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Canon lens - 50 mm

Mfg # 2515A003 CDW # 383412 | UNSPSC 45121600

Quick tech specs

  • 50 mm
  • Canon EF
  • 1200
  • 1D
  • 5DS
  • 70
  • 750
  • 7D
  • 8000
  • Rebel T6s
  • f/1.4 USM
  • for EOS 100
  • 1300
  • 5D
  • 6D
  • 700
  • 760
  • 80
  • Kiss X8i
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Know your gear

Canon offers this standard lens featuring superb quality and portability. Two high-refraction lens elements and new Gaussian optics eliminate astigmatism and suppress astigmatic difference. Crisp images with little flare are obtained even at the maximum aperture.

This item was discontinued on June 15, 2023

Enhance your purchase

Canon lens - 50mm is rated 3.70 out of 5 by 122.
Rated 5 out of 5 by from I Love Canon products! The glass was scratched. I plan on asking Canon about this. I bought the lense used and didn't see anything in the description stating that the lens would be scratched.
Date published: 2019-12-15T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Wonderful images...when it works I’ve had this lens for several years, and I have a serious love/hate relationship with it. Focus is so incredibly inconsistent. The only time I can get the majority of my images in focus is by using live view and magnify the image in the screen. Even then it’s not 100%. I recently spent several days trying to microfocus adjust this lens and nothing I tried seemed to work. It didn’t matter the aperture I used. If I made minor adjustments to fix backfocus the lens would shift to a horrible front focus. Manual focus was no better. That being said, it does provide images close in quality to what my L glass produces. I just wish I could trust it enough to use it. I just can’t justify having to use live view 100% of the time with this lens.
Date published: 2020-05-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Having purchased a quality brand name item from dell I do photography for a hobby, have a canon eos camera. Saw the 50 mm lens with dell , great price and superb pictures, you cannot beat quality!
Date published: 2020-01-09T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Shoot in a Whole New Way Don't wait any longer, click submit, open the box and go shoot
Date published: 2009-02-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Fabulous Normal Lens The Canon 50mm F/1.4 is a great normal lens (on a full frame body and just as good an ~85mm lens on a crop body, like the 7D. Lens is sharp wide open and bokeh is great. Definitely a keeper on my Canon 5D2.
Date published: 2010-12-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Love this lens! I am in love with this lens! I bought it for my Canon Rebel Xsi. I previously had just the kit lens (18-55mm) and am amazed at the low light conditions I can work with now, with no flash. This lens is perfect for indoors or even outdoors, anytime you want to get that nice blurred background effect. I have been very impressed with the photos that have resulted from this lens!
Date published: 2010-01-17T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Best 50mm lense This Canon 50mm lense is a great asset to my EOS T1i. Using it on the AF mode allows for easy closeups of any object or person. It's great if you only want close-in shots at any gathering. It also picks up more lighting in the area for great low light shots. You can't go wrong investing in this lense and you'll be pleased with the final print results.
Date published: 2011-10-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Don't Bother with the 1.8 lens, The 1.4 Way To Go! I placed this on a brand new Canon 7D took a few photos and couldn't stop clicking. Getting close to your subject makes it even more fantastic. I read quite a few reviews and the detailed tech specs on this before before hand and this lens is a true winner. For the most part any F stop is pretty much a sweet spot. Very low pincushioning (unoticeable). For more insight and convincing see the review at photozone.de Well made
Date published: 2010-06-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great lens Sharp focus crystal clear photos I am in love with this lens ,Price here on Dell was comparable to all the top online stores.
Date published: 2012-06-06T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Simply the best for the money This is a very sharp lens with it being 1.4 this enables a very shallow depth of field. I find it to be of the best close to the 1.2 "L" series. I have used it on my 5D Mark II and my 7D fast focus and a quiet responce never better.
Date published: 2012-03-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Fine optics at 50 f1.8 materials Fine optics. I bought it for travel portraits. It's sharp specially between f4.0-f8.0. USM is not lightning fast in evening room ambient lighting. Of course it is not but I was hoping a miracle that it would. In terms of construction, the plastic materials are nearly identical to the $100 EF 50mm f1.8 than the 50 f1.2 L USM. If you can forgive the EF 50mm f1.8's noisy focusing (without USM) and its flimsy construction, I'd recommended that over this EF 50mm f1.4 USM. That's a saving of nearly $300 with tax.
Date published: 2012-02-03T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Awesome Lens! I love the sharpness of the photos I've taken with this lens.
