A much needed upgrade is coming
A good source piped up today and said a new EF 50mm f/1.4 USM exists and is being tested. Release date is unknown.
Upgrades:
- Optical upgrade, but it’s not “L”
- Build upgrade. The current 50 f/1.4 from Canon is one of the most unreliable in the lineup.
- New USM
Along with the above, expect a nice price increase as well. Most likely above its Sigma counterpart.
cr
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Totally unexpected. I wonder how much the price will be?
In what sense is the current version unreliable? I haven’t heard anybody talking bad about this lens.
…and I also do not have to say anything bad about it. I wonder whether there are not other lenses where an update is far more desired (24-70 2.8, 35 1.4…).
I have the 1.4 and I love it. It has given me a great appreciation for fast primes. Won’t be worth the upgrade for me, as I am quite content with what I have. My next prime I have vowed to be an L lens.
I can see Canon having huge success with this though. I suppose they aim to take sales away from Sigma.
The 50mm 1.4 is an excellent lense, the first lense i got after my kit lense. The only problem I had with it was how the number of aperture blades made its bokeh a bit wonky for my tastes.
But I agree with the posts above me, there are bigger fish to fry at this point.
I own the current 50 f/1.4 and use it wide open almost exclusively. (I also own a 24-70 which I use much more than the 50.) Unlike Canon, Sigma understood this when they designed their 50 f/1.4, and I’m seriously considering replacing the Canon lens with the Sigma. Hopefully, Canon has designed the new lens with people like me in mind.
whyyyyyyyyyyy no 24-70 :(
I don’t buy it.
Besides for EF-S lenses, Canon hasn’t designed any non-L lenses for an eternity.
i dropped my 50mm 1.4 the other day and does not work now. it wasnt even that hard a fall and broken after one fall. it needs to be updated badly.
@Mr. E – think you’re confusing the 50mm f/1.8 with the f/1.4. The 1.8 has only 5 blades.
The 1.4 has a ring-type USM motor which makes a lot of noise and isn’t very fast.
The AF is known to get stuck. Soft plastic that is being bent by the AF mechanism.
Here’s a guide how to repair it yourself: http://www.fotomozaic.ro/artikel.php?idstory=225&s=1
Excellent! But I’m still glad I got the 50mm F1.2L
This is very unexpected. It’s not often that Canon releases a new non-L prime. However, this is GREAT NEWS! I have long feared the performance of the 50L and have serious reservations about the current 50 1.4. I tried it and found it very very soft on a full frame camera at anything below 2.8 which is why you would use a prime. It’s very sharp starting at 5.6, but this is not good enough.
Look forward to seeing this lens. I’d pay $600 or so for it.
OMG, I finally gave in a bought the Canon 50 1.4. I absolutely love it, but I still might be a little annoyed if it gets an update so soon.
My only complaints about the current version are the harsh fringing while wide open. The only thing that might get me to upgrade is if they add IS.
supposedly soft wide open and AF falling apart after a year of use
RE: The 1.4 has a ring-type USM motor which makes a lot of noise and isn’t very fast.
That’s the point – the current 50mm f/1.4 has a micromotor USM (NOT ring USM) and FTM is via a clutch. It’s quieter than the AFD motor in the cheap f/1.8 version, but not much faster. That clutch is also the cause of the AF issues. A 50mm f/1.4 with real ring USM and IQ on par with the Sigma version would be great.
What I heard (and experienced myself) is that the focusmotor tends to block very easily.
In my case it was just a small tap on the inner tube when it was fully extended, it blocked.. but was repaired under warranty.
Nevertheless, the 50mm f1.4 is one of my fav primes in my kit!
Great! This will be my next lens.
You might be waiting a loong time. In any case this lens will sell very well if it indeed does come to market.
it could be a great news
the 501.4 af sonic sucks
a new version could be cool
I’m pretty content with my 50mm 1.8 mkII. Sure it has issues but at $90 for a fast prime I’ll take it.
Yes!, there are selling them here: http://www.fotogrijpink.nl/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=458
Yes, sure, TYPO.
EF-S 15-70mm f/4.
I find the Zeiss 50mm f 1.4 to be the best, no auto focus but I really like it for Video SLR shooting. Super sharp with very nice contrast. Superb build quality and great foucs throw.
You have to be kidding right? IS on a F1.4 prime? NO! Why add cost and complexity when its not necessary? If you need the low light performance of IS, stop up to 2.8-1.4….
All that adding IS to a 1.4 lens is going to make image quality for a given price worse, or add to the cost for the same image quality, not to mention adding complexity that makes repairs costlier and the likelyhood of said repairs increase.
