A Hands on Review of the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Autofocus Lens

[RS2021]

i do wonder about the 1.4 though. is it really as mushy as the 1.8? i really would be shocked if it were. can the color rendering of the 1.4 be as awkward as the 1.8? 

Can't comment on f1.8...but I have owned both the 50L and 50 f1.4. The debate here on 50L aside, I use 35L as a standard lens, and 50mm focal length, whatever the lens brand or model, is not something I go to often. I hang on to the Canon 50 f1.4 as the only 50mm now as it is not a major investment that is being wasted and performs well for its low price.

Someone shared a Sigma 50 f/1.4 wide open shot recently in a different post and I posted a similar Canon f/1.4 subsequently. Both posts have full frame and center crops. These are just snaps and are not artsy-fartsy shots with models or careful lighting, nor can they be compared head-to-head given the variables involved. So take it with a grain of salt. And as for color rendering there is tons of red/crimson in the house, so make of it, what you will.

Sigma 50 f/1.4:
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=12608.msg224867#msg224867

Canon EF 50 f/1.4
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=12608.msg227087#msg227087

[agierke]

For reverse macro to produce ok results a wider ~24mm lens lens is needed *and* it has to be sharp at the aperture you shoot with - and since the aperture cannot be manually set on the 50mm, that's the very unsharp 1.8 setting.

this is actually not true. you can use any aperture you would like with reverse macro so long as you engage the DOF preview button before you unmount the lens. the aperture will close down to whatever you set it at and then will hold after you unmount the lens. i have used the 50mm at 5.6 to get a bit more DOF as at 1.8 reversed it is ridiculously narrow.

[ChilledXpress]

I don't think anyone that has used all or some of the 50mm, can't really dispute the fact that the overall image quality differences from all three lenses is miniscule. I own all three, with multiple copies of the L and 1.4, and use them quite often. With the exception of the differences in stops, the major difference is build quality. I've seen the 1.8 II roll off a bench hit the ground, maybe a drop of 16-18", and explode. Not literally , figuratively.  Or have had one hit the door way and fall apart. Not much to do afterwards but pick up the pieces and bin them. That's what a 100$ lens is good for. The 1.4 and it's damn weak sauce AF mechanism... has left me stranded twice. You get about a year or so with general use before that gremlin raises its head. With the 50L, it is hard to find much difference between it and the other two in respect to IQ (at least to me). A trained eye can see the difference in bokeh but to most, not so much. It is sharper below 2.0 but I find little to complain about in sharpness from all three flavors. What I have the 50L for is weather sealing, tank-like build, low light portrait monster, great FOV and my copy seems to be pretty damn sharp. Knock on wood, they have taken a beating but survive beautifully.

The biggest change I have seen with my 50's though is AF speed... and that can only be attributed to the 5D3 and 1DX. They behave like totally different animals now. My favorite combo is the 5D3 (silent) w/ 50L.... ummm, I hear the street calling now!

Maybe the new show stopper for cheap, low-profile, sharp, etc... is the shorty forty. Still getting use to it but it is always impressively sharp on the wide end.

[Marsu42]

For reverse macro to produce ok results a wider ~24mm lens lens is needed *and* it has to be sharp at the aperture you shoot with - and since the aperture cannot be manually set on the 50mm, that's the very unsharp 1.8 setting.

this is actually not true. you can use any aperture you would like with reverse macro so long as you engage the DOF preview button before you unmount the lens. the aperture will close down to whatever you set it at and then will hold after you unmount the lens. i have used the 50mm at 5.6 to get a bit more DOF as at 1.8 reversed it is ridiculously narrow.

Damn, I didn't figure that out when I tried the reverse macro - stopping down doesn't improve the mediocre max. magnification of the reversed 50mm lens, but it sure would improve the iq.

[agierke]

yup....but i never use reverse macro for true macro purposes. i only really use it to get a creative look for smaller type objects (like ring shots at a wedding). for true macro work i would never do the reverse technique.

[solargravity]

Wow thanks for the amazing conversation. I would love to see some of your shots with the 50. Please post and share some please. I'm so interested in what others do with this lens.

Erik
www.solargravity.com