# Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM - my experience (and comparison with 50mm f/1.8 II)



## pj1974 (Jun 18, 2015)

Hi everyone

Please … let me share my little story of excitement with you all.  

A few weeks ago I bought the 50mm STM. I was perhaps the first person in my city (Adelaide, South Australia) to get one. During my lunch break I went in to the largest camera store in Adelaide, to check if they had this lens. This store is also usually the first local bricks and mortar store to get new stock. Well, as it was, they had some arrive just the day before. 

I asked the sales person (whom I have bought some goods off before) if any people had purchased any 50mm STMs yet. He replied not yet, but one customer had requested one put on hold, and they expected more people would come in on late night trading and the weekend.

Naturally I asked what price the store was selling for… and he indicated the price. Seeing as he knew I had bought goods there before (he looked me up on the system) he was able to work out a discount for me if I was interested (who wouldn’t be). I got a great deal which was equal to the lowest Aus ‘raw’ online price (without shipping) that I’ve seen. Naturally I prefer a bricks and mortar store – as they also have a great returns policy (that I’ve used in the past). The price I was given was cheaper than the current price of the old 50mm f/1.8 II in some other stores, so that’s a no-brainer! :

I have owned two copies of the 50mm f/1.8 II previously – back when I lived in Europe. I exchanged one (which had a consistent front focus issue). My 2nd copy of that lens was better, but AF accuracy was far from perfect. I was never happy with the inconsistent and inaccurate focus – this was my major ‘bug’ with that lens… on both copies I had owned, plus 2 other copies I have tried – one that I borrowed from a friend and 1 that I tried extensively in store. 

In addition, I found the 50mm f/1.8 II’s bokeh was quite harsh (busy – and at times ugly at the critical transition points) and pentagon shaped when stopped down. While the image quality was sharp and contrasty (particularly between f2.8 and f8…) the lens just never really cut it for me, causing me more frustration than enjoyment. So seeing as these are systemic issues (and reading what others have written on the interweb with similar experiences about the 50mm f/1.8 II at the time) I eventually sold my 2nd copy (in Australia) – for $100 AUD some years ago.

Anyway… back to ‘now’ (ie early June 2015) – and the 50mm STM. I took about 20 to 30 sample photos using the 760D that was instore. I have only handled the 760D once previously, it’s not bad – but nowhere near as nice as my 7D. The 50mm STM’s focus was smooth, relatively quick, and quiet - but more importantly for me: it appeared to be very accurate. 

I had read the technical details of the 50mm STM online before I was in store, as well as a few early reviews that sprung up. So I knew what I was getting. Seeing as the AF was clearly better, as well as the bokeh (7 circular blades vs 5 straight ones) – and a very mild IQ enhancement (a slight yet noticeably sharper and higher contrast wide open…). Plus I remember finding the 50mm f/1.8 II’s minimum focussing distance (MFD) of 45cm somewhat limiting, and I know from experience that a 35mm MFD making a substantial difference (improvement).

While I was surprised that Canon actually released this 50mm STM lens, it does not mean I am disappointed as such. (I was expecting more of a refresh to the current f/1.4, somewhere between f/1.4 and f/2 – USM and IS… like the 35mm f/2 USM IS…). But, as I considered that should Canon release such a ‘better’ 50mm sometime in the future, I could still sell my 50mm STM without much financial loss. For example if Canon releases an improved 50mm f/nooneknows USM IS after 1 or 2 years, the amount I sell for, would I expect, be a minimal amount to own the lens in that time, AND improve my appreciation, composition and skills with a fast 50mm on an APS-C (and potentially a FF in the future).

Therefore I decided to pull the plug, bite the bullet (and any another alliteration… do you see what I did just there) and buy this baby (my bank balance said ‘bonus’ too!) 
I haven’t been disappointed 

Having had my EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens for a few weeks now, here are some notes (& comparisons to the nifty-fifty EF 50mm f/1.8 II) in summary paired with my 7D:
-	Definitely much improved AF…
o	slightly faster, with less hunting in low light / low contrast areas
o	smoother & quieter (I don’t really need it STM for video, though handy to have available)
o	most importantly accurate and consistent
-	More pleasing, smoother bokeh (not top quality, but a notable improvement from my old 50mm II’s, particularly between f/2.2 and f/5.6)
-	Closer minimum focal distance really appreciated
-	Acceptable sharpness wide open across most of the frame (on APS-C)
-	Very sharp between f/2.8 and f/8. Capable of extremely great IQ at these apertures
-	Contrast between f/1.8 and f/2.2 benefits well from a little boost in post-processing (PP)
-	CA’s visible at f/1.8 – but reduce fairly rapidly so by f/2.5 they are no longer there
-	Vignetting wide open just noticeable on APS-C (looking forward to the DxO module to correct this and CA’s automatically)
-	No apparent de-centring issue at this stage
-	Required a AFMA of about -3 (this might not be the final figure… as I have not conducted final testing on this)

Looking forward to your comments, folks!

