Blades.

I think that you need to choose based on the features that I’ve listed and if they appeal to you or not and I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on the plastic mount vs. metal mount – the plastic mount is quite strong.

For my money, if I had to buy one or the other - I’d buy a really good quality EF 50 F/1.8 because it is heavier (weight) and also it has a distance scale and manual focus turret - and I use all that stuff - especially the distance scale on a 50mm lens is useful to me. But I would have to see and use it before bought it, obviously that would be a second–hand purchase, whereas one can buy a new EF 50 F/1.8MkII and get a warrantee and all that stuff and that might be important to you.

BTW (merely an idiosyncratic comment) there is not a lens named EF 50 F/1.8 “MkI” – Canon does not backdate nomenclature.

WW

[KCBrecks]

Hi guys!

I'm in the market for a "nifty fifty", and wondering what the difference between the mark 1 & 2 are?

I can find the mark 2 all day long for around $100, and a local guy is selling a mark 1 for $160, and I'm wondering if it's worth the extra 60 bucks.

Are there differences in build quality? Glass? I noticed a window with settings on the mark 1, but other than that, anything else?

I bought the Mark 2 new last year and it cost me £85 so your original version with the metal mount and the distance scale etc is just a little more than what I paid for the 'Plastic Fantastic' I bought. Here the original ones are going for £'s what you would pay in dollars at least, if you can find one.

I can only comment in the mark 2 and I have hardly used it since I bought it. When I do I find is I miss the Zoom option and often the zoom by feet is not always possible when there is a brick wall, or a lake edge in front or at the back of you. The other drawback with the 'Plastic Fantastic' is that the focus motor rattles and hunts. Other than that the images it produces are pin sharp. My view would be that if you want one and you have $160 then there ain't no decision.

Keith

[William W]

I haven’t noticed any EF 50 F/1.8 MkII necessarily hunting Auto Focus.

I do a lot of Low Light, Available light work, but I ensure that I use Centre Point AF almost exclusively and always seek an hard contrast line upon which to Auto Focus.

I agree that the AF motor is noisier by comparison to mostly all the other EF lenses that I have used: I do think that, that noise draws more attention to the AF functionality, whe using that particular lens.

WW

[KCBrecks]

I haven’t noticed any EF 50 F/1.8 MkII necessarily hunting Auto Focus.

I do a lot of Low Light, Available light work, but I ensure that I use Centre Point AF almost exclusively and always seek an hard contrast line upon which to Auto Focus.

I agree that the AF motor is noisier by comparison to mostly all the other EF lenses that I have used: I do think that, that noise draws more attention to the AF functionality, whe using that particular lens.

WW

I do tend to leave the camera set to AI Servo so it would then show up the noise of the focus motor more Bill. I will have to make sure I switch to single focus. And I do use the Central AF focus point as a default anyway. I have also found that the focus ring on the Plastic Fantastic is quite easy to use and much more accessible than most detractors from this excellent piece of kit suggest.

At the moment I have the lens set up on my 1000D and the pair of them make a very light alternating to the 40D and a long zoom. I can easily set it up so that the hunting rattle is a thing of the past.

KC

[rpcrowe]

The 50mm f/1.8 Mk2 is the most expensive lens that I have ever owned (at least pro-rated by the number of images I shot with it!).

It cost me less that $100 (USD) but I had shot less that fifty or so images when I dinged it ever so slightly on a door frame as I was passing through. The front element fell off and ended up spinning on the floor. The cost of that lens was aproximately $2 (USD) per image. BTW: I have carried cameras into harm's way as a combat cameraman in Vietnam and the 50mm f/1.8 Mk-II is the only lens I ever destroyed...

I then purchased a Mk-II which has a far better build. The image quality (if the MK-II IQ can be determined by that miniscule number of exposures) is just about equal.

The Mk-I cost me about $125 at the time I purchased it (the 50mm Mk-II was running about $80 to $100... IMO, whenever a used item holds a higher price than the item which replaces it, that can give you an idea about the esteem in which the older item is held by purchasers.

To tell you the truth, I seldom use the f/1.8 Mk-II because I consider my 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens to be a far better low light lens than either the f/1.8 Mk-I or Mk-II. It focuses better in low light and the IS really helps in hand holding at low shutter speeds. Although the 50mm lenses have a bit over one stop advantage, neither 50mm is really great wide open. The IQ vastly improves when stopped down to f/2.8.

BTW: The reason I have not sold the 50mm f/2.8 is the same reason I have not sold the 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens which I also seldom use is that I am just too lazy to put them up for sale.