[richardpcrowe]

I have been a photographer for over fifty years and a professional a goodly part of that. I spent years as a combat cameraman in Vietnam and have necessarily put my gear through some pretty harsh trials and tribulations.

During all that time, I have destroyed only one lens - the Canon 50mm f/1.8 Mark-II; and that was from a relatively gentle tap on a doorframe as I was entering a room. The front element ended up spinning on the floor.

I replaced that lens with a 50mm f/1.8 Mark-I, which has a metal lens mount and which includes a focus scale. The build of this lens is much better than the Mark-II which is an inferior version of the Mark-I designed to allow Canon to sell 35mm film Rebels at a cheap price.

I paid more for the used Mark-I than a new Mark-II sold for and the prices of the original Mark-I lenses are still going up. However, based on build alone, the Mark-I is well worth the extra money. I like two piece bathing suits on ladies but, I have absolutely no use for a two piece lens.

That said, since I received my 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens, I seldom use the Mark-I. The f/2.8 and IS of the 17-55mm make it a pretty fine lower light level lens. I would, however, be interested in acquiring a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens for very low light work.