Canon Introduces New EF 50MM F/1.8 STM Lens

[msowsun]

I wonder if this lens will fit any older hoods. Occasionally there's the rare compatibility and I do have 3-4 random Canon hoods laying around.

The ES-68 bayonet mount hood is unique to this lens. No other Canon hood will fit. None of them share the same 68mm internal dimension.

Well there is the the EW-68A and EW-68B, but those are clip-on hoods and will not fit the bayonet hood mount of the 50mm 1.8 STM. (clip-on hoods barely fit the lenses they were designed for)

 

[Marsu42]

The ES-68 bayonet mount hood is unique to this lens. No other Canon hood will fit.

And no other 3rd party hood? Ok, that's the last straw (until a lens hood clone is there) for me, I'm definitely not going to pay $35 for a 35ct piece of plastic :-\ and a lens hood is simply required when shooting outdoors for protection from flare and damage.

 

[rado98]

Found a video that shows the focus noise (or lack of!),

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7zm5xeVex4

It's hard to determine how much noise it makes because there's so much background noise (intentional to hide the motor sound?). It's obviously quieter than the mkII, but if you listen closely it makes the 40mm STM, Robocop-like noise while focusing. A bit off topic, but do all STM lenses make that noise? How about the 24mm STM?

The 55-250 atm is truly silent and very, very fast, at least on the wide end. The 24 is supposed to be the same as the 40 which is not as fast or silent.
It's a shame, a really wanted the 50 to get the faster version of stm. I'll still get it though, unless the af is inaccurate.

 

[msowsun]

The ES-68 bayonet mount hood is unique to this lens. No other Canon hood will fit.

And no other 3rd party hood? Ok, that's the last straw (until a lens hood clone is there) for me, I'm definitely not going to pay $35 for a 35ct piece of plastic :-\ and a lens hood is simply required when shooting outdoors for protection from flare and damage.

There is no 3rd party hood right now, but there will be soon I expect.

 

[jblake]

The ES-68 bayonet mount hood is unique to this lens. No other Canon hood will fit.

And no other 3rd party hood? Ok, that's the last straw (until a lens hood clone is there) for me, I'm definitely not going to pay $35 for a 35ct piece of plastic :-\ and a lens hood is simply required when shooting outdoors for protection from flare and damage.

There are some aluminum 49mm screw in hoods that will work for this lens, they are around $8.50 each. I can see their thumbnail images from the B & H advertising on this page.

 

[SpuTTer]

I suspect that China will have knockoff hoods on Ebay about the same time that Canon starts shipping these! They don't mess around. You may have to deal with a week or two of flare while it shows up or eat the $30 for Canons hood (I'll wait). Plus one of the things I like about the 50 is it's size, and it gets quite a bit bigger with a hood.

 

[ahsanford]

Found a video that shows the focus noise (or lack of!),

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7zm5xeVex4

It's hard to determine how much noise it makes because there's so much background noise (intentional to hide the motor sound?). It's obviously quieter than the mkII, but if you listen closely it makes the 40mm STM, Robocop-like noise while focusing. A bit off topic, but do all STM lenses make that noise? How about the 24mm STM?

The 55-250 atm is truly silent and very, very fast, at least on the wide end. The 24 is supposed to be the same as the 40 which is not as fast or silent.
It's a shame, a really wanted the 50 to get the faster version of stm. I'll still get it though, unless the af is inaccurate.

Is there a decent list of the lenses with the slow STM vs. the faster STM? Is it a spec we can look up somewhere?

- A

 

[SpuTTer]

My new dilemma: 40 vs 50

I'd just sold my 35F2 IS (I know, blasphemy) because I wanted something smaller to carry around and I honestly wasn't pulling it out of the bag very much (my go to lens is the 24-105).

I was dead set on the 40mm until this was announced, and now I have it on pre-order. I'm not totally sold yet which way I should go. I shoot a 6D. I don't need anything wider than 2.8 for light gathering because of my 6Ds high ISO capability but then I'm stuck thinking the reason I have a full frame camera is to be able to embrace my inner bokeh whore as needed, and the 40mm just doesnt offer that for most situations where I'm hoping the 50 1.8 does.

