The Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II is the least expensive lens currently available for the EOS system, and has been in the lineup since late 1990. It is a simplified version of the original EF 50mm F1.8 of 1987 (often referred to as the Mark I) which was supplied as standard with some of Canon earliest 35mm EOS SLRs; however it can trace its lineage back a lot further than that, as the company has been making 50mm F1.8 standard lenses.