50/1.8 Mk.II

Mention you're a beginner photographer with a Canon EOS camera, and the first thing most people will say is, "Did you get the 50/1.8 instead of the shitty kit lens?" Maybe it was because I'd already cut my teeth on a manual camera with a 50mm lens (though I wasn't really serious or knowledgeable about photography then), but the last thing I wanted to do when upgrading to a 21st-century SLR was get a boring old fixed 50mm prime. I eventually got the lens, though, because it's fast, cheap, good, and super-light. A Rebel 2000 (or even Elan 7) with this lens is a mighty small package, and it makes a great low-light photography device.

But really, if you look at the lens itself, it's actually kind of crappy. It has some kind of ancient micro-motor type of autofocus that whines when moving and clacks loudly when it slams into the end of its focusing range. The manual focus switch doesn't always disengage the autofocus gearing system, so you have to jam on the switch until it finally loosens up; but even when it does, the manual focus ring is laughably small. If this lens cost $50 more, I wouldn't have bought it, because it's just too cheap.

Hey, it takes good pictures though, and that's all that counts. It's light, cheap, fast, and good, so what more do you want? Well, actually, I usually find the 50mm perspective pretty boring, so I really only bust it out when I need the extra speed. Need ring-type USM or a better build? Buy the 50/1.4 USM, and it'll set you back probabaly $400. Am I glad I bought this lens? Yes. Has it magically made me throw my zoom lens in the garbage? Hell no.