50 1.8 inconsistent focus

[sedwards]

i have had my 50 1.8 for over a year now and never use it because the focus is terribly inconsistent. i mean like 1 sharp image out of 30 even at f8. i wasn't overly disappointed because it only cost 80$ on sale and i know you get what you pay for. i have been doing a lot of reading instead of shooting because of the arctic temperatures we have been having for over a month , and found a few website where people have used the "solder trick" to fix their nifty fifty. i decided to give it a whirl since it is basically a disposable lens and i dont use it anyways. i started by popping the back cover off, its just clipped in. then found the contacts that need to be soldered together. this was the complicated part because none of the posts i read were clear about which contacts needed to be connected. they basically said try it and see what works. well i can tell you joining all the contacts like one guy said , doesnt work at all. the focus motor started making noise as soon as i connected the lens to the camera and it wasnt even turned on yet. then i tried the 2 contacts on the left together and the 2 on the right together. no funny noises , but it would not focus at all. it just kept hunting. then i tried just the 2 contacts on the right joined together and bingo ! focus is perfect 95% of the time versus around 10% before.
i have no idea what joining those contacts does , but it works great for me. its still a plastic cheapo lens but at least now i can use it with confidence.
now i wish i would warm up a little outside so i can start taking pics again instead of fiddling lol.

this is the back cover. very easy to pop out with just the tip of a sharp knife
IMG_1912 by sedwards679, on Flickr

these are the contacts i am talking about
IMG_1910 by sedwards679, on Flickr

and these are the 2 i joined together(blue arrow)
IMG_1910-2 by sedwards679, on Flickr

[Sean Setters]

That is really interesting. Hmm....

[Kayaker72]

Glad you are finding a productive way to deal with cabin fever. I usually end up buying stuff

I use to have the 50 f/1.8. 10% hit rate is unacceptable and would tell me you had a bad lens. My hit rates with the 50 f/1.8 were very good. What drove me to upgrade wasn't the accuracy, but rather the AF speed and the fact that I didn't care for the IQ until ~f/2.5-2.8.

[sedwards]

I also have been spending. I picked up a 400 f5.6 yesterday lol.
What did you upgrade to from the 50 1.8 ? I have been eyeballing a 50 1.4 for a while but ive read a lot of mixed reviews

[Sean Setters]

I have been eyeballing a 50 1.4 for a while but I've read a lot of mixed reviews

I think I know someone who's currently selling one in good condition... :-)

[sedwards]

I think I know someone who's currently selling one in good condition... :-)

while price is actually decent , my canadian dollar takes a nasty hit when buying from the US now that the exchange is close to 30%. so for now i will have to keep just eyeballing lol.

[Kayaker72]

I also have been spending. I picked up a 400 f5.6 yesterday lol.
What did you upgrade to from the 50 1.8 ? I have been eyeballing a 50 1.4 for a while but ive read a lot of mixed reviews

Ha.....I upgraded to the 50 f/1.4. It is acceptably sharp (IMO) at f/1.8-2 in the center frame. Whole frame is acceptably sharp starting at ~f/2.8. The AF, while not fast, is much faster than the f/1.8. I liked the 50 f/1.4 much more than the 50 f/1.8 II. Both can take excellent images, but the 50 f/1.4 is better.

But...then I upgraded to the Sigma 50 f/1.4 Art. Currently I own both the 50 f/1.4 and the 50A. I will be selling one or the other soon. The 50A has better AF and is sharp down to f/1.4. But, my real issue is just after I picked up the 50A I caught the 24-70 II refurbished from the Canon store on sale with an additional instant 15%.

Since then the 24-70II stays on my camera, even for the few portrait sessions I do (friends/family, babies, etc) and my 50 primes have only seen use when I deliberately decide to use them. So my dilemma is if I am going to even keep a 50 prime as a niche lens that I only use now and again.

I think I know someone who's currently selling one in good condition... :-)

Good luck. I am planning a purge of gear I am not using and one of my 50 primes, likely the 50 f/1.4, will be on the list. It'll be good to see if yours sells.

[Jayson]

Stuart, you need to step away from the tool kit. Don't take apart your camera...those can be tricky.

I upgraded from the nifty and have the 50mm 1.4 (canon version) and use it all of the time. It is not expensive and does the job you need it to. I actually enjoy the way it looks from 1.4 to 1.8. Isn't the razor sharp photo you get from the Sigma Art, but it works great IMO. You just have to be careful with it. Don't bounce it around or hit the extended part of the lens when focusing since you can break the focus mechanism very easily. I purchased the hood for mine and never take it off for this reason.