canon 18-55mm problem

[techlover15]

So my 18-55 has just lately messed up on me. It only auto focuses one direction and sometimes wont even focus at all. I have cleaned the contacts with alcohol pads and it will only focus right for like 1 picture. So my question is do you think that it had just had its full use and i need to get another one?

[inkista]

That would be my guess, yes, assuming that you've tested the body with other lenses and found it wasn't an issue in the body.

[techlover15]

ya, i tried my quantatary 70-300 and the af does fine..the sad thing about the 18-55 doing this is, it happened like right b 4 my vacation a few weeks ago and i didnt really realize what was happening untill we were on vacation....anyways...i am thinking of getting a canon 50mm..do you think that is a good choice?

[inkista]

I recommend the 50mm f/1.8 II for a lot of newbies as a good low-cost option, but it absolutely sucks at doing 18mm.

The 50/1.8 is a completely different kind of lens from the 18-55, and while you can use it as your single walkaround, it's more limited on the framing, and may be slightly too long for use on a crop body as a normal. This is a matter of personal tastes. The 50/1.8 also sucks for manual focus use, if you were planning on shooting landscapes with it and setting it to hyperfocal distance or something.

It comes down to what you want to use it for, and what your budget is.