The Canon 50mm f/1.8 Mark II - for £80 this is a must have in your camera bag. I haven't seen crisper portraits with any other lens and the 1.8 apperture lets in enough light to shoot indoors at lower shutter speeds. Add to that the super bokeh, and you have your money's worth. It is plastic indeed, and one fall might put an end to its story. Hence I am exremely careful while handling this (I better be careful with the kind of reputation I have for being clumsy)

Half of the sharpness on this shot should be attributed to the low-end Canon Speedlight 270 EX flash which I used by bouncing the flash light off the ceiling.