EF 50mm f/1.4 USM -> Worth buying?

[vincentong]

Sounds like f/1,4 is really worth the money. The usual problem that I have is in locking focus. I have not noticed the difference between focusing with the center AF point and other AF points. Maybe I should try this. But then saying that, I focus using other AF points very frequently, can't really live with only the center AF point.

Wondering if 1.4 has the same problem on 400D?

@sukhoi37 - where did you hear about the motor problem? like what problem?

 

[charlesleong]

try to practice the focus -> lock -> recompose technique. the AF will be much faster that way.

 

[sukhoi37]

Sounds like f/1,4 is really worth the money. The usual problem that I have is in locking focus. I have not noticed the difference between focusing with the center AF point and other AF points. Maybe I should try this. But then saying that, I focus using other AF points very frequently, can't really live with only the center AF point.

Wondering if 1.4 has the same problem on 400D?

@sukhoi37 - where did you hear about the motor problem? like what problem?

here
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=499898

 

[Isaiahfortythirtyone]

try to practice the focus -> lock -> recompose technique. the AF will be much faster that way.

i doubt u can do this for fast primes. the DOF is just so thin that you risk getting your subject OOF.

 

[3in1c]

i'm considering this lens as well, the AF motor problem reported by some users really hold me back though.
anymore feedback regarding this issue?

USM? Not so for me so far so good.

 

[calebk]

It would seem that the problem here with AF not locking is more of a user error than a lens problem. The f/1.8 is plenty bright enough for the 400D's center AF point to become a cross sensor, and locking on the eyes should be child's play.

However, I notice you are using all AF points, and this might point us to why you are not getting AF lock under some circumstances.

 

[gazkw]

AF is annoying as it hunts for focus.

consider the sigma 30mm f1.4. gives you close to true 50mm and a lot better build.

front focusing problems upon purchase is not an issue for sigma as you can get the technician to calibrate for free.

 

[charlesleong]

AF is annoying as it hunts for focus.

consider the sigma 30mm f1.4. gives you close to true 50mm and a lot better build.

front focusing problems upon purchase is not an issue for sigma as you can get the technician to calibrate for free.

you are, however, comparing a $700+ lens to a $130-ish lens.

perhaps we could try to help TS with his focusing issues, since it seems to be attributable to user rather than equipment.

 

[Lost Dog]

more of a user error. buy the f1.4 and you'll have the same focus problems.

 

[vincentong]

Thanks everyone for the valuable advise and feedback.

I am a bit confused actually. Hmm, maybe I confused everyone with my last post. Let me try to explain my understanding.

There are 9 AF points, and a lot of times I use one of the 9 points to lock my focus. My habit is more on rotating the AF point until the point nearest to the eye and uses that as my focus point, by focusing on the eye. I rarely use all AF points at once. With my 50mm f/1.8, somehow I experience problem of locking focus and it keeps on hunting and hunting.

Is that a wrong method for focusing? Any advise?

 

[estel]

50mm 1.8 does hunt in low light situations, and due to its noisy motor, hunting feels twice as bad. But unless yours is a particularly bad copy, I don't think you'd see a big difference in well-lit situations such as day/late afternoon time outdoors. I have used my 50/1.8 to shoot busy kids with very good results in focusing department. Even in dark, never had to try more than a few seconds. If the lens is under warranty, have a trip to CSC.

Eventually I did change to 50 1.4, but ironically that was because I fell in love with primes due to 50 1.8 which was my first, and wanted something more solid for permanent ownership. It's a very good lens, worth every cent, but so was the 1.8. In fact, my 50 1.8 was a bit sharper than 1.4. Just don't buy 1.4 thinking you'd see a 3x improvement in IQ for the 3x price. Chromatic aberrations etc in 1.4 are almost as worse as 1.8.

 

[estel]

With my 50mm f/1.8, somehow I experience problem of locking focus and it keeps on hunting and hunting.

Is that a wrong method for focusing? Any advise?

is this just with 1.8? May be you feel it more due to noise and slow motor. Note that not all focus points are equally sensitive to contrast difference of all sides.