EF-S 15-70mm f/4 IS USM.
I have the 50 1.4 sure is a great performer :) on ff, the distinctive bokeh (though harsh) it has a nice looking image in my opinion.
on crop, its a bit soft… but I have to test this lens resolving power more on a 50 or 7D just to be sure… coz its pretty good on a 450D :)
If they will improve optical quality at 1.4 I will buy it. I have had the 50mm 1.8 for about 10 years and I am ready for an upgrade. I used the current 1.4 briefly and did not think it was worth the extra $$$ and weight.
That would be awesome. I have the 50 1.4 and I hate the fact that is misses focus from time to time. The price is nice but I would pay double to get a properly sharp one at 1.4 and reliable focus!
Let’s hope so.
Montreal and destination wedding photographer
I got mine once repaired because of the AF failure.
I also am very happy with my 50 mm 1.8mkII. Dropped the bag it was in, and it split into two.
After I managed to put it back toghether, AF still worked, whithout no micro AF adjustments needed. All Ok despite the new AF focus noise…
New rumor?
“Price increase … most likely above its Sigma counterpart”
It better be really really good if they’re going to price it above $500 (price of the Sigma 50/1.4). FWIW, the new Nikkor 50/1.4G sells for $440
Any info regarding front element size of this new lens?
Let’s campaign for another 5DmkII firmware update that includes this lens.
I have the 1.8 and would love to upgrade. The L is out of my price range – I’ve been debating the Sigma. Hopefully this new one is a big improvement. Can’t wait to see what it costs…
They should replace the other primes too, like the 35 f/2, its too expensive and doesnt compare to the nikon equivalent. Leave the 85mm alone, its great. New 28mm and 20mm primes also, their from 1987! Also new fisheye, its too old too!
lense?
It tends to break when you drop it on concrete. Seriously, the af mechanism is fragile, and a minor impact on the front of the lens can break it.
Canon has a flat fee to repair it of just under $100. So, its not a big deal if 1 in 1000 breaks, A sigma costs over $500, and many more have serious AF issues.
I don’t plan to upgrade mine. It doesn’t get enough use to justify a big $$ expense. When I do use it, it is very good, (not great) even wide open.
Last year when I went looking to buy a 50mm 1.4 I did lots of research…….my conclusion was the Canon 50 1.4 needs to be replaced, and I bought the Sigma 50 1.4.
Now I’m looking for a fast 85mm, and after renting both Canon 85 1.2 and Canon 85 1.8 I have concluded the 85.12 AF far too slow for my type of photography, and the 85 1.8 needs to be replaced, and since I have a 70-200 2.8 IS, going to a 85 1.8 just does not seem like a big enough move in aperture.
So now I’m looking forward to trying the Sigma 85 1.4. I was able to try the Sigma 85 1.4 at WPPI this month, and AF was very fast…..left the Conan 85 1.2 AF in the dust.
IS may be useful when you temporarily need DOF in low-light and are on a “single lens” journey.
But the most important reason for me is to have stabilization in video mode (with a VERY shallow DOF).
Alternate spelling
A fool and his money.
Is the EF 70-300mm in 2005 the last non-L EF lens they did? The last non-L EF prime may have been the 28mm in 1995.
According to SLR-Gear–who tested a bunch of EF 50mm f/1.4 primes recently–the new lenses are better than the old lenses, even though there was no change in the model number. It would probably be wrong to think that a lens has not improved over the years just because there was no new official release. The way the lens elements are produced, coated and mounted has probably advanced little by little without many people noticing it.
I have the current 50mm 1.4 and wide open it is acceptably sharp, I wonder what improvements the new one will have in terms of focusing ability and silent USM?
Did Sigma give any indication about when the 85 f/1.4 would be available and its price?
My 35mm f/2 was a dog wide open: it had the full-on soft focus effect. I sent it back to Canon and they replaced the front element under warranty. It’s so sharp now I have to way chain-mail gloves when handling it. Sometimes the lens is just a dud.
IS would be awesome, but it would add $200-300 to the MSRP. The thought of having a lens at f1.4 with 4 stops of IS is amazing.
We are thinking about it
Not sure when, but we have inside info that the new FW for the 5D mk II will ‘flash’ old 50’s to the new 50’s specifications
Can’t be sure; this is what was in a build we have seen. If this does not make it into the final FW, don’t blame us
I hate paragraphs
I write like this because I like people looking at me.
What a downer. I was going to get the 24-70, but its on the death watch list. Was looking at the 50 f/1.4 for a pickup before June; now its on the short term death list.
no the ef-s are the worse canon mistake
What’s wrong with the L?
It’s about time!