Paul


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## SPKoko (Jun 18, 2015)

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing your experience!


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## bholliman (Jun 23, 2015)

Thanks for sharing your experience Paul. I've had my lens about 2 weeks and have had similar experience. A very nice compact lens and a great value.


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## hmatthes (Jun 27, 2015)

I absolutely agree. I still used the original 50mm f1.8 micro-motor from 1987 -- I think that it came with my EOS 650!
I had always refused to by the Mark II since the plastic version just did not seem as good as the metal version from 1987. What a difference! The old 50 stays in my bags and the 50mm STM goes everywhere in my pocket!
On the 70D it is must faster to establish a much more accurate focus. Both have fantastic bokeh but this one just seems better. Both deliver very good colors.
I to a portrait in RAW then dove into it with Lightroom and Photoshop. I am blown away.
I can not understand how any EOS user would go anywhere without one!


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## Click (Jun 27, 2015)

Thanks for sharing your experience, Paul.


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## mistaspeedy (Jun 27, 2015)

I also have the Canon 50mm F1.8 II lens, and have recently bought the new 50mm F1.8 STM lens.
It is certainly a very nice improvement across the board in everything!

Little things I noticed that aren't mentioned in the reviews are as follows:

The viewfinder image is sharper! I find it easier to manual focus because I can actually see what is sharp and what isn't.

The minimum focus distance for both these lenses is closer than the specifications imply... for the 50mm F1.8 II lens it is about 35cm (vs 45cm in specifications), and for the 50mm F1.8 STM it is 25cm! (vs 35 in specifications).
Here is a crappy smartphone image that shows the distance between the lens and subject:
http://i.imgur.com/nzB4Qg1.jpg
and the resulting image taken on my 20D: http://i.imgur.com/ojQAAH0.jpg (at F8)
Also... I have noticed a difference in color.... it seems those new coatings do make a difference with color accuracy, and everything just seems better now.

I will also repeat and confirm what others have said:
It is a lot sharper wide open, and stays relatively sharp wide open to the APS-C corners.
F2.8 is really sharp.
Autofocus is now a lot more accurate and consistant. It doesnt hunt around.
Low light! It can actually lock focus accurately in low light, and has totally transformed this lens into a lens you can use wide open at night! (and have most of the frame sharp as opposed to just a bit in the middle of the frame).
Manually focusing the lens seems a lot easier, and you can get much more precise results than with the 50mm F1.8 II.
Some random shots done at night... no editing done besides the following:
white balance, clarity, vibrance, resize to 50% using nearest neighbour:
http://i.imgur.com/ykIfGKw.png F8
http://i.imgur.com/kr5KwWr.png F8
http://i.imgur.com/FLewaEk.png F22
No sharpening applied!

The images were just quick test images to see what the lens performs like, and not much time or effort was taken into taking them or editing them. Also take into account my ancient 20D which will not perform up to the level of the newer cameras today.


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## Hjalmarg1 (Jun 28, 2015)

Very good observations! My experience is quite similar in all aspects except that my 50mm STM didn't require AFMA so it was spot on out of the box. I found sharpness wide open in the center of the frame more acceptable than with the previous version, even though the optica formula is supposed to be the same.


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## Big_Ant_TV_Media (Jul 15, 2015)

i love my 50mm F 1.8 stm 


9W9A2452-1 by Bigz Ant, on Flickr


9W9A2453-1 by Bigz Ant, on Flickr


9W9A2494-1 by Bigz Ant, on Flickr


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## loomitz (Jul 18, 2015)

looks really nice the new 50mm


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## JoFT (Nov 25, 2015)

I had a different approach to buy my copy of the 50mm f1.8 STM. 


I do have the 50mm f1.4 USM - and I was pretty satisfied. But I realized what´s the asset of these lenses in the Canon portfolio: It gives every beginner a top notch lens for a bargain: no acuse for bad images. But I do use µ43 as well - where a sense like the Nifty-Fifty is missing. I did something there - and had to test the original as well. I was blown away - and my copy is much better than the 1.4. In every topic I checked out. But pixel peeping is one toping shooting experience another one.


I do write a blog and I would like to share this here http://bit.ly/1NtFALq


Unfortunately I am not allowed to embed the photos....


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