Raising The Standard – Again!
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Zooms dominate the lens market because having one lens doing the job of a bagful has a compelling proposition, but primes remain popular, especially high-spec, fast aperture models. While having a fast maximum aperture lens has an obvious appeal, such lenses can be expensive, so you have to be confident that you’re going to make the most of the investment. However, there is one obvious exception.
Years ago, before the advent of cheap kit zooms, if you bought a new camera it came with a 50mm lens and the only decision you had to make was whether you’d go for a f/1.8 or fork out the extra for a f/1.4. With my first camera, I went for the 50mm f/1.8 and used it for years before managing to buy another lens.
Anyway, with shorter days ahead of us, the appeal of having something faster and much more portable on my Canon EOS R5 than the RF 24-105mm f/4 standard zoom grew too difficult to resist and got me thinking about buying a 50mm lens.
While Canon has been building up its RF lens range, the choice is still small compared with what’s available to owners of other mirrorless systems and third-party lens support is limited to manual focus lenses.
So, when the idea of a fast prime became irresistible it didn’t take much agonising before going for the Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM. MPB had stocks of the used RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM Macro for £344 but I didn’t want to spend much so that also ruled out the used RF 50mm f/1.2L USM at £1699.
MPB had ‘like new’ used versions of the RF 50mm f/1.8 at £179 which compares with £199 for a new one. That sounded the perfect – and affordable – solution.
The RF 50mm f/1.8 weighs a mere 160g, focuses as close as 30cm and has a 43mm filter thread. Autofocus is handled by a STM motor so it is smooth and quiet while Super Spectra Coating helps to defeat flare and ghosting. A smooth-running control ring and a Focus/Control switch complete the round-up of the lens’s physical characteristics.
The Focus/Control switch does provide extra functionality. Set to Control and the ring’s function is determined via the camera’s customise dials menu and there are 18 options including off.
If you prefer to focus manually, set Focus and manual focus in the camera menu. It’s slightly bizarre that while AF is slick and pretty quiet, there’s a more obvious, slightly annoying whine during manual focus. This isn’t a problem to your subjects when shooting outdoors, but it’s far too audible from behind the camera.
When is said and done, however, I wasn’t after the RF 50mm for its aesthetics, but for its picture-taking potential and here there was no let-down.
© Will Cheung. Phone user in London’s Chinatown, Canon EOS R5, RF 50mm f/1.8. Exposure of 1/800sec at f/1.8 and ISO 1600. Raw treated in Adobe Lightroom Denoise
With the EOS R5 set to single point AF, auto ISO set to a ceiling of ISO 1600, I headed to London’s West End for some low-light street shooting. I mostly left the lens at f/1.8 because there seemed no point in buying a fast aperture lens and then stopping to f/4. Moreover, I was keen to what sort of image quality was on offer with the lens wide open.
© Will Cheung. Relaxing rickshaw rider. Canon EOS R5, RF 50mm f/1.8. Exposure of 1/40sec at f/2.5 and ISO 1600. Raw treated in Adobe Lightroom Denoise.
In crowds, I’d normally prefer something wider than 50mm on full-frame, and I find a 35mm or even 28mm lens gives more latitude for grab shots and cropping in is not an issue even at high ISO speeds. However, I soon got used to the tighter framing of the 50mm and it worked fine in the crowds. What I especially appreciated was the freedom of shooting at f/1.8 and with the bright lights of Chinatown, I got fast shutter speeds without having to break the ISO 1600 ceiling.
I was really pleased with the shots I got and happy with the quality of the lens wide open, and the background bokeh at f/1.8 looked good too.
© Will Cheung. Phone snapper with background bokeh. Canon EOS R5, RF 50mm f/1.8. Exposure of 1/200sec at f/1.8 and ISO 1600. Raw treated in Adobe Lightroom Denoise
My next trip out with the RF 50mm was a Timeline Events day-to-night Lancaster bomber shoot with re-enactors at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre.
The daytime segment was straightforward because we had good sun much of the time and I was shooting with a selection of zoom lenses, sometimes with the camera on a tripod but mostly handheld.
© Will Cheung. Re-enactors having a tea break at Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre taken during a Timelines Events shoot. Canon EOS R5, RF 50mm f/1.8. Exposure of 1/60sec at f/1.8 and ISO 1600. Raw treated in Adobe Lightroom Denoise.
After sunset, as twilight gave way to night, the 50mm f/1.8 came into its own and the extra two-and-bit f/stops compared with my 24-105mm f/4 zoom was a significant benefit, but even so, my ISO had to increase to enable fast enough shutter speeds. By the end of the evening, I was shooting handheld at ISO 25,600 and had my fingers crossed that the noise reduction skills of Adobe Lightroom’s Denoise and DxO PureRaw 3 would come to my rescue. As you can see from the results here, the noise reduction software definitely delivered.
