Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens: first impression

50mm, f/1.8, 1/60, ISO100

I'll preface this post by saying that I'm very new to the world of professional photography.  If you're looking for a professional, comprehensive review of this lens, this isn't the blog post for you.  This is the worst review of this lens, but I figured some beginners might appreciate my first impressions of it.  Consider yourself warned.

My Canon 60D came with a 18-135mm lens, but I decided that a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens would be my first lens purchase.  After reading many nice reviews about the lens, I shelled out the measly $104 for it and brought it with me to Sunday River ski resort in Maine for a test.  I was very impressed with the results.

50mm, f/1.8, 1/8000, ISO100

I'm having lots of fun with the impressively shallow depth of field I can get with this lens.  The photo above of my shoes was taken indoors with natural light coming in through a window.  No flash, low ISO, and a normal shutter speed for handheld.  For $104, this seems like a great lens.  I'll post more photos and opinions about this lens as I use it.

50mm, f/1.8, 1/640, ISO100

Sunday River ski resort - summer 2011

My wife and I spent a weekend at Sunday River ski resort in Maine, and I had a chance to really give my new Canon 60D a nice test run.  In addition to the 18-135mm lens that came with the 60D, I had just purchased a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens.  All in all, I'm very pleased with the 60D and both of the lenses.  Click here to see all of my photos from Sunday River.  Warning:  I'm still new to DSLR photography, and I also love chairlifts.  Prepare yourself for an onslaught of chairlift photos.

I warned you

New York State Fair 2011

Cow grabbing a drink on a hot day

I visited the New York State Fair last weekend, and found it to be a great place to try out my new Canon 60D.  I'm new to the world of advanced photography, so I had fun constantly adjusting shutter speed, ISO and f-stop to try and capture some interesting photos.  Click here to see the rest of my NYS Fair photos, and keep an eye on this blog to watch as I learn my new Canon 60D and work my way through my first photography class at the Harvard Extension School.