Date published: 2007-09-05T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from 50mm 1.4 Can't beat it for the price For the money...the lens performs really well. If you have the money and need F/1.2 and an "L" builty lens... the new 50mm 1.2L is for you.
Date published: 2007-05-06T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Fast Lens for a good price This was my first prime lens and its been a champion. Light, small, fast and accurate. I have had zero issues in the past 2.5 years.
Date published: 2009-02-26T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Excellent purchase at that price I own this lens for 5 years. This is an excellent lens with fast AF and good image quality. I use it for wedding photography and it is OK. Don't wish to get the image quality of an L lens but you will get a lot for that price. At f/1.4, it is not really sharp but if from f/2 it is ok.
Date published: 2012-02-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Love this lens This is a great carry around lens. I have used it for portraits and it is tack sharp and wonderful for floral photography. I took a trip to the southwest when the cactus were blooming and I just used this lens. It is lightweight and was perfect! It is also wonderful for low light situations like street photography at night. A lot of times I will just bring this lens and push myself to shoot creatively. It works! I have had to send it in after 2 years of heavy use, to get the focus fixed from sticking. I would have to manually get it close and then it would pop into focus. Therefore the 4star rating. Now it is back and good as new.
Date published: 2010-03-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great if focusing worked I have use Canon products AE1, G4, G6, Rebel, 5D and 5d mark iii and have never had an issue. So I consider myself a very loyal Canon user. However I am very disappointed with this lense. I realize that it is not the high end lense, but should last more than several dozen captures. When operational this lense can capture great images. However the Autofocus and manual focus do not always function. Too be honest, I haven't used the lense much, but today was one of those days and again it will not focus either auto or manual. I keep saying that "one day", I'll contact Canon to see if they had a recall since so many people seem to have issue. I'm beyond warrantee, so not sure I'm willing to send in for repair to only have it malfunction again.
Date published: 2016-09-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Better than I Anticipated First off I had the 50mm 1.8ii. Didn't like it very well but it was pretty inexpensive and was a lens I did not use a whole lot. Currently I have the 16-35F4, 100mm F2.8L Macro, 100-400mm ii, and 1.4xiii for perspective. All great lenses in my opinion. So there is a need for a 50mm to fill the gap and give me a low light lens. I shoot with both a 5D3 and a 7D2. Don't get me wrong the 50mm 1.8ii has the potential for taking some very good pictures if you don't mind the very cheap body, inconsistent focus, the manual focus issue, and the sound of the lens focusing. I bought a 50mm 1.8 STM. Nice lens, but the focus was just a bit to slow for me, but it was much better than the 1.8ii. In the interim there was a nice refurbished sale on the 50mm F1.4, so despite all the negative reviews I decided to give it a try. This is what I ended up with: A for all practical purposes, new looking and new functioning lens minus the box. On my 5D3 the 50mm at 1.4 was quite soft (no surprise there, was a bit noisy (again no surprise there but not near as bad as the 1.8ii), at F2 was pretty good in the center and soft on the edges, at F2.8 was quite good, at F4 was excellent, and at F5.6 was excellent throughout the image. By excellent I mean very sharp. I was getting consistent focusing. Meaning about 8 out of 10 just seemed to be in good focus. Had it for a couple of weeks and used it off and on. A good lens but not anything special. Just a filler lens. But in all ways better than the 1.8ii, about equal to the 1.8 STM other than faster focus. And it was fairly inexpensive as lenses go. Then I decided to adjust the focus (AFMA) which I had done to all my other lenses. I had to adjust it quite a bit all the way to +10, but boy howdy, did it ever make a difference! Now I have a lens that exceeds my expectations. At 1.4 is no longer soft in the center. The center is now fairly sharp and makes for a lovely image when you want the center to be featured and the rest of the image a bit softer. Each aperture level increase was the inspected increase in sharpness you would expect. Up to 5.6 which is quite astonishing. The sharpness levels are now on par with my other lenses. Which is saying something. I am still not wild about the focus mechanism and noise, and retract the focus down when I put the cap on. But it has provided me with a consistent focusing lens that gives me excellent results. I find this 50mm lens to be on my camera a lot more. I gave it 4 stars because of the focus mechanism and the fact that if I had been using it on a non-AFMA camera I never would have realized its full potential. Both this lens and the 7D2 were purchased from canon's refurbished store. Both looked new, functioned well, and for all practical purposes appeared new (again minus the box). I have a feeling more refurbished products are in my future.
