Canon EF 50 f/1.4 IS in 2013 [CR2]

[LOALTD]

I don’t usually use this word but: what a bunch of haters!

I have been DREAMING about this lens since I got my first DSLR. 50mm is my favorite focal length; I shoot primarily landscape and adventure (mountaineering) photography. I’m not sure why everyone thinks you need a wide-angle to shoot things in the great outdoors, I shoot with a 50 f/1.4 about 90% of the time, everyone has their own style.

Some of my most iconic images are shot in pre-dawn light; we often start climbing hours before the sun comes up. At high altitude before sunrise, the light is gorgeous, changing quickly, and there is not much of it. There is no time to setup a tripod. I end up having to shoot at f/1.4 with 12k-25.6k ISO’s to get a non-blurred image, and by that point I consider the images pretty much unusable for professional applications. Having FOUR STOPS of IS would be HUGE for me, and allow me to get my ISO’s back down to manageable levels. This would also allow me to shoot basic star shots…hand-held!

This lens is truly a dream-come-true, and I will pre-order it as soon as it becomes available. Something I have NEVER done with a lens before.

I have been disgustingly disappointed with Canon bodies lately (as have most of you here) but I am very pleased with the way they’ve been handling lenses: fast primes with IS and small/light sizes. This is PERFECT for me, especially as I start to branch out more into videography.

Now if only they’d make a 24mm f/1.4 with IS…

 

[BL]

Do the new IS lenses have Hybrid IS??

i'm not quite sure if Hybrid IS would be useful in anything other than a macro lens. and even then, as an owner of the 100L, it's questionable how much a difference HIS really makes at 1:2 - 1:1 magnifications.

 

[Zv]

A non IS version that's cheap, hmmmm oh wait that already exists! Did you forget about the 50 1.8 plastic fantastic? So why would Canon make another cheap fifty? Makes perfect sense to me that they would add IS, in fact we should all just accept that Canon will put IS in all future non L primes.


For bargain hunters theres always the 40mm pancake!

 

[Marsu42]

Huh? the Canon 100mm 2.8 L is $900??????? The new 50mm IS should be around $700 or $800.

The 100L is regularly included in rebate programs ... any no way the 50/1.4IS will be only $800 no matter how "simple" it is to construct, imho it'll be at least $1000 for the versatility alone and because it's a great companion to the IS-less 24-70 lens(es). I hope Canon delivers and it's not 12/31/2013

 

[ahsanford]

As was stated before (but I shall echo)...

• This lens should have been expected by all of us. All the non-L primes seem to be getting modern updates with better build quality, internal focusing, USM and IS. I say almost in that F/1.4 and IS seems unlikely. Given that IS is a lock for a refresh (based on the others we've seen) I agree with those suggesting that it might be an F/1.8 IS or F/2 IS.
• Such a refresh will have IQ that rivals current equivalently stopped down L glass of that length.
• Four stops of IS for me is fricken wonderful. I rarely shoot moving things in low light, so four stops of IS is simply a huge win for what I do. I can net shots in even darker environments, or in environments I shoot in today, I can stop this thing down into its sweet spot and have the IS net sharper winners despite the longer shutter.
• In this focal length, as much as improved IQ is first on people's minds, improved AF is what I'm looking for. I have the venerable Canon 50 F/1.4, and though it (like the Canon 85mm F/1.8 ) is a stellar sharpness-per-dollar sort of lens, the focusing speed is simply two steps behind my L glass. If the 28 IS I recently purchased is any harbinger of things to come with this new 50, it should be a massive improvement over my old 50 F/1.4
• Am I the only who believes these mid-grade IS lenses are only setting a baseline for expectations for new L lenses? One would assume that once these mid-grades IS lenses are all released, bigger/nastier/heavier weather-sealed versions of each of them will be next. Such new L primes would be $2-3K, one would think.

- A

 

[Zlatko]

Typically, if I am shooting landscapes or other non moving or slow moving objects to want IS, i'm not shooting at f/1.4 or shooting way wider than 50mm.
....
IS is great for handheld video, landscapes (or other still objects), and telephoto lenses. The 50mm f/1.4 doesn't really fit any of these except video.

Everyone has their own needs & preferences. I think a 50/1.4 is great for video, landscapes, portraits, weddings, etc., and on a crop camera it is a short telephoto. And IS can help when using any f-stop and a slowish shutter speed. So if the light is low and you want a little more depth of field but don't have time for a tripod, IS can help make the shot. IS on small lenses is wonderful.

 

[Zlatko]

Looking at the other new primes, under $800 is a pipe dream.. If it stays at 1.4 and has IS, i'd suspect it will be just shy of $900. If its a 1.8 or a 2.0, then it may be under $800. But not if its as fast as 1.4

Keep in mind that the 28/2.8 IS was introduced at $800 and is $629 at the moment. That's a big price drop in a short time.

 

[Zlatko]

I don’t usually use this word but: what a bunch of haters!

I have been DREAMING about this lens since I got my first DSLR. 50mm is my favorite focal length; I shoot primarily landscape and adventure (mountaineering) photography. I’m not sure why everyone thinks you need a wide-angle to shoot things in the great outdoors, I shoot with a 50 f/1.4 about 90% of the time, everyone has their own style.

I agree, it is a dream lens! But with or without IS, a new 50/1.4 is long overdue and will be very welcome. That is an essential lens for many photographers, and the current one has much room for improvement, especially wide open and especially in the AF motor.

