Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras - Fixed

Comment

I recently upgraded my gear from consumer to pro-grade ( 5D Mark III & 100mm f/2.8L IS ) and opted against the kit zoom for my camera. Honestly, I regret it; I would have loved to have a nice "walk around" lens. I love the setup I have, but I find myself still wanting that Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS , having to pay a premium since I missed the kit discount (which is substantial). So, a "nice prime" seemed a viable alternative. And it was; the 50mm f/1.4 is not a lens I regret purchasing. Pictures are soft wide open, but thats supposed to happen. And honestly, its a beautiful effect. Pictures are sharp when focused (albeit narrowly focused at 1.4). This lens doesnt replace a good quality wide zoom (Im looking at you 17-40mm f/4L ), and it would probably be replaced as a "walk around" with the standard kit lenses ( 24-105mm f/4 L IS or 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS for those on a budget). But if you want the 1.4 aperture and good overall image quality in a fixed length, this is a good decision all around. I recommend it. The difference in image quality between this and my L series is not as great as I would have imagined - which is to say, the image quality is quite good.

Show more

Comment

I orignally said that this was one of the best lenses you could get for the money, but apparently as some others have pointed out there is a flaw in this lens that may after a certain amount of time may start losing fast autofocus and will end up just not autofocusing properly in certain siuations often getting stuck" and you have to switch to manual to correct it. For the money about the same price you should consider the 85mm 1.8 which doesnt seem to have that issue so far. and instead get the 50mm 1.8 STM lens which is much less in cost but still provides very good quality. Its a shame this issue is there and that Canon hasnt bothered to upgrade the lens so to speak with a new version (since its based on a 20 year old design) but yeah. a GREAT lens WHEN IT WORKS but over time.....you may develop issues. so also you may wish to make sure to get this lens brand new too for less chance of that issue. :-.. update: i got a brand new lens of this type lately and had not used it all that much overall and after a while it too stopped autofocusing correctly and worse still is when i tried to use manual focus then it stopped working as well... (due to the way the lens is made if autofocus stops manual will likelay also stop working too) rendering the lens completely useless. Canon needs to seriously make a new updated version of this lens to correct this flaw. it is NOT worth investing the money only to have the thing fail after a while. I have the 85mm f1.8 and i only had one copy and it NEVER lost auofocus so i dont understand what the problem is with this lens. thats why i am giving it two stars when it WORKS its an amazing lens but this design flaw NEEDS to be fixed by canon . youd actually be better off buying the lesser 50mm f1.8 lens then this one. Canon please get with the times and come out with an updated version of this lens that fixes this issue thank you.

Show more

Comment

When used with a full frame camera, the 50mm angle of view is considered comparable to what you see with your eye - in other words, if you pull the viewfinder away from your eye, and then put it back, youll see the scene in the same scale. That makes it ideal for creating a natural looking composition, though you may find you have to "zoom with your feet" if youre trying to photograph a large group. Its also ideal for street photography due to its small size, low profile and the fact that it looks far less imposing than a hefty zoom lens. Though technically not a macro lens since the minimum focal length is 18 inches, you can still achieve some very nice close-up images. Beyond the angle of view though, its most commendable quality is the super-bright f1.4 aperture. This thing sees in the dark ! I hate using flash when photographing people indoors, and the f1.4 allows you to photograph in natural room light, particularly when coupled with my Canon 5D Mark III, which has excellent high ISO performance. At f1.4 you also get gorgeous soft bokeh which allows you to totally isolate your focal point, leaving the background to drop off into a pleasant blur. See the picture I uploaded for another great bokeh effect you can achieve from the 50mm wide open at f1.4. http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/customer-gallery/A2BAAKZHSUGCDP/ref=cm_pdp_imgs_all Whether youre shooting with an entry level crop sensor Canon DSLR or a top of the line full frame Canon camera, or something in between, the 50mm needs to be in your kit. Most people buy the f1.8 version, which due to its very low price, truly is the "nifty fifty"; but why not go ahead and spend a few hundred bucks more for a lens that youll use often and keep forever? You definitely wont regret the investment !

Show more

Comment

This is a great portrait lens, and I have been using it more and more often to challenge myself to shoot prime and stop relying on zoom. It has made me a better photographer. Beautiful bokeh, great in low light conditions, and very light. I was originally vacillating between the f/1.8 STM and this f/1.4--I found that that the f/1.8 is sharper at 1.8 than this lens, but at 2 and above this lens outperforms it every time. Another reason that I preferred this lens was the metal mount, though I believe the f/1.8 II transitioned to a metal mount as well. A word of caution to fellow amateurs debating whether the extra stop is worth it: this lens is a steal if you really need to shoot at f/1.4, but most of the time you really dont, and you may not realize it until you start taking this lens out for a spin. I mostly sit at about f/2.5, and VERY happily.

Show more

Comment

I am not a professional photographer. However I have always had a knack for taking pictures. I was out to dinner with friends and one of them was taking closeup photographs of his tiramisu and candid shots of individuals in our group. Later he texted me one of them and I couldnt believe how great it was. I asked him about the lens he was using and it was this one, the Canon EF 50mm. We are both medical residents, too poor to buy expensive lenses, but it seems the expensive lenses are not necessary for great results--for the amateur or hobbyist photographer anyway. I purchased this lens and asked my daughters to prepare for a photoshoot outdoors at sundown. The results were amazing! I highly recommend this lens for beginners.

