canon ef 50 mm f1.4 - limitations and applications

1) A lot if not most of the damage is by bumping the front element, so just put the OEM hood on it and leave it there.

2) After focus is achieved in non-servo mode, you can adjust focus by just turning the focus ring, just like your 100mm and zoom can. Try it.

3)Yes, all of above, but greatest strength probably in museum and kids in your example.

4)Yes, but not that great magnification for macro, but you have your 100mm for that.

5)Yes, depend on the action might be a bit too short.Don't worry about the AF capability. It's quite fast.

I purchased the 50 1.4 used and so far I never had a problem. The only real issue I ever seem to have is with the micro USM where I feel it focus hunts a little more then my L's but other then that its still my favorite lens of all.

I hear the 1.8 is just about as good so I think either one will do the job for you just fine.

I had the 50/1.4 and did not like it. While BQ is better than the 50/1.8, it was not as good as the 28/1.8 or 85/1.8. If I was today set of having a 50mm lens and did not have the money for the 50/1.2 I'd go for the Sigma 50/1.4. According to all tests and user reports I've read it has better AF and better BQ than the Canon 50/1.4.

That said, after reading the link below I'd check it meticulously to make absolutely sure I got a good copy.

http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2008.09.12/the-sigma-saga

Last word: BQ is mostly a parameter of how the lens feels in your hands and nothing more. I had one copy of the 50/1.8 for 12 years without a single fault. It's the longest time I had a copy of any lens.

Happy shooting, Yakim.

Sigma 50/1.4 is a tank, has HSM (=USM) and is sharper at larger apertures. But don't worry too much about EF 50/1.4, I haven't even broken the 50/1.8 which is a total plastic nightmare (nice pics though).

Portraits, kids in action, low light indoors - works fine.

Don't set the lens with the front element facing down, the damage often comes when someone has pushed it in manually. the lens can be used for any subject, but i think its a bit narrow for most architectual applications. my 50mm 1.4 was a lot better than my 28mm 1.8.... it is a very good lens.

I'm one that had the 50/1.4 autofocus fail without any trauma. I bought it new. It worked flawlessly for about a year and a half. I thought the people who complained must be smoking drugs they weren't sharing with the rest of us. And then one day, in the middle of a shoot, it stopped. Literally, one second the AF worked. The next, it didn't. No trauma. No pushing in the front element. It was in my hands at the time of failure, and it was sudden.

I don't trust it now.

Eric

I used an EF 50 1.4 USM for many years without AF failure. It's main problem was it searched and refused to lock AF in low light--light my EF 28-105 3.5-4.5 USM nailed without a whimper.

1) Most of the failures I have read about, have a front-on impact story behind them. Dropping the lens dosen`t help it either. There is a ``reported issue`` floating around the net of an internal (plastic part) wearing out. Mine has been OK for 4 years now. 2) It means you can turn the manual focus ring to achieve focus whilst still having the Focus selector switch set to ``AF``

3) I use my 50mm F1.4 (on a 5D) for all of those applications: a bit long for some architecture, and bit short my taste in portraits. A monopod or micro tripod might be useful for museum work.

4) Yes those three applications. A bit too short for most ``wild`` wildlife, but very nice for the family cat. It works well with extension ring(s) for macro, but that might be silly, in most general cases, as you have a 100F2.8 Macro.

5) Yes, good for that.

***

Basically the 50mm F1.4 is a fast ``normal`` lens for a 135 format camera. Many great pictures by many famous photographers have been taken using around 50mm Focal Length lens on a 135 format film camera.

BTW: Do not be fooled by the F1.8MkII version feeling ``plastic``, it produces fine images. I have used both the F1.4 and F1.8MkII Canon 50mm lenses, but prefer the F1.4.

I have not used the Sigma lens, mentioned.

WW

I have used both the 50 1.8 II and the 1.4. I owned them both for a while and kept the 1.4. Auto-focus seems faster and I like the pictures better. The 1.4 lives on my 30D while the 17-55 IS lives on the 50D.