Canon EF lens - 50 mm F/1.8

This lens is the first prime I ever bought. I was looking at primes because they produce better quality images and are faster than zooms, though less practical. I saw that 130$ lens (brand new!) ... I gave it a shot, saying to myself: -well I'll try this out and if I don't like primes or if this turns out to be a bad lens, i'll loose only 130$. I also believed at the time that 130$ brand new lenses cannot produce quality images. Nikon doesn't have cheap 50s..... Well I was wrong. This lens is one of my favourite. It doesn't produce image as nice as my 85mm (also reviewed here on ciao), but for the price, it is unbeatable. Apart from beeing extremely fast (compared to zooms anyway), it is SHARP (well it's a prime...) and I also noticed better contrast (at least a more pleasing effect to my eye) in my image (compared to my 17-40L). You can't go wrong with this lens. Even if you have 50mm covered with one or more of your zooms, you have to buy this. FAST, SHARP, CONTRAST, CHEAP. Downside: autofocus. slow and noisy. Switch it to off and focus manually! Built: Plastic mount and body. I have this lens since november 2007 and have not yet any dust inside, though it will happen shortly, cheap construction!....That's why It loses a star in the review. I have to be fair! I'll buy another one if it ever becomes unusable.... which I doubt ......