Canon 50mm f1.4 USM - Almost as good as it gets

The 50mm is a 'prime lens' so it has no zoom functionality. That means that it won't be a choice that every photographer feels comfortable with. For those on a low budget it might seem like a false economy to buy a lens which won't fill gaps in your zoom range. It depends what you need to shoot when you purchase this lens, but I think you may be missing out if you don't consider this specimen.

WHY I BOUGHT THIS LENS
When I started out I had a 20D with the kit 18-55mm lens and also bought a 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 I was concerned that I had nothing in the 55-70mm range. Also, having shot images for micro-stock libraries I'd had a few images rejected due to lack of critical focus when viewed at 100% I was quite keen to have a lens with which I could be guaranteed a sharp result. So I looked for something to fill the gap at high enough quality. I'd say in hindsight that I was kidding myself that I had all of the important (useful) focal lengths covered. I didn't feel that the lenses on offer covered the missing ranges with my budget and need for guaranteed sharpness.

While I was looking however I noticed the 50mm f1.4 lens. I loved the idea of being able to open the lens up so wide and I'd heard talk of its quality but felt that I just couldn't afford it. I settled for the 50mm f1.8 and bought it on the strength of positive reviews. I tried the lens out when I got home and was impressed but annoyingly I'd bought a defective example so I took it back to the store. I got a refund and feeling that it was going to be worth the outlay for the f1.4 version I got my credit card out and decided to take the plunge.

BUILD
As I write this review I am beginning to wonder what I can say to balance the praise I am about to give. I am going to be honest with you though you may feel I am being partisan. Some comment on the focus ring as a weak point in the construction being undeniably looser and lighter than on the pro lenses . This doesn't bother me (I also use L lenses), in fact I would go as far as to say that it is just as usable, possibly faster and with similar accuracy.

The lack of environment-resistant weather seals also set it apart from its more expensive peers which almost goes without saying in a lens this cheap. It won't survive the same level of punishment as an L lens, but you could argue that it is cheap enough to buy another if you ever destroy it.

In general though I find this lens comfortable to use, very light and hardy enough for most jobs I can think of where the focal length is appropriate. The USM auto-focus is as delightfully quiet and seems just as fast and competent as other Canon lenses with the pro-rank.

FOCUS AND SHARPNESS
The images I took with this lens were pin sharp, even at 100% there was a perfect point of focus. This was almost as good even using extension tubes. I hadn't really achieved this clarity on my other two lenses, particularly the 18-55. The sharpness was in a whole new league for me. The critical focus at f1.4 is not quite as exacting as it is at f2.8, but it is still satisfactory for my personal and professional uses. Sometimes I will get the shot at f1.4 for the depth of field reduction and to get the shot exposed well where f2.8 wouldn't do. Dark but close-up gig shots are an example where the f1.4 can be a very handy option!

In case you are not aware, prime lenses are usually cheaper and provide better image quality than their zoom non-L siblings. The compromise between being able to change focal lengths and provide a clear image is an expensive one to meet well. Very few people find non-L zoom lenses which provide image quality as good primes. Many would argue that even L zooms don't actually beat the quality of the 50mm f1.4 despite their price. Putting my neck out, I can tell you that this lens is at least as sharp as my L zoom lenses.

Now at 80mm (which this lens becomes on a 20D), I had a lens which was ideal for a lot of the fashion and portraits I shot. Not using a zoom lens sure increased the legwork I had to put in, but it was well worth it. A small part of me felt like Ansel Adams years ago working with primes because zooms just didn't exist! The results were terrific. Using this lens on my 5D body changes the usage slightly as this camera has a full sized (35mm) sensor and therefore the lens truly works as a 50mm. It produces even better looking results on the 5D, though I use it more for product shots with a little fashion and some more eccentric portraits. I don't use it much for tighter cropped 'beauty' head-shots - I like to shoot those with longer lenses.

APERTURE AND BOKEH
It is spelled right trust me (though some call it bokay). I have specifically talked about sharpness, but that isn't the only quality of the 50mm f1.4 that is truly excellent. It has one of the widest apertures of the Canon EF range (there is an EF f1.2 L) This has two major implications which I'll explain next.

Firstly, you can shoot really, really fast. The sort of shot you just couldn't capture on an f4.5 or above (due to speed of subject at a given level of ambient light) is much more likely to be possible with this lens. This lens opens up the aperture so much wider that other lenses in its price range that it can often get you the shot that thought impossible. If you didn't know, aperture is measured in a slightly strange way. The smaller the number after the 'f' in a lens description, the wider the aperture can become and the faster the lens is capable of being. So a lens labelled f1.4 is capable of shooting 'far wider open' and therefore far faster than an f4.5-5.6

Secondly, you can throw the background of an image into a complete blur pretty much whenever you want to with this lens. Not impressed? What about when I tell you that you can blur most of the foreground too while maintaining a razor-sharp focus where you choose? I shot a set of promotional fashion shots for a denim jeans label and they wanted edgy, atmospheric shots but they wanted to show the fabric too. I shot a range of images, but one of their favorites showed the label in focus and the surrounding fabric which went to complete blur within a few centimetres. It showed their brand, it showed their product and there were no distractions in the shot.

Now that doesn't tell you everything either. There is blur yes. You can tell how impressed I was, but some might think. Yep, I can do most of that with my current lens, I just zoom in and whack open the aperture and its blurry. The quality of the blurring you achieve is a major factor too.

As well as great depth, the softness of the edges of the blur or 'bokeh' almost defies compare. There are no ugly shapes, edges or distortions to the blur, it just seems right. If you hunt around for some images which can show this clearly you will entirely see what I mean.

CONCLUSIONS
If you want to shoot crisp images at the kind of focal length this lens provides (50mm * your lenses crop-factor multiplier if appropriate) then you really can't go wrong with the f1.4 50mm. If you have the money and really need the 'nth degree' of speed, wide aperture and quality you might consider the f1.2 L 50mm lens instead. If you find the cost of even the f1.4 50mm a bit steep, you will still get great quality from the f1.8 50mm lens, but I guarantee you that you'll always wish you'd waited and got the f1.4

If you have two cameras with different sensor sizes then you are in luck. This lens should shine on any compatible camera. The importance of this, is that the lens is very handy used at 50mm on a full sized sensor or at 80mm on a 20D. If you can afford the 50mm f1.2 L lens, you will get the extra focus ring quality and weather seals and possibly a superior image quality (I don't know as I haven't used it). Otherwise, feel safe in the knowledge that unless you drop this from an unreasonable height, or immerse it in soup, it probably won't ever let you down.

I use this lens in conjunction with my L lenses and wouldn't think twice about using it instead of them at 50mm or 80mm (on the 20D for example's sake) where the subject permits.