I think the 40mm focal length may be better for an all in one walk around lens, but all the keepers I typically care about right now are of people so the 50mm may be better for that. I'm obviously torn.

Before this release it was a clear choice for me for the 40mm but the 50mm seems to fix the build and blades which were the bigger selling points for the 40. So now the 40's differences are now: size, focal length, and maybe a little more sharpness (albeit at 2.8 starting).

Comparing the 40 to the 50 stm:

40mm differences:

• Smaller size
  More general focal length (this isnt necessarily an advantage)
  Sharp across frame wide open (albeit at 2.8)
  1oz lighter
  Potentially louder focus motor (we dont know yet)

50mm differences:

• Larger size (but still small)
  1oz heavier (still light)
  Potentially same focus motor (we dont know yet) but possibly the quieter motor
  1 1/3 stop brighter (at least its an option even if softer in corners)

The 50mm seems like a winner if you can deal with or desire a 50mm focal length. You are basically giving up focal length and size for low light capability and maybe a tiny bit of sharpness.

 

[SpuTTer]

Is there a decent list of the lenses with the slow STM vs. the faster STM? Is it a spec we can look up somewhere?
- A

The only lens with the "slow" STM at this point has been the 40mm. The 18-55, 18-135, 55-250 used the "fast" type. The 18-135 is dead silent. If you didn't see the focus change in your viewfinder you may not know

 

[LonelyBoy]

Is there a decent list of the lenses with the slow STM vs. the faster STM? Is it a spec we can look up somewhere?
- A

The only lens with the "slow" STM at this point has been the 40mm. The 18-55, 18-135, 55-250 used the "fast" type. The 18-135 is dead silent. If you didn't see the focus change in your viewfinder you may not know

Also the 24 STM. Both the pancakes.

 

[SpuTTer]

Forgot about the 24mm thank you!!

Canon just released another couple of 50 1.8 images on their twitter feed.

https://twitter.com/canonusaimaging

 

[slclick]

My new dilemma: 40 vs 50

I'd just sold my 35F2 IS (I know, blasphemy) because I wanted something smaller to carry around and I honestly wasn't pulling it out of the bag very much (my go to lens is the 24-105).

I was dead set on the 40mm until this was announced, and now I have it on pre-order. I'm not totally sold yet which way I should go. I shoot a 6D. I don't need anything wider than 2.8 for light gathering because of my 6Ds high ISO capability but then I'm stuck thinking the reason I have a full frame camera is to be able to embrace my inner bokeh whore as needed, and the 40mm just doesnt offer that for most situations where I'm hoping the 50 1.8 does.

I think the 40mm focal length may be better for an all in one walk around lens, but all the keepers I typically care about right now are of people so the 50mm may be better for that. I'm obviously torn.

Before this release it was a clear choice for me for the 40mm but the 50mm seems to fix the build and blades which were the bigger selling points for the 40. So now the 40's differences are now: size, focal length, and maybe a little more sharpness (albeit at 2.8 starting).

Comparing the 40 to the 50 stm:

40mm differences:

• Smaller size
  More general focal length (this isnt necessarily an advantage)
  Sharp across frame wide open (albeit at 2.8)
  1oz lighter
  Potentially louder focus motor (we dont know yet)

50mm differences:

• Larger size (but still small)
  1oz heavier (still light)
  Potentially same focus motor (we dont know yet) but possibly the quieter motor
  1 1/3 stop brighter (at least its an option even if softer in corners)

The 50mm seems like a winner if you can deal with or desire a 50mm focal length. You are basically giving up focal length and size for low light capability and maybe a tiny bit of sharpness.

I have the 40, used it extensively and do not put it in a class with the fifty. The 40 is a long wide, the 50 is normal. (49 degrees horizontally to the 50's 40 degrees)

10mm on this short of a focal length spectrum is quite a great deal in terms of angle of view. Plus I highly doubt the 50 will offer the color and contrast of the pancake. Personally my two prime kit consists of a 5D3+ 40 & 135L. I'm going for the 50 STM as well because of it's extra stop, pancake like size and price. Bag wise it's not a noticeable difference to be carrying 3 instead of two. Like a spare battery.