Within that price range, if I had a choice between the Zeiss 50mm 1.4 and Canon 50mm 1.2, I’d still take the 1.2 due to the AF option if I need it at events.
Still the 50mm 1.2 build sure as hell feels more solid than the 1.4 and the focus ring a bit smoother, but other than 4x the cost, it’s tough to justify.
I am not fully sure of the issue, but I vaguely read some where that IS was not recommended for video due to some skipping of frames or some type of related issue?
+1. I love my 50mm 1.4, but if it was killah sharp at 1.4, or even 1.8 I’d love it more…..
It happened to me, 50mm f1.4 face down on concrete, the auto focus system got damaged and I was getting charged around us$200 for the motor replacement plus labor, so I just use it as a manual lens, the autofocus on this lens is not that great, so I don’t miss it that much, I’m getting a Zeiss 50 1.4
Why is that so? How else would APS-C cameras achieve wide or ultrawide focal lenghts? EFS 10-22, EFS 17-55 amd EFS 15-85 are fine pieces of glass, although the latter is a bit overpriced.
EFS 15-70/4 IS USM would be awesome standart lens for many users. I’d even be satistfied with 15-60/4 IS USM if that matters…
This lens is 17 years old. Exactly the update that I was waiting for. But the disappointment is the last line that you mentioned it is even more expensive that the Sigma one!
+1000
I think a re-release of the 50 f/1.4 would do very well, providing it offers up a reasonable price-performance ratio. to me, that’s the key thing that makes the existing 50 such a great lens; it’s very accessible and overall a great performer
if mine did break, I think I would rather shell out for a 50 f/1.4 II rather than the 50 f/1.2 L
Well.. the fact that even the 50mm f/1.8 is sharper stopped down (f/2.8 and narrower) than the 50mm f/1.2L.
And the fact that it costs 4 times the f/1.4 while offering little or no extra image quality (it’s more rugged of course, so if you need f/1.2 or weather sealing, you’ll have to pony up)
doesn’t mean they can’t start now. it seems a bit untenable to expect full frame users to either have to shell out for L lenses or buy 20-year-old designs, no?
maybe Canon is that cold-hearted but in actuality I don’t see that sort of thinking helping their bottom line anyway. they’ve upgraded loads of the L glass and L primes, now would be a good time for the upgrades to start trickling down.
the 50 f/1.4 is a particularly good choice for a redesign because its sale volume is high and will remain high. wonder if the 35 f/2 will get an update finally as well
Nothing leaves ME in the dust! Hur hur hur!
yeah it’d be great for taking motion blurred kiddie snaps
Don’t knock it till you try it..
But nonstandard, to say the least.
I’ve had my 50/1.4 for 7 years now. It’s not used all the time, only when 50mm is the right focal length or low light.
But the decision to purchase was because for the price, there was nothing else to compare, so I didn’t even need to worry about image capture performance.
If it becomes as or more expensive than other offerings, I couldn’t be as blind about the purchasing decision and could easily find myself with another manufacturer’s lens in that case.
Same here. I don’t think the new version is worth upgrading from the present 50mm f/1.4.
If it performs well, however, it stands a good chance of becoming a commercial success.
Let’s hope that this is the start of a series of upgrades of the non-L prime series. They can ALL use a bit of TLC.
A 35mm is on my shopping list, and I have been eyeing the Zeiss ZE. If they made a 35mm f1.2L, then the 35mm f/2 would not have to be “downgraded” so much in order to protect the sales of the more expensive product with the larger profit margin.
A 35mm f/2.0 or f/1.8 with USM and the build quality of the present 85mm f/1.8 would be very nice…
I have the Mark I 50 f1.8 and am still very happy with it for the price I paid. The lens is at least 21 years old (I believe they stopped making the mark I in 1989) and produces nice images on my 50D.
The way I see it the problem with old design lenses is more often with AF speed and noise and not always image quality. Some old lenses do benefit greatly from new designed optics but not necessarily all.
With the exception of L lenses seems odd to me that Canon would put much R&D into improved optics for a prime lens. But I could and often have been wrong.
The 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM from March 2000… almost exactly 10 years ago.
How can they expect many sales with a product line where the MOST RECENT design is 10 years old.
What other high-tech industry can afford that? TV? Computers? Audio? Automobile?
I hope the autofocus gets redone. I think that is my biggest qualm about the current version.
I used my 50 1.4 this morning, and it worked great. I love the IQ on the lens. But if anything is done I hope the autofocus and the bokeh get a little upgrade.
I sincerely hope they DO NOT put IS into the 50mm f/1.4. It completely defeats the purpose of a compact, lightweight, fast prime.
