Which lens is better for Street Photography, the EF 40mm STM or EF 50mm 1.8 II?

[pulseimages]

Trying to decide which lens is better to use as a low profile lens for street photography on a Canon 6D. With the Canon 40mm STM you have the pancake size and metal mount and with the 50mm 1.8 II you have the extra stop of light gathering ability but less robust build quality though it is called the "Nifty Fifty".

Recommendations?

 

[Ruined]

Trying to decide which lens is better to use as a low profile lens for street photography on a Canon 6D. With the Canon 40mm STM you have the pancake size and metal mount and with the 50mm 1.8 II you have the extra stop of light gathering ability but less robust build quality though it is called the "Nifty Fifty".

Recommendations?

I would pass on the 50mm f/1.8 II and instead get either the 40mm f/2.8 STM or if you can afford it the 35mm f/2.0 IS USM. The 50mm has an antiquated focus motor and ugly angular bokeh. Both the 35mm IS and 40 STM offer pleasant bokeh, but the 35mm IS is noticeably superior overall while still being somewhat low profile.

 

[Twostones]

I second the recommendation for the 35mm f2.0 IS USM. It is a great lens and the IS will improve your keeper rate. I like using it on a Canon Elan 7NE film body. Another good choice if you get close is the 28mm f2.8 IS USM. Both lenses will focus faster than the 50mm 1.8 and are wider for street photography. If you want to have some fun get a Canon film body with the EF mount and shoot pushed Black and white film or box speed color film. It gets addicitng and the images are really different and well worth it.

 

[fabio]

Hello... I have both the 50mm and the 40mm pancake(and the 6D), and I always choose the forty, its a very good lens, sharp, and you don´t find a lens with lower profile, forget the 50mm, choose between the 40mm or the 35 f2 is...

 

[e17paul]

I have owned the 50/1.8 II, it has great optics for the price, but so does the 40/2.8 STM according to reviews.

With a 6D, you will very rarely need the extra stop of light. I use f/2.8 and 1/30 at ISO 6400 for shooting in a nightclub once a month. Only if you are concerned about poster size printing of photos taken in darkness should you consider limiting yourself to a lower ISO, I'm happy with ISO 6400 for publishing on the web.

The only advantage I can see of the nifty fifty is the greater ability to isolate subjects by shallow focus. Otherwise, both have no focus scale, and I don't consider the wobbly focus ring of the 50 to be an advantage. Neither has super fast super silent USM, the 50 has a noisy AFD motor used by EF lenses since 1987, the 40 has a modern low cost quieter focus motor.

I bought a 50/1.8 with my first DSLR (my first SLR was back in 1988), and soon found the speed was not required. I sold it in favour of the slower 50/2.5 macro, which is my default street lens. When I need something wider I switch to the 24. I suspect that the colour rendition of the 40 will be better than older designs of Canon glass.

 

[Snodge]

I have the 50 and the 40 mentioned above, and I use the 40mm on my 5D3 - the 50mm is gathering dust; each time I think I'll make an effort to use it, I rediscover the hideous sound of the motor and remember the horrid bokeh that can occur, and on goes the 40mm which I think is a fantastic lens...

 

[MintChocs]

I have both but I rarely use the 50mm. I don't think I have even tried to use it for street photography. I quite like the 40mm for street as its a bit of both wide angle and telephoto, sort of here and there but neither.

 

[donn]

Trying to decide which lens is better to use as a low profile lens for street photography on a Canon 6D. With the Canon 40mm STM you have the pancake size and metal mount and with the 50mm 1.8 II you have the extra stop of light gathering ability but less robust build quality though it is called the "Nifty Fifty".

Recommendations?

I have a 40mm with the 6D and I find it very convenient and flexible to have. Nice IQ, nice build quality and compact. I had the 50mm 1.8 II, although it has a plastic mount, I did not manage to break it after years of use. 6D can handle high ISO very well, that extra stop from 50mm can be very well compensated. Although if you're doing a lot of portraits in the streets, the shallower DOF that the 50mm offers at 1.8 is better. Subjectively speaking.

 

[beforeEos Camaras]

have both 40 and the 50 mk1 both work well with street the 40 on a sl1 even better.

when I was doing street with film I used the 85mm1.8 fd on a FTb n camera

so I like the tele look on street

 

[slclick]

The pancake's optics are far superior. The contrast, color rendition and clarity blow away the nifty. Plus you get a discrete size, metal mount and a much tougher build. I also think the FL is better suited for Street work. I have it on my SL1 and it's cute but don't let that fool you, it can produce beautiful images.But possible a nicer street FL is the EF-S 24. The two make an outstanding combo. The 50 hunts too much and unless you are adept at prefocusing and shooting manually it's not worth it.

 

[jdramirez]

That's so funny, I was just comparing the two lenses today.