 

[SpuTTer]

I have the 40, used it extensively and do not put it in a class with the fifty. The 40 is a long wide, the 50 is normal. (49 degrees horizontally to the 50's 40 degrees)

10mm on this short of a focal length spectrum is quite a great deal in terms of angle of view. Plus I highly doubt the 50 will offer the color and contrast of the pancake. Personally my two prime kit consists of a 5D3+ 40 & 135L. I'm going for the 50 STM as well because of it's extra stop, pancake like size and price. Bag wise it's not a noticeable difference to be carrying 3 instead of two. Like a spare battery.

I have heard great things about the 40 and that's why I'm so on the fence. I really can't see myself walking around with both so I feel like I need to make a decision. I should probably wait until the reviews are out but at this point Im putting the 50 as the same lens IQ wise with maybe better bokeh stopped down. The 40 IQ wise is awesome from all accounts.

My other low light lens is the 100 f2 so it would likely compliment either the 40mm or 50mm just fine, and actually may be a case for the 40mm so I have a portrait option already covered on the 50 if I need strong background blur.

 

[bereninga]

Since the 50mm STM is stated to mainly be the same optical formula as the 50mm mkII, you could do a comparison here of the 40mm STM vs the 50mm mkII (at f/2.8):
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=810&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=0&LensComp=105&CameraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=2

Or just wait until the 50mm STM is added there to really compare.

 

[SpuTTer]

Yes, the 40mm looks really nice there. I'm thinking I'd be OK with a little edge sharpness loss at 2.8-5.6 in trade off for the ability to shoot at f1.8-2, which I'd mostly be doing for portraiture I imagine. I guess the problem I'm having is that both lenses have tradeoffs and somethings got to give and I'm struggling with what to give up

 

[Solar Eagle]

a lens hood is simply required when shooting outdoors for protection from flare and damage.

Is that really true, especially on a lens with the front element recessed so far? I've never used a hood on any my lenses and I've never seen flare before except when shooting into the sun.

I don't understand the protection from damage requirement either, again the front element is like 3/4 inch back.....

 

[Solar Eagle]

Yes, the 40mm looks really nice there. I'm thinking I'd be OK with a little edge sharpness loss at 2.8-5.6 in trade off for the ability to shoot at f1.8-2, which I'd mostly be doing for portraiture I imagine. I guess the problem I'm having is that both lenses have tradeoffs and somethings got to give and I'm struggling with what to give up

Maybe get the 50mm for now, then grab the other on sale? I picked up my 40mm on sale at best buy for $100 if I recall.

If I had to pick one or the other I would get the 50mm. I mean unless you have the money to burn to buy both, and unless you want the pancake lens because its pancake, 50mm will make nicer looking images in most cases. 50mm has a certain look that many prefer which you wont get with 40mm.

 

[SpuTTer]

Maybe get the 50mm for now, then grab the other on sale? I picked up my 40mm on sale at best buy for $100 if I recall.

If I had to pick one or the other I would get the 50mm. I mean unless you have the money to burn to buy both, and unless you want the pancake lens because its pancake, 50mm will make nicer looking images in most cases. 50mm has a certain look that many prefer which you wont get with 40mm.

That's my current plan. I have the new 50mm on preorder. I'm always second guessing so it's good to talk it off of you all I do like that the 40 is a pancake but the 50 is so small it's not a huge issue. The 50 is certainly a classic format. I'll probably just get the 50 STM and see how it goes. I haven't shot a 50 since I moved to full frame (sold my 1.4 long ago). I guess if I absolutely hate the 50 I can sell it for close to what I paid so I should stop worrying and go shoot

 

[Loswr]

a lens hood is simply required when shooting outdoors for protection from flare and damage.

Is that really true, especially on a lens with the front element recessed so far? I've never used a hood on any my lenses and I've never seen flare before except when shooting into the sun.

I don't understand the protection from damage requirement either, again the front element is like 3/4 inch back.....

The hoods for the 40/2.8 and M22/2 won't protect from either flare or damage.

 

[e17paul]

I'm liking the shots at http://m.dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/lens_review_2/20150514_701745.html

I sold my old 1.8 mainly because of the focus ring and lack of close focus. I'm sure that the STM will be fine for AF, I just hope that it will be responsive enough to the electronically controlled manual focus. The fastest lend so far will be the sternest test for manual focus STM - I can't wait to try one in a shop.