© Will Cheung. Avro Lancaster NX611 ‘Just Jane’ with re-enactors at Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre taken during a Timelines Events shoot. The sky was so clear that stars were recorded. Canon EOS R5, RF 50mm f/1.8, exposure of 1/60sec at f/1.8 and ISO 25,600. Raw treated in Adobe Lightroom Denoise.
© Will Cheung. Avro Lancaster NX611 ‘Just Jane’ with re-enactors at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre taken during a Timelines Events shoot. Canon EOS R5, RF 50mm f/1.8. Exposure of 1/50sec at f/1.8 and ISO 12,800. Raw treated in DxO Pure Raw 3
A couple of shoots in with the RF 50mm f/1.8 and I couldn’t be happier with the results so far and I’m looking forward to doing much more with it. It’s great to use, combines superbly with the EOS R5 and delivers very acceptable image quality. Furthermore, at £179 for an almost new sample from MPB, it’s great value too.
News From MPB
Have you ever wondered what the most popular used cameras are? Well, wonder no more. New to MPB’s website is a fascinating insight into the world of used photo and video gear and it will be regularly unveiling its Top 10 Most Popular Camera Bodies and Lenses.
The Top 10 covers the period June-September and sitting at number one is the Sony Alpha A7 III, a position it enjoyed last year too. With its full-frame back-illuminated 24.2-MP sensor, 10fps shooting with AE/AF tracking and advanced hybrid AF, the Alpha 7 III’s feature list is impressive. Its popularity is no surprise and excellent condition samples on the MPB website are priced at £1049.
There are a couple of notable ‘movers’ in the current Top Ten from 2022. The Nikon D850 has moved up four places to number five which reflects its popularity and longevity. It’s widely considered that the D850 is one of the very best DSLRs money can buy, so its used popularity is deserved.
The other ‘mover’ is Fujifilm’s fixed lens compact, the X100V which boasts at its heart the brand’s widely respected APS-C format X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor with 26.1-MP resolution; it’s the same sensor that appears on several Fujifilm X-system cameras. Now sitting at number eight in MPB’s Top 10, the X100V is up 22 places from last year, a rise that points towards the camera’s ability and desirability but also its scarcity on the new camera market. For the full Top 10 run-down, click here.
MPB Explained
You need kit to take photographs and produce videos, and taking the used route is a cost-effective way of making the most of your budget and keeping up with the latest developments in imaging technology.
MPB is one of the biggest used retailers with bases in the UK, Germany and the USA.
Trading with MPB the process is fair, safe, painless and incredibly easy.
Whether you have kit to sell, want to make a purchase or part exchange, start by going to the MPB website which is intuitive and straightforward to use.
If you have kit to trade, just start typing the name in and a list of suggestions from MPB’s huge database will appear. If a name on that list matches your product click on it and add its condition; if not, continue typing in the whole name and condition.
It’s worth bearing in mind that MPB’s database covers much more than cameras and lenses so if you have, for example, a photo backpack, tripod or filters to sell these can be shown as you type in their name too.
With all your kit listed, add contact details and a quote will appear in your inbox soon afterwards, although manually entered items will take one working day.
If you are happy with the quote, accept it and follow the instructions to get the kit ready for courier collection on a day to suit you. For higher-value deals, an MPB account manager will also be in touch, so you have a personal point of contact if you have any queries.
Once received by MPB, you will get a notification and after checking by its product specialists you will receive a final quote. This can vary from the original quote if there is a missing item – like a battery not being supplied – or your assessed condition differs from the actual condition.
A quote can go down, but it can also increase if the kit’s condition is better than your assessment.
The whole process doesn’t take long and MPB are in touch by e-mail at every step so you’re never in the dark, and only when you are totally happy with the deal, pass on your payment details or pay the balance in the case of part-exchange. Either way, the money or your new kit will be with you soon after.
About MPB
- MPB is the largest global platform to buy, sell and trade used photo and video kit.
- MPB are the simple, safe and circular way to trade, upgrade and get paid.
- MPB is not a marketplace, instead buying directly from visual storytellers and evaluating all items before reselling MPB-approved kit.
- MPB’s dynamic pricing engine provides the right price upfront for all items.
- Circularity is at the centre of MPB, promoting sustainability, diversity and inclusion in everything they do.
- MPB prioritises inclusive recruitment and supports employees with extensive training and development. They promote inclusive visual storytelling and an inclusive circular economy.
- MPB’s business model is 100% circular. All packaging is 100% plastic-free. Their cloud-based platform uses 100% renewable electricity.
- MPB has served over 625,000 visual storytellers while recirculating more than 400,000 products annually
- MPB provides first-class customer service. Customers can receive support through their Help Centre or by speaking directly with a kit expert.
- MPB’s product specialists are trusted by thousands of visual storytellers in the UK.
- MPB is rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot with over 19,000 reviews.
Source: Photography News
Raising The Standard – Again!
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