50mm - 1.8 or 1.4 ????

WesVFX · Mar 23, 2010

I'm sure it's been asked before, don't see how it couldn't. But my search didn't really give me results.

I know the 50mm is sort of a "must have" in your lens line-up, so I'm leaning towards it being my first lens purchase.

I guess my question is "justification"

Tell me about the two lenses... is it worth it to fork out the extra for the 1.4?

bitteraspects · Mar 23, 2010

it really depends on your needs and your budget.

IME, the 1.4 isabsolutely worth the extra money. you get a much better build quality, faster AF, and better low light performance. the build quality alone is worth the money. ive had a couple of 1.8s break on me.
but the 1.8 is still by far the best budget lens.
if youre looking at add a lens to your collection, but dont have much to spend, the 1.8 is a good start. but if you can afford it, i would highly suggest the 1.4

WesVFX · Mar 23, 2010

yea this place is the cheapest I've been able to find the 1.4 so far in my search... I must say I'm leaning towards it. It'd be nice to just buy one and not worry about it falling apart. But I do take really good care of my equipment so....

$339 - No Tax, Free Shipping...
EF 50mm f1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras at Central Digital

WesVFX · Mar 23, 2010

I found this review that was pretty helpful as well...

1.4 vs. 1.8
Canon EF 50mm – F1.4 vs F1.8 MK II - photo.net

jackieclayton · Mar 23, 2010

if this is your first lens purchase, just try it out and buy the 1.8 for less money... you could always sell it later for nearly what you paid for it if you figure out you need a bit faster lens...

ghache · Mar 23, 2010

I got the 1.8 50mm couple weeks ago and i love it, i did not had the chance to try the 1.4 because it was over my budjet, but in low light, so far i am very happy with it, and for 130 bucks you cant go wrong. i sold my af-s 35mm to get the 50mm, 35mm focal lenght was not doing it for me.

epp_b · Mar 23, 2010

I have the f/1.8 because I really don't need f/1.4. The 50/1.8 is just too cheap and too good a lens not to have.

Hamtastic · Mar 23, 2010

WesVFX said:
...not worry about it falling apart.http://www.centraldigital.com/Product/?10567853&l=Froogle

I have both. The f/1.8 is obviously a cheaper build, but much of it is cosmetic. No amount of build quality is going to keep the glass from cracking if it hits something hard enough. You don't have to worry about the cheaper 50 falling apart. I've dropped and bashed mine plenty of times. It still works fine.

Dao · Mar 23, 2010

The Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 MKII. This lens is the best bang for the buck lens in Canon line up. But it has limitations. If you are fine with the limitations, it is a good lens. (As least for the price)

Thess are the limitations I know so far when compared with the F/1.4 version.

1. Build quality. The lens is not well built. But it doesn't mean it will fall apart anytime soon as long as you take good care of it.
2. Less shutter blades. The F/1.4 version has more shutter blades so it create a better out of focus background type shots than the F/1.8 version. (8 blades vs 5 blades)
3. Slower AF speed. The F/1.4 version is a USM lens so the AF speed is faster and quieter. And it has a Full Time Manual Override AF mode. (But I do not mean the 50mm AF is slow, it is faster than some lens I saw)
4. Plastic mount vs metal mount. It may not make too much difference, but I just like metal mount lens.

5. Depth of Field (DoF) scale. The F/1.4 has a DoF scale.
6. Manual focus ring on F/1.8 MKII is a tiny little ring which position in the front of the lens. Sometimes it is a little harder to use.
7. F/1.4, of course it has a wider max aperture than the F/1.8. And because of the wider max aperture, it also help in AF.
8. According to the MTF data from photozone, optically, they are about the same from F/4 to F/8. But the F/1.4 version is sharper from F/1.8 to F/2.8
9. Of course, because of the way the F/1.8 version is made, it weight less. But then again, the F/1.4 is not a heavy lens.

So is the F/1.4 worth the extra? It depends on the person who buy it. It is up to you. Also, personally I think the older version of the 50mm F/1.8 is better than the newer version. I sold my mkII (bought new) and purchase the mkI (bought used).

The MKI version ..
1. Has a DoF scale.
2. Metal mount instead of plastic.
3. Better build quality than the new one.
4. Manual focus ring not in the front of the lens.

Hardrock · Mar 23, 2010

I think in the long run you will be much happpier with the 1.4 over the 1.8. Go hold both and see for yourself and I gurantee you will like the 1.4 better.

Dominantly · Mar 23, 2010

There is an 8mm difference in the size of the maximum aperture between those two lenses.
What that means is, with the f/1.4, you have an additional 8mm to allow light in, and that also translates to the lenses ability to produce
a very thin deph of field.

WesVFX · Mar 27, 2010

hmmm... thanks for all the input guys

I've come to the conclusion that I'm probably going to hold out for the 1.4

I'm the type of person that likes to buy the best, and buy it just once. If I can't afford it, I'd rather wait till I could. If I get the 1.8 I know I will always want to buy the 1.4... so an idividual with this sort of personality could drive oneself insane :lol:

cfusionpm · Mar 27, 2010

WesVFX said:
hmmm... thanks for all the input guys

I've come to the conclusion that I'm probably going to hold out for the 1.4

I'm the type of person that likes to buy the best, and buy it just once. If I can't afford it, I'd rather wait till I could. If I get the 1.8 I know I will always want to buy the 1.4... so an idividual with this sort of personality could drive oneself insane

It's rare to be able to come to this conclusion without buying the entry level stuff. Congrats on the revelation! If you're gonna do somethin, do it right. :thumbup:

usayit · Mar 27, 2010

If you define "best" as the fastest aperture, then the f/1.4 is not the best... the 50mm f/1.2L is the "best". Unfortunately, you might be holding out much longer...

I'm not a subscriber to the idea of always buying the best... its a shortcut. Simply be a smart shopper. If you are primarily a prime shooter and don't mind paying the extra cash for the f/1.4, buy the 50mm f/1.4. It is a better lens for all the reasons already mentioned. For all other cases, the f/1.8 is just fine and still a good optic.

Dao · Mar 27, 2010

If you are okay with buy and sell stuff, you can look for a used 50mm F/1.8. And at the same time, save up for the F/1.4.

By the time you have enough money for the F/1.4, sell the F/1.8. For a good popular lens, the values drop only a little. And if you buy it used, you maybe even able to sell the same price for what you bought it for.

If you buy a 50mm F/1.8 used today for $75, how much do you think the lens worth one year from today? From what I learn, in the past couple years, they all priced around $70 to $80. So I expect it is around $70 to $80 as long as the lens still look and function good.

I bought a lens for $300 used more than 1 year ago, and the used market for that lens is still $300+. Why wait if you can enjoy the fun now!