You may find this helpful

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/241524c

 

[wootsk]

Thick Purple Ghost Aura??? U mean CA? Anyway the lens is know for it's bokeh as I once had the lens and feel that it's optical performance isn't that good. Sharpness is average for me and CA is not very well controlled. USM isn't that useful if you are mostly taking portrait or abstract shots. Anyway I dun usually use the 50mm range to cover sports or fast movement and thus making making the usm quite redundant. The lens cannot focus well in low contrast and even colour objects. But it has 8 aperture blade which creates damn beautiful bokeh. I am a bokeh freak ps ;p

 

[satch]

i downgraded from the 50 F1.2L to the 50 F1.4.... CA is quite a serious prob with the F1.4. I do quite a lot of high-contrast shots with backlighting... at F2.0 it's pretty bad.. at F1.4 it's totally unusable.

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

use to think its great and its still is but you have to factor that the auto focus will die on you at times and under-extensive usage. It cost $150 to repair out of warrantly.

Alot of people don't talk about it but I have repair 2 50mm f1.4 lens 3 times in 4 years and I have move on, most of canon 50mm lenses are of poor value expect the 50mm f1.8.

50mm f2.5 half marco. Old type design and construction. not cheap and never owned it to comment.

50mm f1.8, hard to get quick focus, like TS mention. I got this problems until the eos1 series solved this problem to a great degree.

50mm f1.4, best value for money but prepare to spend maintain this lens.

50mm f1.2, super overpriced comparing to the 1.4 version, has focus shift focusing issues sometimes as reported.

50mm f1. Super super overpriced collector lens. I have never owned this lens to comment.

I still own the 50mm f1.8 and the 50mm f1.2 and i'm using the later lens more often for work purposes. There are other choices like others mention, sigma 50mm f1.4, if you dun mind manual focusing, I also owned a Carl Ziess 50mm f1.7 (cheap lens) for personal usage. There are actually lots of choices out of canon, some reportedly use leica R (out of production) lenses with excellent results.

 

[Majest1c]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions.

I'm currently using 400D, looks like the body plays a part in the focusing. I've had this problem since the beginning, but it didn't bother me too much as I previously used it to capture objects more.

Hmm, is it really the body?

there some beam of light comin frm body to use to assist to focus one you got on that a not? if u can use that den it saves you 500+ bucks
read the manual its somewhere
i dun usually use that though


50mm 1.8 is cool not much focusing problem for me

 

[JoeJerry]

It is a call for Canon to release a new EF 50/1.4 as Nikon did... New glass, with a true USM.

use to think its great and its still is but you have to factor that the auto focus will die on you at times and under-extensive usage. It cost $150 to repair out of warrantly.

Alot of people don't talk about it but I have repair 2 50mm f1.4 lens 3 times in 4 years and I have move on, most of canon 50mm lenses are of poor value expect the 50mm f1.8.

50mm f2.5 half marco. Old type design and construction. not cheap and never owned it to comment.

50mm f1.8, hard to get quick focus, like TS mention. I got this problems until the eos1 series solved this problem to a great degree.

50mm f1.4, best value for money but prepare to spend maintain this lens.

50mm f1.2, super overpriced comparing to the 1.4 version, has focus shift focusing issues sometimes as reported.

50mm f1. Super super overpriced collector lens. I have never owned this lens to comment.

I still own the 50mm f1.8 and the 50mm f1.2 and i'm using the later lens more often for work purposes. There are other choices like others mention, sigma 50mm f1.4, if you dun mind manual focusing, I also owned a Carl Ziess 50mm f1.7 (cheap lens) for personal usage. There are actually lots of choices out of canon, some reportedly use leica R (out of production) lenses with excellent results.

 

[calebk]

there some beam of light comin frm body to use to assist to focus one you got on that a not? if u can use that den it saves you 500+ bucks
read the manual its somewhere
i dun usually use that though


50mm 1.8 is cool not much focusing problem for me

Erm, it's called a focus assist beam, and it's from the pop-up flash. It's different from buying a more expensive lens.

BTW, buying the 50/1.4 isn't going to solve the problem in this case, as the contrast level near the AF point that you are using is just not sufficient for the camera to detect and perform accurate AF. What you need is the AF assist.

 

[vincentong]

Thanks everyone for the valuable feedback. Looks like 50mm f/1.4 won't solve my issue. I think I will just concentrate on finding workaround ways to use my existing 50mm f/1.8.

Thanks again. Cheers!

 

[wootsk]

Actually its quite common with lens unable to focus well under low light or poor contrast. Cause it got nothing to do with lens, rather more of your camera. Unless you have a back focus problem or you need faster focus, then the problem lies with the lens. Unable to AF well lies more with the camera. What is the problem that lies in the lens that can affect AF is when the contrast through the lens isn't good. PS if my english is poor, I am just typing my thoughts out