Show more

Comment

Its pretty much a must buy if you are serious about photography at all. This lens is fast, and I mean fast, you will be shooting hand held at ISO 100 in places youd never imagine possible. Quick run down of why I like it: - Great focal length - Its lightweight - Low distortion - Focuses fast - Great bokeh Is it sharp? Its good enough wide open, and sharp as a tack stopped down to f/2. Really though, I think the number one reason that I love this lens is because it is such a versatile focal length with a fast aperture, and great performance in low light. Heres an example of why its such a great focal length, you can take portraits with it at a very personable distance, from across the table, its easy to take a quick head and shoulders shot, step back a few feet, and you can take a full body no problem, a couple more, and you can get the whole group in. Really taking photos of people with this lens just feels right. and while there still is some distortion in your images even on full frame its not a big issue. I bought the f1.8 version originally and while its a great start, its way too soft wide open, and found myself shooting at 2.8 almost all of the time, because if I didnt I was always disappointed with the results. Ultimately I wish that I had bought this lens to begin with, I debated it heavily and while I understand that its not for everyone, and that the 1.8 is a great budget option but really, if youve spent more than one day debating between the two, and can afford to get this one, just get it, you wont regret it.

Show more

Comment

I recently became interested in photo/video production and when I inquired to some friends who have a lot more knowledge about these things than I do they recommended that I purchase a so called PRIME LENS with a Large aperture. I finally broke down and bought this lens to accompany my Canon 70D that I was going to start using for shooting. WOW, I AM AMAZED. The quality of the images that this lens puts out and the Bokeh that I consistently get is beautiful. I never really understood how professional photographers always got good shots when we were using a similar camera with a similar sensor but different lens. Not only did most of my shots start looking amazing (Im not a pro so almost everything looks amazing) but Im really learning. I didnt understand Aperture, Shutter Speed or ISO and I still wouldnt have if not for the great pictures that this thing takes. It pushes me to want to get better pictures by balancing these three different aspects of a shot. Now I cant wait to go to a local park or zoo to take pictures. Basically what Im saying is that this lens has taught me more about photography than my kit lens would ever have. This is truly staying in my camera pack. The only cons I see so far is that at WOA (WIDE OPEN APERTURE, lookatme! Im using camera talk!) the image isnt as sharp as Id like it to be. I usually have to go down a couple more stops to get that super sharp image of my subject but it still looks amazing.

Show more

Comment

Love this lense for my Canon Rebel T3i. Takes some getting used to if you are used to shooting with a zoom lense. I recommend not leaving your 18-55mm at home though; a few times I have wanted to capture more in my shot but have been limited, not directly because of the prime lense, but mainly because I could not physically be in a better spot to capture it all, if that makes sense. That is when it is nice to have your kit lense handy in your pack to whip out and shoot when you cannot move around too much. I bought this mainly because I wanted more f-stop options beyond what my kit lenses offer. Totally worth it, even if you are a hobby photographer like me - not one penny will be made off this lense and that is totally cool with me. I love being able to actually get sharp images in low light as opposed to kit lenses. Also, shooting moving objects is way more attainable with this lense than the kit lense. On a moving bus in Mexico, I was able to snap sharp shots (alliteration, much?) of passing pineapple stands and rugged, old sheds. And yes, I am a sucker for that dreamy bokeh.

Show more

Comment

i just have an old rebel XSi (crop sensor). this lens is both relatively cheap and one of the sharpest lens you can buy. faster and quieter zoom than the dirt cheap f/1.8 version. particularly excellent for low light indoor shooting because of how fast it is. downside is it is a fixed lens so you cant zoom in/out. I almost always use aperture priority mode (Av) thus allowing me to pick the depth of field and letting the camera automate the rest. with Av you have to use a spot autofocus to target exactly what you want to focus on as it will blur the rest of the picture slightly. i almost always use 1600 ISO indoors. partly because i never use flash to get better colors and clarity as direct flash tends to wash things out especially faces (another option is to get an add-on speedlite flash + light diffuser but that is bulky. advantage is this allows zoom lens to become usable indoors and is what wedding photographers use almost always). realize on a crop sensor it gets you close to the target. consider 35mm if you want more in the picture, but i like the headshots. if you are doing indoor sports i would recommend the 85mm f/1.8 cousin which gives better zoom for closeup action and is just as awesome indoors. i dont typically go below 1.8 indoors unless im desperate as sometimes the depth of field is so dramatic, part of the person you are targeting is out of focus. one of my highest recommendations for lens indoors without flash. the pictures are stunning (and that is perhaps an understatement).

Show more

Comment

When I bought my 70D, I decided it was a good time to upgrade my lens set as well. As Im only an enthusiast at the moment, I couldnt bring myself to spend $1600+ on the 50mm 1.2 that Canon offers. However, this lens was much more affordable and I couldnt be happier. Upon receiving I immediately attached it to my camera and set out to take some pictures of the local neighborhood. I was very impressed with the quality of the images produced. I even tried taking some pictures similar to some I had taken with my 1.8, and was very satisfied. For portraits, I was able to get a more smooth, blurry background that allowd my subject to stand out that much more. And the lense is fast to focus. I was shooting some local kids playing and never once had an issue with not getting clear images. If you are looking to purchase your first 50mm or upgrade your 1.8, but like me dont have the money to get the 1.2, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM is definitely a great lense to add to your lens set.

Show more