IS for f/1.4 would probably double the size, weight and price of the lens. Good luck with trying to sell that.
:DDDDDDDD
My 35 f/2 was great as well. I still prefer my 35L as it is sharp starting at f1.8 and f/1.4 in a pinch. Wider aperture for me is always better and offers more creative freedom. However, I don’t want to pay for it if it is mostly unusable.
Expected. It is time to kill off the micro-USM motor.
Non-standard like starting a sentence with “but”?
Keeping to midsumer primes, a 24 2.8 USM upgrade would be most welcome — the current version dates back to 1988, as I recall.
Couldn’t understand your logic. True, IS will not help for motions in low light, but for still subjects in low light it is extremely useful. Imagine the new opportunities that you can hand-held your f1.4 lens at 1/6s but still get sharp photos…
It’s acceptable English to start a sentence with ‘but’. And also with ‘and’.
I wonder how is the bokeh of Sigma compare to 85L? That is the most important aspect for a portrait lens to me.
“The current 50 f/1.4 from Canon is one of the most unreliable in the lineup.”
Surely not.. I have not yet seen a 1.4 fall apart when gently hitting its hood unlike a 1.8…
That’s a very silly set of numbers that does not make sense in any way.
“It tends to break when you drop it on concrete.”
Yeah, unlike other lenses that just bounce back. Seriously. How silly of Canon.
I hope Canon delivers on the 50mm F1.4
I had two of these lens and ending up selling the brand new replacement as sson as I got it.
Bought my first one new in May 2009 and did notice a focus issue. Would focus up to 3 feet fine and then as the distance increase so did the front focus.
Sent it into to Canon 2 times and it was the same, beter but still off.
On the 3rd time they exchanged the lens, I tested it as I got it and it was still off that I had to MA the lens about 6 on a 50D and 5D II body that I had canon calibrate the focus.
I lisited it for sale with canon proof that it wa snew with the original servic eorder so the buyer had 8 months warranty left.
All my other lens are fine on my camera’s.
The few pictures that I took was pretty sharp at F1.4 to 1.8
Well for me, the 50mm f/1.4 has never been reliable in low light situations. In AF mode it cannot focus, and keeps hunting. And of the 3 cameras I own, its not the body.
The 50mm f/1.4 AF does well in bright light situations.
That might be the unreliability they’re speaking of. Otherwise, I love the bokeh and the IQ from a sharp image. Its a beautiful lens for most reasons.
As an amateur photographer, I’ve been really happy with the 50 f/1.8 II. To be honest, my only qualms are the lack of real focusing ring and the way it looks. I mean, sure it doesn’t focus, it makes a lot of noise, it feels like a kid’s toy and all that. But the picture quality is very very good. I even kind of like the ‘bad’ bokeh it has.
Once this comes out, I’m hoping the 50mm will break down so I have a good reason to buy it.
This sounds familiar except I’m on the first one. Focused fine a few feet in front of me then front focused on anything further. Didn’t fix it on the first time I sent it in. I don’t think they did anything to it. Second time I sent it in, they seemed to correct it for the most part but I still never feel the autofocus is all there. I will definitely be getting the Mark II if it comes out.
“It tends to break when you drop it on concrete.”
That is the most ridiculous thing i’ve read this month.
As opposed to other lenses that do not break when you drop them on concrete?
Well you can always turn IS off. Personally I find IS very helpful when shooting video.
I’ve spoken with someone who has 50/1.4 with an in-body IS system (Sony). He likes it a lot. The ultimate low-light machine.
I haven’t played with 60/2.8 IS macro or 100/2.8L IS macro. Those who have it say they like the IS.
I doubt if Canon is going to add IS to the 50/1.4. It’d be nice if they did, though. My only hesitation is that it’ll be an excuse to jack up the price.
The comment about breaking when it drops might seem a little funny, but I also found that the 50/1.4 was more fragile than any of my other lenses:
I dropped my padded camera bag (containing my camera with attached zoom lens, a number of extra lenses, and stuff) a distance of less than a foot onto a wood floor, and I HEARD A LOUD POP! My camera and attached lens were perfectly fine, but that popping sound had come from my 50/1.4, as the glass elements had popped loose from the body of the lens! Both lens caps were attached, but there were loose lens elements rattling around. The glass didn’t break, but the lens totally came apart. None of my other lenses were damaged. Fortunately, Canon was able to repair it to be as good as new.
Besides this fragility, the only other complaint I have about the 50/1.4 is that it doesn’t focus in low light nearly as well as other “fast” lenses do.
About time.
Now, how about 35 f/2 USM, 24-70 f/2.8L IS USM and 14-24 f/4L USM?
