[Kombisaurus]

A nice little package arrived for me today in the form of a new lens; the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM.
I've previously owned the very popular and cheap EF 50mm f/1.8 II, but recently gave it to my mum to encourage her to expand her horizons. I bought the 50mm f/1.4 USM to replace the hole it left in my kit.


1. Here's what the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM looks like. It's bigger and heavier than its sibling, the EF 50mm f/1.8 II, but still a nice compact lens.

There's no denying the superb image quality (when stopped down a bit and focused correctly) and value for money that comes with the el-cheapo 50mm f/1.8 II, so many people including myself have questioned if the much more expensive f/1.4 USM lens is actually worth the extra expense.
And for me, the simple answer appears to be "Definately".


2. What's not to like about this lens? (50mm, f/2.2, 100 ISO, 1/100th sec)

Since I have a couple of other fast primes with great IQ, the numerous shortcomings of the 50mm 1.8 lens have lead me to reach for something wider or longer to use instead of the 50mm when the situation calls for a fast prime. The lens ended up gathering dust instead of getting used simply because I didn't feel like I could depend on it. It doesn't matter how cheap or "good value" a lens is, if it doesn't get used then its a waste of money.
So while I was very happy to get an extra 2/3 stop of light from the new lens (f/1.4 vs f/1.8), the main reason for the upgrade was to get a lens I could rely on and use the same way I use my 135mm f/2L (ie shoot it wide open and just know the focus will be fast and accurate, every time). Admittedly the EF 50mm f/1.4 falls a bit short of the EF 135mm f/2L in this regard, but it walks rings around the 50mm f/1.8 (and Sigma 28mm f/1.8 EX as well FWIW).

Quite apart from any optical differences between the two lenses, the 1.4 is a total joy to use when compared to the 1.8. Its solidly build and the autofocus is silent, fast and accurate (compared to noisy, slow, and inaccurate). There is also full-time manual focus which the 1.8 doesn't have.

And when it comes to optics, well its a given that both lenses are superb when stopped down. I suspect that I didn't have a great copy of my 1.8 lens and that I do have a good copy of this 1.4 lens, but whatever the case, this lens is great when shooting wide open. Even when shooting at f/1.4 it is perfectly usable and sharper than my old lens was at f/1.8 (which was basically unusable). At 1.8 it is fantastic, and at 2.2 and beyond it is sublime. The bokeh is also beautiful (although unlike many others, I didn't mind the bokeh of the 1.8). The colours and contrast also have a magic about them. Apparently the 1.4 has a touch of barrel distortion and is a bit softer in the corners than the 1.8... but I haven't noticed anything so far.


3. Lovely bokeh and sharp wide-open (50mm, f/1.8, 100 ISO, 1/80th sec)

If you already own a 50mm f/1.8 II and you're perfectly happy with it then I can't think of any reason to "upgrade" to this lens. But if, like me, you find the f/1.8 II frustrating to use... then this lens is a breath of fresh air. While not perfect, so far I'm very happy with it in every respect. Its the nicest non-L lens I've used.
And as soon as you start comparing it to other lenses (not the 50mm f/1.8 II) then you'll soon realise it isn't that expensive either.

And finally I tried the old "reversed-mount macro" trick which works so well with 50mm lenses. I don't have a reverse-mount adapter, so I simply manually stopped-down the lens and removed it while holding down the "DOF preview" button and then reversed it and held it in place with my hand.


4. This lens is by no means a macro lens, but when you use the "reverse-mount" trick you can use it as one. (50mm, f/8, 400 ISO, 1/160th sec).