bigbrother,
I think the best way for use to help you on here is to post a couple of what you think are your better images AND why you feel there is a gap in quality from what you expect. That will let forum members better assess what you might do to come closer to your expectations. Be sure that the jpg files you upload have the exif data intact.
I have never used the EF 50 f1.8 so I looked at a couple of reviews for it. It seems like it can produce very good results but a limitation is that when the lens is shot wide open (aperture set to f1.8) then the sharpness suffers and it doesn't produce excellent sharpness across the frame until the lens is stepped down to f4. Even very expensive glass is often a bit sharper, especially nearer the edges, stepped down slightly from wide open but that weakness tends to be much more pronounced with less expensive glass.
The take away is with the 50 f1.8 if sharpness is a key concern, then stepping down the aperture from wide open is needed. But as you do so you increase depth of field so if you want the look of a subject sharply in focus offset against a highly blurred background with nice bokeh then this becomes a balancing act between sharpness and "look". Decreased aperture also has to be compensated for in the exposure triangle and will require either slower shutter speed (increasing the possibility of blur due to subject or camera motion) and/or increased ISO which will start to increase noise and reduction of this noise in post will reduce some detail as the ISO is further increased. This is an area where you do more quickly hit a limit with lower cost cameras because the sensor, low noise amp, and analog to digital conversion components become more expensive when low noise is required under these conditions so compromises are made with less expensive bodies. But if you have really good lighting, this doesn't become a concern.
The only time I have shot recently in jpg was when I unpacked my new 1DX III last year and the first shots were in JPG because I didn't expect this camera to come from the factory with the default setting as jpg output 🙂 With RAW files, the image sensor data is fully preserved in the output so you can make all of the sharpening, noise reduction, color temperature balance, etc. decisions when you process it. My goal is a good capture with minimal post so for most images I apply a basic recipe using DPP that sets white balance, minimal sharpening, and sets the default cropping choice to free so that I can quickly crop to what I want. From there I will adjust exposure slightly when needed and make any needed adjustments to highlight and shadow gain. You can, and sometimes will have to, make more extreme changes in post but the goal should be to get the best quality capture possible. I am a firm believer in the old computer programmer saying, GIGO (garbage in, garbage out). Adobe can do a lot in skillful hands but it is still best no to try to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
At some point you will be limited by your current gear depending upon your shooting situations and that is the nature of things but your M50 is very capable and will suffice in most situations. In decent lighting, my 2005 era 8 megapixel EOS 1D Mark II can still create very decent images. Sensors, like the one in your M50, have come a LONG way over that period of time and is much more capable than pro-grade sensors of only a few years ago. I shot these bee photos when my 1D Mark II was pretty new, they were in decent lighting with a sharp EF-100 macro lens but heavily cropped and only use about 15% of the already small by current standards 8MP image sensor.
Rodger
