Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
The 50mm f/1.4 standard lens is a terrific choice for both casual and professional photographers. The lens is outfitted with two high-refraction lens elements and new Gaussian optics, which combine to eliminate astigmatism and suppress astigmatic difference. As a result, the lens obtains crisp images with little flare even at the maximum aperture. The lens’s f/1.4 speed, meanwhile, is perfect for available-light shooting.
Small, light, sharp, quick – for 100$. Canon has done a great job with this lens, many photographers have it; but how does a 100$ lens actually do?
1. Focus
- Auto Focus
Is, to be honest, funny. The front element of the lens moves around like crazy and it keeps on hitting itself. It sounds like a little bee. It is pretty fast, good enough for kids running around, pets and flowers (who needs fast AF there?). It is pretty accurate.
- Manual Focus
Is hard on this lens. The ring is so small and when I first saw the lens I thought you can’t manually focus on it. It rotates quickly and that is all about the manual focus. No Full Time Manual Focus, you have to switch the AF/MF button when switching focusing styles (some lenses with FTM allow you to focus manually in AF mode).
2. Sharpness
- 1. f/1.8 – soft, not good – use only when it’s dark and you need the shot
- 2. F/2 – still soft, not usable
- 3. f/2.8 – big difference, starting to get a little better
- 4. f/4 – good, can be used to get good sharpness
- 5. f/5.6 – even better, use this when you want the best sharpness
- 6. f/8 – similar to f/5.6, perhaps slightly sharper.
So the best results will be given when used at f/4 – f/8. f/1.8 is too soft; yes it is good create a shallow depth of field but if the flower is soft..not good.
The 50mm f/1.4 is much sharper, it’s usable at f/2. Remember, when using this lens on an APS-C camera, your shutter speed needs to be 1/80 or faster so your shots will not be blurred (shutter speed>focal length!) (and 50 x 1.6/aps-c = 80mm). When on a Full Frame camera, you can use it at 1/50.
3. Bokeh
Neutral. Nothing special; you can get it looking cool a few times but it is nothing special really.
The further away your background, the more blurred it will appear
4. Design
This is a small lens, it weighs only 130g. Materials aren’t anything special, just something cheap. But that does not matter, you can hold it normally and it works great. Since it’s 100$, why expect the best materials?
To read the full review of Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, visit the link.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Soft focus & it Quit working
I bought the Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens about 3 years ago. It was OK and did a descent job of capturing low light images (small clubs/concerts) but it has lost its ability to focus.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for Specific Applications but limited overall
Overall the lens is amazing and worth it for anybody committed to photography but the lens does has its limits.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great photo quality
This is currently my only lens on my new Canon Rebel T1i. Prime lens shooting is interesting. It takes some getting used to zooming with your feet.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great shots, just not as durable as I thought
The main reason I chose the f/1.4 over the f/1.8 was because of the more solid build. I hate the feel of cheap, plasticky lenses so opted to pay a couple hundred extra dollars…
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must have lens…
This is a must have lens… I originally bought this lens because I wanted to shoot more portrait style pictures of friends and family.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but not great
I spent about a year researching which fast lens to get and once I had the money I chose this one.
It’s a fine lens.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing lens!
This is one of the best lenses that I own and for the price, that is just unbelievably great!
I shoot with a Canon 30D FYI.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very sharp lens
I’ve had this lens for a little over a month now and it is a huge improvement over the 50 f/1.8 II. The f/1.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect
I love this lens. Bright, clear, and sharp. I’ve hardly had it off my 10D since I bought it. Also, the price is in range with the quality of the glass.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great!
Great lens to have together with my 70-200mm L & 24-70mm L lenses. A very light lens and good quality for my money!
Highly recommend it and no problem with my purchase.