Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM £119/$125

The smart money’s on this Canon

Lens mount Canon EF

Canon’s 25-year-old 50mm f/1.4 lens might seem the obvious choice, but we prefer this newer option. It’s two-thirds of an f/stop slower, but is less than a third of the price, is much lighter and has better performance.

Unlike previous f/1.8 editions, the ‘STM’ model has a stepping motor autofocus system that gives speedy yet quiet operation. The focus ring no longer rotates during autofocus, which improves handling, as well as enabling manual override in Single AF mode. The lens has a metal rather than plastic mounting plate, and a better-rounded aperture based on seven diaphragm blades instead of just five.

Performance

After testing multiple samples of the Canon 50mm f/1.4 and f/1.8 lenses, the f/1.8’s autofocus system proved much more accurate and reliable than its older sibling.

Sharpness

Sharpness is better than from Canon’s 50mm f/1.4 lens, from the centre to the edges.

Fringing 0.77

Colour fringing is minimal at wide apertures and negligible at other apertures.

Distortion -1.6

There’s a little more distortion than with some lenses on test, but it’s rarely noticeable.