electrolyte
Prominent Member
I was the official photographer at the baptism of my best friend's youngest son yesterday. It was the first time I'd used my new 50mm f/1.8 in anger. And I have to say compared to the previous 2 50mm f/1.8 lenses I've owned (and worn out!) the performance of this lens was very disappointing.
My old lenses before they died were pin sharp all out to f/1.8. This new one is awful at f/1.8 and not much better at f/2.2. In fact I got so desperate I was going to mess up the baptism itself I closed the aperture down to f/3.2 in an effort to get the bloomin thing to focus properly.
So, do I have a dud lens? Is this what 50mm f/1.8 lenses are really like and was I just lucky with my previous 2 lenses? I am not happy at all . Or am I totally over reacting?
First off I'll post a few photos that I am happy-ish with:
1. The suits (I focused on the eyes of the man on the left yet the man on the right is much sharper. They were both stationary and so was I)
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/1250 | ISO 100 |
2. The main man (I focused on his eyes, yet his feet are sharp and his eyes soft)
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/125 | ISO 800 |
3. Father and son (this one almost came out how I wanted)
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/400 | ISO 800 |
4. As the vicar said to me...(am happy with this)
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/400 | ISO 800 |
5. Candle (notice that even though I focused on his eye how un-sharp this is at f/3.2! He was standing still too)
| 50mm | f/3.2 | 1/50 | ISO 400 |
6. Whoops almost dropped him there...(pretty happy with this one)
| 50mm | f/3.2 | 1/50 | ISO 400 |
7. Splash (and pretty happy with this one too)
| 50mm | f/3.2 | 1/50 | ISO 400 |
But here are the shockers:
8. Focused on his left eye but almost everything is out of focus. This would never have happened with my old lens.
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/80 | ISO 200 |
9. Again, I focused on the boy's eyes. He stayed still, I stayed still. With my old lens this would have been sharp. here it is a complete out of focus mess...
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/125 | ISO 200 |
10. Another out of focus mess. I focused on her eyes, she stayed still and so did I.
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/500 | ISO 800 |
11. And a final out of focus mess. Again eyes were focused on and the subject was still.
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/4000 | ISO 100 |
My old lenses before they died were pin sharp all out to f/1.8. This new one is awful at f/1.8 and not much better at f/2.2. In fact I got so desperate I was going to mess up the baptism itself I closed the aperture down to f/3.2 in an effort to get the bloomin thing to focus properly.
So, do I have a dud lens? Is this what 50mm f/1.8 lenses are really like and was I just lucky with my previous 2 lenses? I am not happy at all . Or am I totally over reacting?
First off I'll post a few photos that I am happy-ish with:
1. The suits (I focused on the eyes of the man on the left yet the man on the right is much sharper. They were both stationary and so was I)
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/1250 | ISO 100 |
2. The main man (I focused on his eyes, yet his feet are sharp and his eyes soft)
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/125 | ISO 800 |
3. Father and son (this one almost came out how I wanted)
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/400 | ISO 800 |
4. As the vicar said to me...(am happy with this)
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/400 | ISO 800 |
5. Candle (notice that even though I focused on his eye how un-sharp this is at f/3.2! He was standing still too)
| 50mm | f/3.2 | 1/50 | ISO 400 |
6. Whoops almost dropped him there...(pretty happy with this one)
| 50mm | f/3.2 | 1/50 | ISO 400 |
7. Splash (and pretty happy with this one too)
| 50mm | f/3.2 | 1/50 | ISO 400 |
But here are the shockers:
8. Focused on his left eye but almost everything is out of focus. This would never have happened with my old lens.
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/80 | ISO 200 |
9. Again, I focused on the boy's eyes. He stayed still, I stayed still. With my old lens this would have been sharp. here it is a complete out of focus mess...
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/125 | ISO 200 |
10. Another out of focus mess. I focused on her eyes, she stayed still and so did I.
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/500 | ISO 800 |
11. And a final out of focus mess. Again eyes were focused on and the subject was still.
| 50mm | f/2.2 | 1/4000 | ISO 100 |