Undoubtedly this is one of my best investments.. I love this lens. I have APS-C camera and hence the 50 mm lend is effectively 80 mm for me. Yet it is good enough for most clicks. For group clicks you just need to go a bit far. Other than that this is an awesome lens. That too for such cheap price. The shallow depth of field (thanks to f/1.8) brings out beautiful bokeh and thorough out of focus background.

WARNING! 50mm EF is not 50mm WHEN used on aps-c camera like T5i. Using this lens on my T5i resulted in photos being shoot equal to 80mm lens. GOOD- you get a 80mm 1.8 fixed lens for under $150. BAD - you don't get the advertise 50mm.

this was the first L series lens i bought, back when i had my APS-C rebel. it is a great walkaround lens for an APS-C camera, and the image quality is outstanding. however as a walkaround lens, i did find the f4 somewhat limiting when light was limited. i had to raise my iso higher than i like, and my rebel started to get noisy pretty quickly.when i moved to a full frame 5D classic, i was blown away by the extreme wide angle effect of a true 17mm lens. this creates pretty dramatic perspective distortion, awesome if youre into that look. i used to shoot a ton with this lens, now not as much as i try now not to overuse the ultra wide look. it is still perfect for me though given the right situation. the lens is extremely sharp. i tend to only use this lens when i want a very wide look, so i normally shoot it at 17mm.i never found the need to upgrade to the 16-35 f2.8 version of this lens. i mainly use this lens in bright conditions, i shoot architecture and landscapes with it. i typically shoot it stopped down, so there was really no point in buying the f2.8 at twice the price. this lens has served me very well, i dont plan on getting rid of it anytime soon. it is one of the cheapest canon L lenses you can buy, yet still has top notch performance and produces amazing images!

Seriously, if you own a Canon camera (DSLR or mirrorless, APS-C or full-frame) then you should definitely own this lens. In fact, it should probably be the first lens that is purchased after having a kit-lens that was provided with your camera body. Very sharp, light, and relatively small - a perfect lens to just leave on your camera most of the time! Any potential downsides (not the fastest aperture lens, plastic build) are wiped away by the low cost and very good image quality! Oh, it doesn't come with a lens hood and the Canon OEM hoods are ridiculously expensive. Just find a good third-party hood on Amazon for 1/5 of the cost of the Canon hood.

This lens performs far better than expected for its price point. I have used it on both APS-C and full frame with good results. The autofocus outperforms the 50mm F1.4 in accuracy and consistency which is far more critical than the extra bit of light you get with the older more expensive 1.4 USM.

Despite this lens is not good for full frame cameras, it is an excellent option for a APS-C size sensor such as Canon 50D and Rebel T1i. On a full frame camera, this lens produce soft corners however, because of the crop effect of APS-C sensor this problem does not show up in the pictures and the lens deliver Pin Sharp pictures from the center to the corner always. As any Canon L series lens, the image is superb with high resolution and wonderful color saturation. The construction is also superb and comes with lens hood as well which is a plus. One also have to consider the prices which is very low for a Canon L lens. I certainly recommend this lens for any APS-C sensor cameras. It is a must have... A keeper... A winner...

Very good lens. I keep this together with my 24mm, 35 mm on an APS-C Canon camera and I cover all my bases. These prime lenses are light and easy to carry ( kind to my aching back.) They excel in sharpness as well as low-light capability due to wider apertures. I only lose convenience when compared to an L zoom lens since I have to keep on un-mounting and re-mounting which is a hassle. But in terms of IQ, I've gotten winning images with these lenses. The 50mm STM gets good and gorgeous out of focus background for portraits. One only has to be careful with focusing due to the shallow depth of field at the 1.8 aperture. This is a fabulous,and inexpensive even with APS-C Canon Cameras.

This lens has been a great starter lens for me. Even on with the APS-C sensor on my rebel, the lens is versatile enough for most of my situations. Definitely the best portrait lens that I could ask for, especially given the price. Since I do have a crop sensor, I will probably look into a shorter lens that is more "normal" for my camera. The 50 mm is equivalent to an 80 mm on my crop sensor. Even with the longer effective focal length considered, this lens is incredibly fast and well worth it.