I wouldn't shoot the 50mm wide open. Both are solid @ f/8... both are really good at f/2.8. I personally think i would perfer the 40mm. I have the 40mm & never use it, but that is because of my other lenses i own.

 

[Hjalmarg1]

Trying to decide which lens is better to use as a low profile lens for street photography on a Canon 6D. With the Canon 40mm STM you have the pancake size and metal mount and with the 50mm 1.8 II you have the extra stop of light gathering ability but less robust build quality though it is called the "Nifty Fifty".

Recommendations?

I would pass on the 50mm f/1.8 II and instead get either the 40mm f/2.8 STM or if you can afford it the 35mm f/2.0 IS USM. The 50mm has an antiquated focus motor and ugly angular bokeh. Both the 35mm IS and 40 STM offer pleasant bokeh, but the 35mm IS is noticeably superior overall while still being somewhat low profile.

I also second the 35mm f2 IS USM

 

[zim]

Of those two lenses for me the 40 wins by a country mile. It's a fantastic street lens so innocuous, no one takes it seriously it's just not 'agressive', used it in Rome/NY/London, great for stitching too in a tight space. In poor light (evening) I'd imaging the 35 1.4L would be hard to beat (different price range though!)

 

[FTb-n]

I have the 50 f1.8, 40 f2.8, and the 35 f2.0 IS (and the old 35 f2.0). The 50 is in storage. I much prefer the 40 over the 50 on FF or crop. For low profile -- and price -- it can't be beat. Between the 50 and 40 for street photography, go for the 40. It's not only sharper, it's lower profile, better built, and focusing is faster and quieter.


However, for this focal range, the 35 f2.0 IS is a great lens and the one that I would grab. Still low profile, very sharp, focuses quicker and quieter than the 40 and a stop faster. You may not need the speed, but it offers smaller DOF and more versatility with IS. If you want to work with slower shutter speeds for selective blur, the IS will come in handy. Arguably, for people shots where you typically want 1/60 second or faster, the IS won't help much.

 

[timmy_650]

Out of the two 40mm hands down. I dont care for the 50mm 1.8 on my 6d. I really liked it when i shot crop. On my 6D the Af is too slow and noise for me.

 

[Hesbehindyou]

Easy decision - unless the subject will pose for you, any reason to go for the 50 is completely outweighed by the slow focusing.

 

[Rams_eos]

Hi,
I don't have the 5Omm but I do have the 40mm and either with T3i or 6D, I like it. It is light, small and very sharp.
For street photography, you definitively don't look like a serious photographer with the 40mm which is an advantage in some situation

 

[tolusina]

I have both the 40mm and the 50 f/1.8.
The 40 is what is on my 6D about 98%, it suits me very well. I'm annoyed by the lack of mechanically coupled manual focus ring and the squeal of the STM motor, it could focus faster but overall, it's my favorite lens ever.

I use the 50 primarily for recurring auto repair shop work where lighting generally is between poor and lousy, absolute image quality is irrelevant, at f/1.8 the viewfinder is brighter with EG-S screen.

The 50's focus speed and focus hunting have both been mentioned in this thread, here's my take;
The focusing mechanisms seem to me to be extremely fast, maybe too fast.
It seems to me that the focus moves so fast that it can't stop in time, overshoots, then comes back to focus sharply.
It doesn't seem to me that it's a matter of missing and hunting for focus though.
End result is effectively the same as hunting, the overshoot and return takes time effectively equal to slow focus.
I have had lenses on my Nikons that had trouble focusing, hunt and hunt, back and forth, very frustrating, Canon 50 is not like that at all, it finds and nails focus but too often on the 2nd try after it has passed and comes back.

The cheapness of the build makes mounting the 50 feel kind of like changing into dirty clothes to do a dirty job, can't wait to finish, shower and change into clean.

I've found use for the 50 f/1.8 but cheap, sheesh...... At least it's inexpensive.

If I could only have one lens it'd be the 40, I mostly work as though the 40 is my only lens.
I've been through zooms in various ranges, I'm back to basics.

 

[ecka]

50/1.8 AF noise alone could compromise the low profile, unless it is a very noisy street .
40 STM works for me.

 

[jepabst]

To me it depends on the kind of street photography you are doing. If you are someone who likes street photography because the people are interesting to you; I'd go with the 50mm. However, if you are someone how enjoys street photography for the details in buildings, street food, cars, ect... you would likely want the 40mm for the extra width. They are both fine lenses, but I'm guessing you'll outgrow either of them pretty quickly. The 50 sounds about as horrible as any lens I've ever used.

Personally; I'd go with the 40mm over the 50 f/1.8 -- but I wouldn't want to ever give up my 50mm f/1.4

Anyway, I would think about what the content is - and to each their own. I'm sure there are great street photographers using the 40 and an equal number using a 50 - but I would guess than not very many great street photographers are running around with the 50 f/1.8.