Date published: 2017-02-15T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from GREAT indoor/low light lens! I just got this lens for Christmas so I haven't used it that long, but so far I am in LOVE. I have a lot of pets I'm constantly taking pictures of inside in low light, and it's usually so hard to get a quick, accurate focus. This lens, though, does it very well. I also took it to a party and got amazing, perfectly focused pictures of my friends, even when they were moving and jumping around. I cannot say enough good things about this lens.
Date published: 2011-12-30T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Awesome Optics I have over 100 FD Lens Made In Japan I wanted to compare EF_50mm_f_1.4_USM | FD_50mm_1.4_Manual
Date published: 2018-09-17T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Good, but not great The 50mm f/1.4 lens is great for some things. The bokeh is rather nice and, at f/1.4, is easy to produce. The lens focuses quickly and the build quality is decent. However! My particular lens back-focuses terribly. The 7D allows me to compensate for this by adjusting the particular lens' focus profile, but it's still not spot-on. At f/1.4, images are nowhere near sharp. They're usable, at best. Stopped down to f/2, things start to look better, but I don't usually shoot wider than f/2.8 if I want sharpness. Even there, it's a tad soft. Chromatic aberations! Ewww! I see blue, purple, and sometimes red halos and highlights. The lens is great for some things, but not quite what I had hoped.
Date published: 2014-05-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Very nice image quality I am very happy with this lens so far. I purchased it one month ago and have used it on a few occasions so far. The picture quality is my favorite feature of this lens. However, i feel the lens lacks in quality. As far as image quality goes, this lens is very sharp after F/2.0. This lens reproduces color very accurately, one of the best in the canon lineup. The colors, plus the great contrast and high resolution make this lens top notch in picture quality. As far as build quality goes, i feel that this lens could have been made better. The lens feels very sturdy when you hold it. However, the focus ring does not turn as smoothly as one would expect from a USM lens. This problem alone is what gives me the impression that the lens might not be built as well as it could be. If this lens was built like the 85 F/1.8 i would be 100% satisfied. However, this lens is a major step up in quality from the 50mm F/1.8 that i had.
Date published: 2010-07-10T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Luck of the draw It was my fault for never fully testing the lens I got till it was too late to return it. Horrible CA, could not make it focus reliably. I have micro focus adjust on my camera but couldn't cope with the focus problem. It bounced between +15 close-up subjects (2-3ft) to -10 on 6ft and out. Stopped down, the focus issue becomes less dramatic but then why buy an F1.4 lens? Will be trading it in for a used 50mm F1.8. I KNOW those work. Maybe I got a bad copy.. but it's not my job to play QC.
Date published: 2013-03-25T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Optically fine, mechanically lousy The lens is quite sharp when it's in focus. But it doesn't autofocus. At all! It made an attempt at autofocusing when it was new but after a few months it wouldn't autofocus at all. The selected focus spot blinks, claiming that focus has been achieved. But usually it doesn't even make the attempt. Mine can be focused manually if you can stand the gritty feel. I have a friend whose 50 f/1.4 won't even focus manually! It would be fine if it would just focus.
Date published: 2013-11-07T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Focus ring This lens feels solid at first for being so short but it always breaks on me. The focus ring has stopped functioning properly twice. I will package it back up and send to canon for repairs as soon as I get a chance. I have taken my best photos with this lens but it gets a 0 for durability.
Date published: 2015-12-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Disappointing I recently acquired this lens and was quite disappointed. Although I usually check different reviews before acquiring any goods, I trusted Canon. Unfortunately, the lens has a major focus defect. Auto focus and manual focus do not work.... I think the least Canon ca do is to recall all these lenses and replace them with a more reliable one.
Date published: 2014-11-23T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Disappointed I have used this lens several times and each time, my images are just too soft. I just cannot get a good sharp focus with this lens. This is the first 50mm I have ever used so I don't have anything to compare it with. But I purchased this over the 1.8 because of the feel and wider aperture, but I am just not impressed and have been disappointed with soft blurry looking images when I shoot wide open
Date published: 2016-12-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from You have heard it before... Yup, this lens is simply stunning... when it works. It will be a prize of your collection in fact. You will likely think this lens as the undoubtable best choice for your "leave in" lens... however when you need it badly, it wont be there for you. The USM focus system on this lens is unfortunately not reliable. I wish it was, it really would make this lens the best bang for the buck as others on this post have claimed. I however have found it to be the worst bang for the buck. 1.5 years of use, repaired a few times and is now broken, out of warranty, and currently making a wonderful paper weight on my desk. Such a bummer cause like i said, when it works, its is super sweet. I am now wondering if I should have it repaired again or just call it a wrap. Sigh... so bummed.
Date published: 2009-10-07T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from it was real good This is a good lens and takes amazing pictures but it does have a couple of downfalls. The only thing that I didn't like was the plastic build. That is the only thing I didn't like and my pics turned out amazing.
Date published: 2009-10-12T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Really good Buy When I got the lens, at first I was having trouble understanding how to best use the product. I bought it so I had a fast lens for indoor shooting while on vacation. I travel to Europe and like to visit museums etc. When I learned the best focus settings I have received some excellent photo's. I would not change a thing and I have had this lens for over 6 months.
Date published: 2012-03-07T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Not for a novice Pros: When it focuses where I want, the image is stunning. Good low light captures of still objects. Cons: It takes skill to use I use a T3 Summary: Build quality is good, the Lens quality is great, it certainly does what it says, just realize what you are getting. Autofocus takes a while, but there's a reson for it. Before I review the product, I always like to know the reviewer's perspective. I consider myself a seasoned novice photographers. I've takes my fair share of photos in many different settings on multiple continents. I even spent more than a couple hours trying to learn something about photgraphy. And I enjoy it and probably spend too much money on it. But I don't do this as a living and I don't get asked/nor will I ever be a primary photographer at a wedding (although, my realtives have used some of my shots from their wedding albumns) **Okay the review part** So the biggest thing about this lens is the apeture. I bought this lens because of the f/1.4. And it is great! I get butterry bokeh...if I can get relatively still compared to my subject. But I find that its actually quite difficult to. I should say that I typically take photos of my toddler in close quarters indoors. Its hard to get him to smile for the camera let alone stay still. Even when he is distracted and still, I find it hard to hold myself still enough (at f/1.4) to get his entire face in focus. The tip of nose might be in focus, but not his face, And I know what you might be thinking, "Well yeah, you have a very narrow depth of field at f/1.4. Duh!" Yeah, but I didn't realize just how picky it would be. And that's probably why it takes so long to autofocus or can't focus. Because you have to be very still relative to your subject. I will say, that if I get the focus, almost there, the autofocus is sometimes quick, but I think that might ruin the motor (manually adjusting the lens while in AF mode) so I don't recommend it. Anyways, If I had to do it over again, I would have gotten the f/1.8 because I'm not skilled enough to use the f/1.4. Shoot, for my kid's photos, I might need to stick with the f/4 of my standard lens. We'll see. But the build quality is good, the Lens quality is great, it certainly does what it says, just I didn't understand fully what I was getting.
Date published: 2013-12-27T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great portrait lens Highly recomend this lens.I've had this lens for over a year and never had a problem with it.Tack sharp and will produce wonderful background blur.
Date published: 2010-08-10T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from dont buy this lense good optics appallingly badly made mine fell apart within two years and the cost of repair was way too high. optics work well but are old fashioned and the price range given the quality of construction is far too high. this lens needs a serious design review and vastly superior construction. not recommended.
Date published: 2012-12-02T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Just like New! Excellent value. Extremely glad I found this deal. I have been looking at this lens for a while and it works great. Cannot tell it from a brand new lens.
Date published: 2018-12-10T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great in low light I have tried this lens on my Canon 7d digital and my Canon Elan 7 film camera with T-max p3200 film. I found that when the lens is open to f/1.4 the camera (7d has a hard time finding sharp focus in dim light, and I have to switch to manual focus to obtain a sharp focus. That is more the problem of the camera focusing system than the lens. I like the fact that the lens can be used both in my film and digital cameras, since I enjoy both at various times. Also, I have had good luck with refurbished lenses from Canon, so I am confident this one will last.
Date published: 2018-08-16T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Unfortunately Unreliable Great out of the box. Excellent sharpness and dramatic DOF opportunities. Good color and clarity. Auto focus was poor after 3 months. Got it repair and it worked for a couple more months and failed again. Never had to deal with a Canon quality issue. Frustrating. Great price. