The "Nifty-Fifty," oh what a glorious lens. Able to provide an astonishing f 1.8, Canon is pretty much paying you to buy this lens at $125. Solid investment for anyone who is looking to upgrade to a new lens for the first time or needs an affordable, handy, light-weight option you can carry around anywhere. I personally love taking this lens out skiing as it allows me to get crisp pictures of the mountains and action shots of all the rippers. All without weighing me down or possessing too many parts I need to worry about malfunctioning in varied weather conditions.
This lens helped take my photography to the next level. The focal range allows for excellent versatility in how you want to frame a picture switching between different focal ranges as needed without spending precious seconds switching lenses or even calibrating a back-up camera. It includes Vibration Compensation allowing you to get sharp images while thinking less about camera shake and more about all the other elements that will make your photos stand out. I use this lens for just about everything Landscape, Portraits and Street photography. With the recent release of the G2 series it's possible to pick up used versions of the G1 for under $700, providing a competitive lens without breaking the bank. However, the G1 series is becoming more and more difficult to find as time goes on. I'll try to find a link for the G1 lens. The attached link takes you to the newer G2 version of this lens, but for under $1000 the newer generation is a steal!