Canon 50mm f/1.8 MKII way too load

[rab3rd]

I have a copy of the 1.8 II and its noisy and a bit sloppy when manually focusing. Its a 90 dollar lens, one cant expect an "L" level build for that price.

[dallasimagery]

Some of my favorite shots were with this piece of junk lense - but, yes the build quality is atrocious :) Mine literally fell apart. But for the price, just went out and bought another one.

[Canon Man]

Originally Posted by AlxCab

I was talking about the lens you started the thread discussing about, the MKII plastic one. I bought mine when it was around $120 online so $90 was a great deal. So which one are you discussing cause it seems your discussion goes from the older version to the new one?

oohh, shoot ... i meant the MKI, the metal mount, circa 1986-1990, more than 20 y.o. I can still see them in "mint" condition on ebay.

[SCone]

sounds like someone tried to use it manual without turning off AF.........

[KJ Smith]

On the older lenses, the manual focus wheel will freely rotate until you turn the AF off and put it in manual focus.

Do not try to manually focus with it in AF.

Yes the motors were noisy.

But screech ??? No. I would not use that word to describe it.

[Canon Man]

Originally Posted by SCone

sounds like someone tried to use it manual without turning off AF.........

That's exactly what I'm trying to confirm. I got different result from my google search. Some people say and I believe so that the focusing ring in AF mode should not be moving freely at all and in MF mode should be tight enough to be able to focus accurately. On this lens it spins freely in both modes and the owner says that he "respectfully disagrees with me".

Others I heard saying exactly the opposite, AF being free/MF tight which doesn't make sens.

My guess is someone was trying to "focus" manually in AF mode, broke the motor and it was fixed but not the ring. Iwill be buying more of these lenses and will test until I find the perfect one. Thank God they are cheap.

[SCone]

Been a couple years since I had the MKII lens, but I remember having to switch it off AF or else the focus ring engaged the motor. That's why I moved to the 1.4 lens with full-time manual.

[SCone]

From the 50mm manual....

To shoot in manual focus (MF) mode, set the focus mode switch to MF, and focus by turning the focusing ring. Do not touch the rotating parts of the lens while AF is active. Do not focus in MF when the focus mode switch is set to AF.

[Canon Man]

Originally Posted by SCone

From the 50mm manual....

To shoot in manual focus (MF) mode, set the focus mode switch to MF, and focus by turning the focusing ring. Do not touch the rotating parts of the lens while AF is active. Do not focus in MF when the focus mode switch is set to AF.

Bingo. I rest my case. I wish I bothered looking at the manual. I thought the lens was so simple. :)