OK. I”ve tried it, and I’ll knock it. A guy who assists me from time to time rented one for a week and we both took about 1000 shots each with it.
Very good optically, but NOWHERE NEAR amazing enough to justify an extra grand. Buy this one if you have the bucks and like pretty neck jewelry with red trim, but not if you have to justify it with a business case.
I contacted Sigma for additional info for a blog post I just did.
They would not be specific, but said they were aiming for June release. I was also curious how size and weight compared to both Canon’s and Nikon’s fast 85mm’s, but they would not divulge that info at this time. (Doesn’t seem like size and weight should be a state secret.)
They also told me the lens would NOT be compatible with a 1.4X teleconverter, which shattered my dreams of a two-in-one replacement for 85mm f/1.2 and 135mm f/2.0.
That’s interesting. I’ve heard of Micromotor USM but didn’t really know what it was. Does the 100mm f/2.0 have the same system?
I owned the 50mm f/1.4 and the 100mm f/2.0 until about 2003, but sold them as I began to migrate to zooms. One reason I was not sorry to see them go is that they both needed a clean and check about every 18 months because the manual focus would begin to feel gritty and sticky. This wrecked over $100.00 per lens per instance. Not fun.
Could this have been due to the micromotor USM? I was considering getting another 100mm f/2.0 on the current rebate, because while it would still be handy, I would use it less and hopefully not need to send it in as often. But if this is a known problem with micromotor USM, I’ll pass and hope for an update later.
By the way, I never had any other failure with either of these lenses. If manual focus had stayed smooth, I’d still be using them today.
>> almost exactly 10 years ago.
How does it suck?
I dropped my 50 about four inches onto a carpeted concrete floor. The lens stopped focusing. Canon fixed it and it’s been mechanically flawless since then. Optically, however, it has never been sharp until f/2.8.
Have you taken a look at the still life photos of the 50 f/1.4 Sigma on SLR-Gear? They look horrible at f/1.4, worse than the Canon. Their written review, however, says that the Sigma is sharper than the Canon wide open. I’ve asked them to recheck the Sigma and they’ve agreed, but without giving a timetable.
Together with my 5DmkII its a crappy lens. Its slow focus and not always spot on.
I do love the speed and bokeh! You really fall in love with f1.4. But its not such a good build compared to L material.
I hope they speed it up alot!
When i use my 50, i am basically at iso 1600 shutter speeds close to 1/5th.
I would love an IS fast prime
There are various statistic around the web that supports my claim, as well as my relationship with repair depots.
The issue with the lens is the AF motor.
I’d like a 24-70 f/2.8 IS, 35 1.2 L, and 100-400 f/4-5.6 IS.
Add them to the list of things I still need (cough) want to buy.
House
Car
Mac
New Epson
Must win lottery.
The 100 f/2.0 is the twin of the 85 f/1.8, so no it has ring USM.
Yeah I agree that it does seem much more fragile than the other lenses. For example, I had a 50 f1.8 which I kept at the top of a shelf in a cupboard. Opened the door one day and it rolled out, dropped a good 1.5m to the floor and it will fine except for mark on the plastic side. Autofocus and all worked perfectly fine.
I was thinking the 1.4 needed to be upgraded for a long time, wish it was an L too(full sealing).
I’m fed up with the whole ‘IS = twice the size and weight” thing. Please take a look – make that a hard look – at the 70-200 zooms. Same size, 50 extra grams for the IS versions. The only thing that would increase is the price…
So much whinning here… Just take a look at the efs15-85-if this is any indication the new 50 f1.4 will be top notch and have srp of $500. You can take that to the bank.
mine did broke 3 times , the sonic af :(
140€ for each repair
i don’t think the aps-c 1.6 will have long life
i guess in the future we will have full frame and 1.3
just a matter of time
canon will built full frame and 1.3 @ low price in the future
after you can throw away your efs
I would also like an update to the 50 f/1.4
Here’s hoping the 1.4 isn’t L-class build quality as this will keep the price down
Nifty-50s bigger brother is in need of a nip ‘n’ tuck!
Don’t fear the 50 1.2! I did until recently. Mine is built nov 2009 and its great – you cannot compare it with my 50 1.4 especially at f stops < 2.8 (ie. wide open). The ONLY down side is the CA wide open, which is easily fixed afterwards & the price. Can shoot steady images down to 1/10th sec & consistently down to 1/20 sec on the new 5D. It's weight & shape (not round near the camera body) really helps & is well balanced. As a bonus, it's excellent at f8 for landscapes etc. Build improved from the 135 f2 & optics don't disappoint. Recommend using the Eg-s focus screen for tricky (low contrast where you want it) focus situations, as the desired depth of field can be very shallow, then it's the easiest lens to manually fine tune. NB. back focus has NOT been a problem, as per some reviews.
