Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens

I bought it because it's fast (F/1.8) and cheap. It turns out it's also very simple to use because you can't even fiddle with the zoom since it has no zoom! So armed with this lens and an indoor performance, I took a bunch of pictures, one-handed, on my Digital Rebel XT, and I ended up with some of the nicest pictures (indoor or out) that I have ever taken: http://payne-family.org/ISTP%20CNY%20Performance%202006/ Most of the pictures are very sharp, none of the pictures were taken with a flash. The only problem is 50mm is really 80mm if you use a digital SLR with the typical 1.6 multiplication factor. So it's no good for some situations. I think I will have to get another more wide-angle lens that's also nice and quick to cover all the bases. Remember - a fixed focal length lens will tend to be very sharp and much quicker because it's a simpler lens. Boy was I blown away by this one.

I simply cannot stress this enough; every EOS owner should buy this lens!!! 50mm is a great focal length for portrait and all-around shooting on a 1.6x cropped DSLR such as the 20d or Rebel XT. Kit lens users have probably notice that they do most of there shooting on or near the 55mm long end, so this is a very natural substitution. The f/1.8 aperture allows you to take professional looking pictures in low light that rival L-series zoom lenses costing over 10 times more! The wide aperture also gives the background a nice professional looking soft-focus, but this comes at a price. When shooting at f/2.8 and especially f/1.8 you need to be VERY careful with focus. Set the active focus point directly on the subject's eyes to get the clearest picture and if you are taking two people together then make sure they are about the same distance from the lens. If there is more then about 6 inches difference then one will start to loose facial features due to blur. Of coerce you can always go down to f/4.0, to get around that issue, but doing so kind of misses the point on this lens. If you normally buy UV filters for your lens you should consider skipping it for this one. First, you probably don't have any 52mm filters and there isn't much point in buying one to protect a $70 lens. The front element is about 1/2" from the front the lens, which effectively gives you a built-in hood for some protection. On top of that, you are probably not taking this lens outside so dust is much less of an issue. Anyway, stop reading and just BUY IT!!! You will love it!

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Product Description Lightweight and affordable, the Canon EF 50mm lens--which offers a fast f/1.8 aperture--is an excellent lens for people who prefer a fixed focal length. Canon's lightest EF lens at a mere 4.6 ounces, the lens boasts a traditional Gauss-type optical design that delivers a sharp performance even when wide open. As a result, the lens provides an image that's extremely close to how your eye perceives a subject, making it excellent for portraits and images that require a natural depth of field. In addition, the lens focuses as close as 18 inches, helping you take extreme close-ups. Finally, the lens offers an excellent color balance. As with all Canon lenses, the lens carries a one-year warranty.

Product Features
• 50mm standard lens with f/1.8 maximum aperture
• Traditional Gauss-type optical design is extremely sharp
• Focuses as close as 18 inches for extreme close-ups,Autofocus: Yes
• Ideal for natural-looking shots; excellent color balance
• Measures 2.7 inches in diameter; 1-year warranty

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Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

I have to say that I am absolutely blown away that Canon was able to build this much quality at this price point. I bought this lens as a small and light travel and camping telephoto with only moderate expectations. I also own both the 70-200 2.8 IS and the 100-400L telephotos, so I have some quality standards to compare it to. Yes, its not quite as fast optically or speed of focus wise, but it is shocking how comparable the images are from this small and light lens. Did I mention that it weighs but a quarter of the weight of the 70-200 and actually fits just fine in my jacket side pocket. I have more years with Canon lenses than I would care to admit, and have been a devotee of several of the L models for many years, but I have to admit that this lens has got to have 90% of the performance of its expensive cousins for a fraction of the price. Between this, and the recent 15-85mm, Canon has really produced some bargains. Unless I have a need to really shoot wide open at fast apertures, (which I occasionally do), I really have no problem with the compromise of this lens.

All I can say is wow. This lens just came in today so lots left to discover but wow. I have had my xt for three years now and had given up hope of taking the pics I really wanted. I took this lens outside and got some flower pictures, then went inside and took some more pics. I have the kit lens 18-55mm and also the 75-300usm, and the 50mm lens thats so popular, I have never been able to get pics like the ones I snapped today! This lens puts off a new camera body for a long while, in short it is nothing less than great. This is what I bought the Rebel XT to do. The color, contrast, clarity is suddenly all there. I bet alot of you bought a dslr to take great pics, or much better than a point and shoot, well this lens puts you there. I notice that the newer consumer dslr bodies come with an IS lens and this is no coinsidence as its the lens that is making your pictures so much better. I highly recommend it as it is the best purchase I've made in a long time even in auto mode!

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Product Description This telephoto zoom lens is designed with Canon's Optical Image Stabilizer technology while retaining compactness and lightness, in response to demands of photographers. This high zoom ratio lens is equivalent to a focal length of 88-400mm in the 35mm format (when used on Canon EOS cameras compatible with EF-S lenses), and the image stabilizer effect equivalent to a shutter speed about 4 stops faster than the same size lens without Image Stabilizer. In other words, if the slowest shutter speed you could formerly hold a 250mm lens steadily was 1/250th of a second, with Canon's 4-stop stabilization correction, you could hand-hold at shutter speeds as slow as 1/15th of a second. It also uses a UD-glass lens element to correct chromatic aberration for excellent image quality throughout the zoom range. This new EF-S telephoto lens with great features delivers excellent performance at an affordable price for all photographers.

Product Features
• Focal Length & Maximum Aperture: 55-250mm F/4-5.6
• 12 Elements In 10 Groups, Including One UD-glass Element
• Focus Adjustment: DC Motor, Gear-driven(front Focusing Design)
• Closest Focusing Distance: 3.6 Ft./1.1m

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