| Review

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awwwwesome Lens!!, Thursday, 11 March 2010


Overall rating (weighted)		4.5
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

I got this awesome little lens a few weeks ago at a camera store for 319.99... too bad i forgot about amazon! I wanted it so bad when I saw it, so i bought it. Worth every dime! This lens is not only an awesome 50mm macro, its extremely compact and weighs so little! You can get great depth of field opportunities with this lens, and also have a kick ass macro for less than 3 Benjamin's! I highly recommend this lens for first time macro users, or experienced users who want the portability of a macro.

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Too much chromatic aberration for the digital age,, Thursday, 25 February 2010


Overall rating (weighted)		3.0
Sharpness		2.0
Build Quality		3.0
AF Speed		3.0
Value for Money		4.0

For less than $300, this is a pretty decent 50mm lens, but it's not the best choice unless you do simple, straight-macro work. Why? In my experience, for 1:10 or smaller magnification (focusing distance of about 0.6m or 2 ft), Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras provides better contrast and image sharpness than this lens at any aperture value. So, the only time this lens is the better choice is close distance macro work.

Now, when I use this lens at 1:2 to 1:5 magnification range, the resolution and contrast are good, but I noticed a bit too much chromatic aberration (CA) with shiny objects such as jewelries and silverware. The color is magenta and green, depending on the distance of the object in relation to the focusing distance. The CA decreased to some extent by stopping down. A significant drop of CA was seen at f/8 for 1:5 and f/11 for 1:2 magnification, although CA was still noticeable at those f-stops. Sure, at such magnifications, you would stop down to about that range anyway, due to very thin depth of field, but I would be happier of CA was lower from wider apertures for a bit more creative flexibility. Meanwhile, it's not impossible to correct for CA in professional image editing softwares, but that just means more editing work.

The lens is excellent for non-shiny small product shoots, such as hair accessories, cosmetic products, food, etc., although tilt shift would be useful whenever the image uses creative styling. Therefore, for creative macro work, TS-E45mm with extension tube and/or 1.4x extender would be more useful, although there is a price to pay in terms of dollars, pounds, and more demanding manual work. Whether 100mm macro is better or worse is not so much of an issue as other people say. EF100mm f/2.8 macro provides more working distance and flattens perspective (which may or may not be good for product photography), but not as different as what you can do with TS-E as a macro lens.

About the only thing this lens is superior to Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras at non-macro work is that this macro gives more pleasing bokeh than f/1.4. But for that matter 85mm f/1.8 or TS-E90mm is better, and so this isn't a good reason to buy this lens.

In short, EF50mm f/2.5 macro lens is good for simple, straight-forward macro work. If you don't do macro, buy Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras or Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens. If you use more elaborate styling or creative work, buy Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8 Tilt Shift Lens for Canon SLR Cameras or Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8 Tilt Shift Lens for Canon SLR Cameras. If you do macro work of jewelry or any other shiny or high contrast objects, be careful about chromatic aberration and stop down as needed.

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Macro Away., Thursday, 16 April 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		5.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

I use the lens for close up product shots for a business that my partner runs. I also use it for shots of my work for my portfolio. It is versatile and takes very clear pics. Overall I really enjoy using it.

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Nice little lens for the price., Monday, 06 April 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		3.8
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		3.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		3.0

I've been looking for a reasonably priced macro lens for taking pictures of my husband's scale models, and wanted to get all of the fine details that a macro lens can find.

This is a fairly decent macro lens, I haven't fully tested the lens but what I've done so far with it I'm liking it. I'd love it if I could get even closer sharper images, and sometimes its hard to have it focus on what I want it to focus on.

If you are on a budget, this is the lens for you.

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Wonderful Lens, Monday, 12 January 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		5.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

I bought this for my adult daughter. She loves the lens and the pictures she has shown me using this lens have been awesome. I highly recommend this lens and it was great finding it here for $100 less than the link she provided.

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Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 compact macro lens, Wednesday, 31 December 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

Great lens. I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark2. Great clarity from this lens for a compact macro it is very light weight. easy to carry and a great addition to my bag. Nice lens for the money.

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A pleasure, Thursday, 20 November 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

My first Macro lens on the Xti -- I am loving using it so far. The picture clarity is as sharp as can be, lovely background blur, great color. Its a simple lens for a simple job and beyond it also doubles as a pretty great portrait lens.

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Excellent for macro not 1x1 and portrail, Monday, 06 October 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		3.0

I bought it to use as macro, but be careful if you want it to use 1x1. As portrail photografy, is also excellent and very lightful.