I’ve been Jonesing for this update this since reading DPReview’s review of Sigma’s new 50mm.
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/sigma_50_1p4_c16/
Unfortunately, cost sounds like it’s going to go up significantly.
That’s my plan. Don’t go stealing my ideas!
From elsewhere on this site:
15mm f/2.8 fisheye — Apr. 1987
20mm f/2.8 — Jun. 1992
24mm f/2.8 — Nov. 1988
28mm f/2.8 — Apr. 1987
28mm f/1.8 — Sept. 1995
35mm f/2.0 — Oct 1990
50mm f/1.8 II — Dec. 1990
50mm f/1.4 — Jun. 1993
85mm f/1.8 — Jul. 1992
100mm f/2.0 — Oct. 1991
You are comparing apples and oranges.
Please take a hard look at the 70-200 IS and non-IS construction, for example in the Canon Lens Works, and then compare that to the construction of the 50mm f/1.4.
The IS group takes up space – there is plenty of air between the lenses in the 70-200, but hardly any in the 50. Take a look at the thickness of the IS group in the 70-200 (lens works) and compare that to the whole 50mm. Even without allowing for extra space to put the IS group in the optimum position relative to the sensor and other optical elements, the lens would have to be significantly bigger.
IS is in the rear part of the lens, so the max. aperture matters much more than the focal length. Therefore the IS group in the f/1.4 50mm will have to be twice the diameter (2 f-stops) of that in the f/2.8 in the 70-200. That makes it 4x the volume, and 4x the weight.
4x50g = 200g is getting very close to the weight of the present 50mm f/1.4 (290g) – that is 60% more, sorry I was grossly exaggerating.
BTW, I have chosen the 70-200 _with_ IS, because for that lens IS makes a lot of sense, without many drawbacks besides the price.
If you are so fed up, why don’t you come up with an optical design that has the same size and weight as the present 50mm f/1.4 but includes IS?
Any chance of it being weather proofed? I know these come only with the L brand but I’m just saying.
It would be nice if they simply had that rubber sealing thing on the mount. And also came with a hood.
Mantra you are a gimp!
Be quiet
A telling you all it will be an EF-S 15-70mm f/4 IS USM.
do u think i’m insane?
well this is what a canon supervisor told me
it did not tell when canon will stop to make the 1.6
but come on , did you tried the 1.3 sensor or the full format?
the 1.3 is outstanding
just matter of time , canon will soon produce sensor 1.3 in large production
In my case, the focus failed twice, and in neither case was it dropped on concrete. The first instance was shooting night street scenes in Viet Nam – it just stopped focusing. The second (a year later) was while on assignment at a basketball game while taking tight shots of the coach – it just stopped working. If it breaks a third time, I will not send it back but buy the new lens.
I might add that the upgrade to USM is good – the current lens focuses too slow for sports.
They should start producing 645 format sensors soon too. Bigger sensors are good. Technology can improve the smaller sensors, sure, maybe to limits we have yet to see or imagine. But wouldn’t the same improvements also apply to bigger sensors?
We could pool our resources and still come out better than the average Joe or Jane.
The 50 1.4 is delicate, and soft wide open.
With a bit of Googling, you will find *many* complaints of a broken focusing system. The focus mechanism uses a plastic sleeve with spiral grooves. If the lens take a modest impact to the front, the grooves are easily distorted in a way that causes the pins to jam in the grooves. It happened to me. Fortunately, I was able to use the excellent procedure (linked earlier in the thread) to repair it. I’m now a lot more careful with it.
Regarding softness, try this experiment( if your body has live view). In live view with camera on a tripod, focus on something with detail and use live view’s zoom. Then vary the aperture from 1.4 to 2.8 and notice how dramatically it sharpens up. My 70-200 2.8 IS and 17-55 2.8 EF-S don’t show nearly as much degradation wide open. I got my 50 1.4 primarily for low-light shooting (along with shallow DOF subject isolation)— wide-open (or close to it)— but its softness has me using it less and less.
I’d be very interested in an update if it were notably sharper. Greater durability and true ring-type USM would be a bonus.
I love this lens but just sent mine an hour ago to the service. It has the typical focusing problem. I agree with those who wrote that it is more fragile then other lenses. I guess Canon won’t repair mine for free since the warranty period is over, even if I wrote them that this is a general problem.
to get around the possibility of a front impact damaging the AF of the lens i never remove the hood
simple yet effective
shame the lens is slow to focus and somewhat soft wide open
still, it is an old design
mines a decade old and has always worked perdectly.
it’s ignorant end user error. the lens is just fine.
