Canon’s 50mm f/1.8 Mark II is a terrific lens for its price, but its build quality definitely leaves something to be desired. Do a quick search, and you’ll find legions of broken-hearted Canonites who had their ‘Nifty Fifty’ split into two pieces after accidentally bumping or dropping it. Flickr user tastygiant is one such Canonite, but he subsequently discovered an awesome use for the broken lens:

Being a geek, I figured I could use the broken pieces in the future, so I shelved it and bought a new 50mm 1.8 Canon lens. One day, while taking shots around my apartment, I stumbled across the broken lens again and decided to reverse the “barrel assembly” onto the front of my intact 50mm. Everything was blurry of course, but I noticed if I got very close to an object the detail came into view. After adjusting the aperture to around f5.6, I had a clear image.
It’s important to note that you should switch to Manual focusing and rotate the focusing ring to “infinity”.

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Here’s something you’ve probably never seen before: a white “L” version of the cheap Canon 50mm f/1.8 (AKA the “nifty fifty”). No, it’s not an uber-rare and expensive special edition. It’s a custom paint job by Clubsnap forum member nntenzo. After painting the lens with paint mixed from three $1 tubes, he used a laser printer and decal paper to add the lettering and decals back onto the lens. The resulting lens is one that will definitely befuddle any Canonite who happens to catch a glimpse of it… It’s a conversation starter for sure.

50mm f1.8 L (white colour) (via DigitalRev)

Flickr user Frannie 1 shot these beautiful photographs of the rare Canon 50mm f/1.0. The lens currently goes for over $4,000 used on eBay. That is one beautiful piece of glass!

(via Photojojo)

Image credits: Photographs by Frannie 1 and used with permission