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Good Macro Lens, But Leaving Me Wanting 100mm, Thursday, 18 September 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.3
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		4.0

I bought this lens through a seller on Amazon about 6 months ago and have been very happy with it. The Canon EF 50mm Compact Macro Lens has served as a great introduction into macro lenses and close up photography. It's been a good lens for that purpose, and I would recommend it to any amateur who might be interested in photographing the smaller things in life. However, with continued use, I'm starting to think that I should have bit the bullet and bought the 100mm as opposed to the 50mm. The main reason being that at times, I've found myself having to get extremely close to the subject which makes capturing images of insects and animals difficult and scary at times :)

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A pretty nice package., Monday, 28 July 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		3.8
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		3.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		4.0

If you're looking for a 50mm lens that's sharp, built better than the Canon 50/1.8 and less expensive than the 50/1.4, this is a good choice. Although by no means the best macro lens I've ever used (contrast could be better and its a little soft in the corners if used on full-frame), its the best $200 macro I've ever used.

The reason its going back is that about 1/3 of the time it settled on the wrong focus point. I was a little surprised, given the shallow depth of field when shooting up close. I don't see anybody else having this problem so maybe this is a fluke or one of those Canon adjustments.

But this lens got me thinking....please, Canon, make a few lenses that are this small, this light and very sharp (and please, not too much barrel distortion). I don't care if they are fast; I don't care if they have IS; I don't care if they are plastic; I don't even care what they cost. Instead of trying to make the ultimate 600mm f/2.8, how about the ultimate 28mm f/2.8? I know you can do it.

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great macro lens for the price, Sunday, 13 July 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		3.0
Value for Money		3.0

Some of reservations people have in their reviews are right--the lens is slightly noisy, it does sometimes hunt a little for focus, and it is only 1:2 magnification, not 1:1. But despite that, I love it. I have found that it is a great lens, particularly for the price. It has good optics, it is a nice length for a lot of macro work (yes, you have to get closer with a relatively short lens, but depth of field in macro shots is hard enough with a lens this long, let along a longer one), and it generally focuses plenty fast enough. Some people have complained that the noise of the focus would scare off insects, etc., but I have not had that experience at all. I have gotten up close to lots of bugs, like bees and wasps, and they don't respond to the focusing at all. [...] If you are concerned about skittish critters, the issue is not the slight noise of the lens; it's how close you have to get to them with any 50mm or 60mm lens. So unless you decide you need a long macro lens or want to spend a lot more money, this may be a very good choice for you. And keep in mind that if you have a consumer-level SLR, the effective length of this lens (compared to the old 35mm standard) is about 90 mm.

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A nice, fast lens, but not great for true macro wo, Friday, 11 July 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		1.8
Sharpness		3.0
Build Quality		1.0
AF Speed		2.0
Value for Money		1.0

I bought this lens around three months ago for use with my Rebel XTI/400D. It has produced some nice shots and has great clarity and bokeh for portraits and the like. However, in this area it is really only as good as the "nifty fifty" 50mm f/1.8, which you can get on here for about $90.

For me, I like to take shots of insects and other animals that tend to be skittish. For that type of work, this lens is loud and finds it tough to focus quickly, so you need to work in manual mode. By the time you get the shot, the subject has moved out of the position you were after. Also, you don't get true 1:1 macro, so the details are not as good as if you fork out the extra for the 60mm Canon f2.8 Macro USM, which has the ultra quiet focus.

A recent review I read in a prestigious magazine put this lens a distant second to the Sigma Macro 50mm f2.8 EX DG, which costs about the same as this one and offers true 1:1 macro. If I could go back and buy that one I would.

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Versatile Macro Lens, Sunday, 22 June 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

Bought this lens for my Canon XTi in anticipation of a trip to Yellowstone. Obviously the telephoto was the lens of choice for most wildlife shots, but this macro lens was a great addition to bring back flowers, details of rock formations, lichen, etc. The lens functions well, has met or exceeded my expectations. Still in the process of evaluating the photographs, and learning more about using the lens, but very pleased to date.

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Canon Macro Lens, Wednesday, 11 June 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.5
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		4.0

I love the lens, works great right out of the box. I took a picture of a mimosa frond and didn't even notice the ant in the center until I uploaded the photo. Great product!Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro Lens

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excellent macro lens at a budget price, Saturday, 17 May 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		4.0
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		3.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		4.0

The images are super sharp where you need them to be, the bokeh is beautifully difussed and the open constant aperture makes this lens a joy to use. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to start playing with macro photography.

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