Indeed. As well, this is conversational writing, not paragraph writing.
how can you comment on a product that doesn’t exist yet?
Nut a new lense with improved optics wood Bee nise!
Trator
for 18 million pixels? know your market.
$1699 L or commob sense would be better than complaining about ignorance of a perfectly fine lens.
finally someone with brains made a post!
2 smart people so far…
common sense here buddy.
f/1.8!
what are all you people ameteures?!
good choice
Actually, Canon has been continuously making their sensors smaller (except their 35mm sensors, which have grown slightly).
EOS D60, EOS 10D – 22.7 x 15.1mm
EOS 20D, EOS 30D – 22.5mm x 15.0 mm
EOS 40D, EOS 50D, EOS 7D – 22.2 x 14.8mm (the latter two claim an extra 0.1mm on each axis; however, the above measurement is the closest 3:2 ratio)
EOS-1D, EOS-1D Mark II, EOS-1D Mark II N – 28.7 x 19.1mm
EOS-1D Mark III – 28.1 x 18.7mm
EOS-1D Mark IV – 27.9 x 18.6mm
Nah. Too many CanonRumors visitors.
I’ve been waiting for this upgrade. Hope it happens – soon.
This problem is mostly solved by adding the hood. Sure, it’s an extra $30, but it gets rid of most of the vunlerability by shading the fragile “inner tube” (this isn’t irected at you, but just a general comment).
By straight extrapolation – although the >10y gap does not make that easy.
The optical quality of the mid-range lenses is already quite good. I do not expect that to become any worse.
And I have specified that I would like “USM and the build quality of the present 85mm f/1.8”.
So IF these factors all come together, then the end result is very likely rather nice.
But until it comes to market all remains speculation.
It has been time to kill off the non-USM micro motors for quite a while… not that Canon cared.
The hood you can always buy later. Weathersealing is more difficult to add on…
Anyways, given the 10 year gap, it is possible that Canon will “reinvent” the middle segment and target it more towards the 7D-level customers. The 7D is somewhat weatherproof, but not at the 1D level.
If the new lens followed that direction (and if it was the starting point of a new mid-range series of lenses) that would be nice!
Well, just a bit… but you’re not alone, that canon supervisor keeps you good company! :-)
I don’t know if they should, but sure they won’t for the forseeable future. Which lenses should allow you to cover such a large image circle? Not the current canon ef lineup…
Hope this coming 50 1.4 II featured 9 rounded aperture blades. :D
so we don’t need to look for the sigmalux.
That’s not cool. I’ve only had mine for a month or so. Guess only time will tell whether or not this thing holds up for me.
Don’t rise your hopes too high, if Canon makes the 50mm f/1.4 any better than it is now they’ll kill their 50 f/1.2L I don’t expect this upgrade before they upgrade 50 f/1.2L and make it sharp wide open (like the 85mm f/1.2L Mk2) and eliminate the focus shift. Then a new f/1.4 will make sense.
My 50mm f1.4 has been rock solid for over 4 years,
I’m not sure what’s going to change other than a higher price.
that sounds really boring, zooms are boring and ef-s is even more boring
We can hope.
35 f2 II
50 f1.4 II
85 f1.8 II
Funny…I never have any plm with my 50/1.4. :-)
@Casten
Yes exactly. It would be nice if it came with 1D class weather sealing but like you said, something towards the 7D would be very nice. I used to shoot NIKON and even the AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm F1.8G (which I believe is one of nikon’s cheapest lenses) had that rubber ring around the mount. (I don’t know how much weather sealing it had on the lens itself but worked fine under rainy conditions)
I second that! New USM and it would be perfect:)
LOL:)
The one tha needs a serious rebuild is the EF 50 1.8 II, biggest plastic piece of junk ever!!!!
Yeah, the best value money for lens ever.
No my D700 is the best nikon coolpix eva!
I dropped my 16-35 ii onto concrete, the filter smashed, but I sent the lens to have the filter removed and for a service and was told it checked out fine!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/deblur/4415717192/
if he was creditable he never would have made that statement and suevived it! yhat lens is very reliable at it’s price point.
just some guy and his uneducated opinion.
anyone can register a domain these days cr guy just got lucky, he has no notoriety. just another fan boy who never made it in the real world
bingo!
Tractor?
I’ve banged on Google for some time now on the question of which lens AF’s with which motor. It is surprisingly difficult to find this out. Canon does not show this in their specs page.
Amazon.com, however, lists the 100mm f/2.0 as having “Micro USM”, while the 85mm f/1.8 is show as having “Ring type.”
