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Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 35mm Primes

4.69/5 (61 Reviews)

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  • Camera Format35 mm SLR
    Lens TypeFixed Focal Length Lens
    Focal Length50mm
    Lens Max Aperturef/1.4
    Min Aperturef/22
    Focus TypeAutofocus
    Macro LensWithout Macro Lens
    MountCanon EF
    Closest Focusing Distance18 in
    Picture Angle46 degrees
    Attachment / Filter Size58 mm
    Groups / Elements7 Elements in 6 Groups
    Diameter2.9 in
    Length2 in
    Weight10.2 oz
    MPN2515a003
    Product ID20724803

Product Description

Standard lens featuring superb quality and portability. Two high-refraction lens elements and new Gaussian optics eliminate astigmatism and suppress astigmatic difference. Crisp images with little flare are obtained even at the maximum aperture.


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Reviews 1 - 5 (61 Reviews Total) | Next 15

User Reviews

Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:4
Submitted by www.ScottCookPhotography. a Professional

Date Reviewed: May 6, 2009

Strengths:    Very Sharp stopped down beyond f/2.5

Weaknesses:    Soft from f/1.4- 2.2 with CA present

Bottom Line:   
Very Sharp stopped down beyond f/2.5
Soft from f/1.4- 2.2 with CA present

Scott Cook Photography. Link to sample photos.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   6-10 years


Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:5
Submitted by tourtrophy a Intermediate

Date Reviewed: May 10, 2007

Strengths:    Tact Sharp
Extremely useful for low light without flash
Good Value

Weaknesses:    AF hunting in low light.

Bottom Line:   
This is a sharp lens for indoor photography.
The built quality is above the 18-55mm kit lens but is good enough for casual use. I am quite happy with the result.

AF seems to have trouble hunting for focus in low light and white objects.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   11-20 years

Price Paid:    $308.00

Purchased At:   Amazon

Type of photography:   Outdoor

Overall Rating:4
Value Rating:3
Submitted by Armand a Expert

Date Reviewed: November 20, 2006

Strengths:    Excellent photos from this lens, very happy about 95% of the time. Autofocus is great except in the lowest lighting.

Weaknesses:    Micro USM autofocus failure. Poor low-light focusing. Gathers dust internally. Soft diffused look at 1.4 (you might like it).

About the focus issue:
http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00HYvS&tag=


Bottom Line:   
Overall this lens has proven very satisfactory to me. However I had a complete failure of the focusing system within 7 months. The focus accuracy became progressively worse in the week prior to the motor becoming very erratic then completely unresponsive.

In 7 months I have noticed a little dust inside the lens. Not well sealed at all if this is the case. I'm feeling Canon charges more for this lens than it is worth build-wise. Image-wise it's a bargain.

I'm really iffy about recommending this now. Unfortunately I've discovered a lot of others online describing the same problem. I love the lens, but I have doubts about the manufacturing quality.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   11-20 years

Price Paid:    $320.00

Purchased At:   Amazon.com

Type of photography:   People

Overall Rating:3
Value Rating:3
Submitted by Frans a Casual

Date Reviewed: April 10, 2006

Strengths:    Small
Light weight
Sharp
Beautiful background blur

Weaknesses:    Play in focus ring
Focus ring is not as smooth as the Canon 85mm f/1.8

Bottom Line:   
I bought this lens together with Canon 85mm f/1.8, as I was so impressed in the low light shooting capabilities of the Sigma 30mm f1.4 that I had purchased some months earlier. The 50mm f/1.4 is of lower quality both mechanically and optically than the 85mm f/1.8. The 50mm produces more flare, has less contrast and the auto focus is not as reliable. This is not to say that the auto focus is bad, it’s just not as good as the 85mm lens. It seems as the focal length decreases so does the auto focus accuracy on the 350D when using fast lenses. There is a some purple fringing that is apparent under strong light. The focus ring does not operate as smoothly and also has some play, unlike the 85mm lens. My main objective was to use this lens when filming at folk music events. Most of these events are poorly lit. All lenses mentioned have proved to work very well here. The 30mm and the 50mm lenses are just about impossible to manual focus in low light unlike the 85mm. If you are considering between the 50mm or 85mm lens, then the 85mm lens is of much better value, considering that there is only about $50 between then.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   21+ years

Price Paid:    $360.00

Purchased At:   Photobuff

Similar Products Used:   Sigma 30mm f/1.4
Canon 85 f/1.8

Type of photography:   People

Overall Rating:5
Value Rating:5
Submitted by brianc1964 a Intermediate

Date Reviewed: March 29, 2006

Strengths:    Contrast, color rendition, sharpness and versatility.

Weaknesses:    none.

Bottom Line:   
I don't know why some of the reviews on the site show users complaining of the build quality of this lens. It's fairly heavy for its size, has USM focusing and DELIVERS. I shoot in film so the lens is exactly 50mm on my EOS-3 body. I shoot mostly portraits of models, but have used this lens for flat-perspective, with landscape shots as well. Extremely sharp and VERY contrasty, this lens is better(in my opinion), then the highly-regarded EF 85mm f/1.8 USM. I usually use an 81b filter from B+H for portrait work and if I use this lens for landscape work, I use a 58mm Heliopan Polarizer. There is no distortion in the corners of any of the images I've taken, razor sharpness when looking at details of portrait work-especially in very low lighting indoors- with only available light(no flash). It's a very versatile lens which has everything going for it.

Expand full review >>

Duration Product Used:   6-10 years

Price Paid:    $310.00

Purchased At:   Samys Camera

Similar Products Used:   EF Canon 135mm f/2 L USM
EF Canon 70-200 f/4 L USM
EF Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM
AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 D

Type of photography:   People


Reviews 1 - 5 (61 Reviews Total) | Next 15

Review Options:  Sorted by Latest Review | Sort by Best Rating

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  • Camera Format35 mm SLR
    Lens TypeFixed Focal Length Lens
    Focal Length50mm
    Lens Max Aperturef/1.4
    Min Aperturef/22
    Focus TypeAutofocus
    Macro LensWithout Macro Lens
    MountCanon EF
    Closest Focusing Distance18 in
    Picture Angle46 degrees
    Attachment / Filter Size58 mm
    Groups / Elements7 Elements in 6 Groups
    Diameter2.9 in
    Length2 in
    Weight10.2 oz
    MPN2515a003
    Product ID20724803
    Other Features<li>Ultra Sonic Motor focus<li>Min focus: 1.4 ft.<li>Aperture range: f1.4 - f/22


 

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