 

[DJL329]

f/1.4 AND IS? That's kind of a mind-boggling combo. One of these on a 5D3 would let you shoot a a portrait on a moonless night in Arizona!

... on horseback! ;D

 

[Woody]

As was stated before (but I shall echo)...

• This lens should have been expected by all of us. All the non-L primes seem to be getting modern updates with better build quality, internal focusing, USM and IS.
• Such a refresh will have IQ that rivals current equivalently stopped down L glass of that length.

- A

I will add ring-USM, not just any USM (which may include micromotor USM).

Another point to add to the above list: the new lenses are almost guaranteed to be smaller and lighter than the older equivalents. Canon may even trade-off aperture size just to have them lighter and smaller.

All in all, a brilliant strategy! It's what I've always wanted!

 

[roadrunner]

If this comes in at the guesstimated price ($800-$900) then I can't see them killing off the 50 1.4. That's just too much of a price gap in my opinion (And we all know how much Canon values my personal opinion). It would make more sense to me to introduce a 50 1.4 II along with the IS version to fill the gap. If they did that, IS version could be about $300-$400 more than the non-IS counterpart.

I love the idea of IS. It can never hurt to have in case you need it. I just don't know if I would be willing to pay the price premium required for it.

 

[Random Orbits]

If this comes in at the guesstimated price ($800-$900) then I can't see them killing off the 50 1.4. That's just too much of a price gap in my opinion (And we all know how much Canon values my personal opinion). It would make more sense to me to introduce a 50 1.4 II along with the IS version to fill the gap. If they did that, IS version could be about $300-$400 more than the non-IS counterpart.

I love the idea of IS. It can never hurt to have in case you need it. I just don't know if I would be willing to pay the price premium required for it.

Unless the f/1.8 is replaced with a f/1.8 IS, which would then slot in the 300-400 range...

 

[roadrunner]

Sure, that's a possibility too. Basically, as long as they fill that gap, I'm okaywith whatever they do. Though, I would think it would make more sense to use a lens they already designed (The new 1.4) rather than designing an entirely new 1.8 IS. Still, I'm open to whatever route they take. Heck, maybe it will drop the current 1.4 down to about $200 and I'll grab that instead.

 

[TrumpetPower!]

So, a bit of math.

w/o IS: 1/60s @ f/1.4 @ ISO 6400 = EV 1 => "Distant view of lighted skyline."

w/ IS: 1/4s @ f/1.4 @ ISO 6400 = EV -3 => "Night, away from city lights, subject under full moon."

@ ISO 25,600 = EV -5 => "Night, away from city lights, subject under crescent moon."

1/2s @ f/1.4 @ ISO 25,600 = EV -6 => "Night, away from city lights, subject under starlight only."

So, yes. With this, if you braced yourself well, you actually could take a handheld landscape picture of the Grand Canyon at midnight on a clear moonless night and have it be as well exposed as one under the noonday Sun. It'll be a bit noisy if you pixel peep, but an 8" x 10" print will be stunning. Indeed, you might even wind up overexposing the Milky Way if you're not careful!

(And, of course, you'll need not have anything in the foreground due to the shallow depth of field.)

God damn.

b&

 

[dhofmann]

A Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 IS USM, with ring USM, 9 aperture blades, sharpness exceeding the 24-70 II, and build quality equal to the 85mm f/1.8, would be awesome. The f/1.4 would suddenly become a niche item.

 

[mememe]

I dont think 50 1.4 IS will happen...

 

[EchoLocation]

I'm thinking a 50mm 1.4 IS will come in at around $999.99 at launch, if not $1149. About 6 months to a year later this lens will be around $899.99.
If Sigma can sell a 35mm 1.4 for $899, then I don't see why Canon would make a new featured fast prime for a price so many people seem to think is reasonable($800ish.) All the new lenses have been shockingly priced at first, and I believe this one will be too, thus $1000 bucks it will be.

 

[ddashti]

Where's the 12-24?

A lot of us are waiting for that lens from Canon, too...

 

[ahsanford]

A Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 IS USM, with ring USM, 9 aperture blades, sharpness exceeding the 24-70 II, and build quality equal to the 85mm f/1.8, would be awesome. The f/1.4 would suddenly become a niche item.

The build quality for this new lens will far surpass the non-L 85 prime.

The Digital Picture gent was surprised that the new IS 24 and 28 lenses didn't get a red ring -- they were that well built. I expect the 35 IS and this 50 IS to be similar.

My 28 IS is effectively the 100L macro for build quality, minus the weather sealing gasket.

- A

 

[Nishi Drew]

This far into the thread and I don't see a mention of the Sony 50mm f/1.8 OSS ??
That lens may not be FF -able but it already exists, this puts Canon behind if the 50 1.4 IS is supposed to be a jaw-droppingly amazing rumor. It's about time for a new mid-level 50, and I'm not against the IS, but that's if the IS isn't an excuse to as predicted, raise the price to an insane level. For the video market this makes sense, but shooting at 1.4 is very difficult to keep focus and just looks amateurish anyways, even IS won't help anyone with keeping focus. So you stop down to 2.8 and by then you're better off cost-wise to just get a 24-70, and so far only Tamron has a stabilized version. Or, move to a system with in-camera stabilization and you're g2g with all lenses....

This trend just proves Canon won't ever move to EVFs, guess Sigma and Tamron will continue to be the winners even with their own price jumps