Still not entirely sure what to believe.
I had a motor break in my lens, it wouldnt autofocus. I did nothing that I am aware to cause the problem. Canon did fix it, as it was still under warranty.
I’m pleased to learn the Canon 50mm f1.4 is being
re-designed. I love the glass in it but in the 30 years
I’ve been a photographer, I’ve never owned such
a poorly built lens.
Thank you Canon! I hope you will repair or upgrade
my current Canon 50mm f1.4 for free. I never knew
a lens could be damaged so easily. Had I, I would not
have bought it. I assumed (my mistake) that Canon’s
reputation was so respected that I didn’t need to
concern myself with questioning the quality of their
products.
For those of you who don’t know here are URLs:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/canon_50mm/discuss/72157603775874649/
http://www.fotomozaic.ro/artikel.php?idstory=225&s=1
http://www.flickr.com/groups/canon_50mm/discuss/72157623037580068/
Thanks
– ennis
You can find the size information of Sigma 85mm F/1.4 on this page: http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/news/100222_85_14_ex_dg_hsm.htm
A better (more detailed) review of this lenses can be found here: http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/392-sigma_50_14_canon
I can’t see any bad things on the wide open end (F1.4 -2) from the sample photos.
So with the release of the EF 50 f/1.4 II, will there be any chance of the old version being marked down? I am new to DSLRs, but I have been thinking of buying the 50 f/1.4 for a while now. If the release of a new version would drop the price of the old any I think I will wait.
you haven’t heard much then!
The lens build sucks! The AF is crazy imprecise, not that fast, is sometimes broken straight out of the box and not uncommonly breaks after a only a couple years of modest usage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So many similar comments all over the net and just in general in person discussions with other Canon users.
I think he was just being silly. The fact is it breaks very easily, even if never dropped. Everyone I know who has had the lens has had it break within three years! My first copy had sticky clutch out of the box and my next copies all went bad in 2-3 years. The lens has the worst build ever to the point they could almost be in danger of class action. The clutch-USM design is horrible. This is the only lens that has ever had such a design.
The Mechanism is hideously imprecise for an f/1.4 lens as well. Even after calibration it still needs a differet MFA at different distances to subject, as well.
and for the record i’ve never spoken with anyone in person who has had the AF fail on any other lens ever even lenses 15-20 years old. And yet every person I’ve spoken to in person who has ever had the 50 1.4 has had the AF break!!!! It’s a scam design!!!
“Don’t rise your hopes too high, if Canon makes the 50mm f/1.4 any better than it is now they’ll kill their 50 f/1.2L I don’t expect this upgrade before they upgrade 50 f/1.2L and make it sharp wide open (like the 85mm f/1.2L Mk2) and eliminate the focus shift. Then a new f/1.4 will make sense.”
I tend to agree. Canon is in a difficult spot because the 1.2L is not that great. I think they would be best off doing both at the same time.
The other alternative is to make the 1.4 an excellent lens, just below L glass, but then double the price. I’m not keen on that either.
I just bought the 50 1.4 TWO weeks ago (used, mint). It is my very favourite lens, it is a “sharp” copy, but when I pixel-peep, I get more depressed.
The Micro USM very similar to 1.8 II AF except quiet. Really often it slightly back-focuses on my 450D. Dang! I use slow Live View when I can’t have that. The chromatic aberration (purply) <f/2.8 and softness <f/2.0 is true. But the AF is terrible. So I Definitely wish for a better lens!
I almost wanted to switch cameras to use Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm F1.4G which has much better AF results, but worse bokeh.
I just want to know from cr folks: should I re-sell mine immediately before the 1.4 II pressrelease and 1.4 pricedrops, or the price won't drop?
Have been using this lens for about 6 months and already have problems with the manual focus ring, before had f/1.8 – no complaints, yeah it’s cheap built, but it was working!
Hope there would be a new one coming… Better built-quality is needed…
This may offer some proof:
http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_171467_-1
The lens direct from that canon website is on “backorder”…
Just like your “good source” had on the 1.2.0 firmware for the 7d lol…
Seems like it’s not on backorder anymore :P. Maybe I will win the lottery then have no regrets with my current 50 1.4
I really hope this is on its way more than any of the other lenses on the poll above.. Everyone should own a 50mm,But a decent one at least.. This upgrade is badly needed..I tried 4 copies of this lens in a camera shop and it put me off the way it was really soft wide open on all of them..I have had 3 50mm 1.8 mk II’s and they all have had fantastic detail wide open…
Hurry the hell up Canon and listen to what people want and just do it..
The 14-24mm L would be lovely in 2.8.
:)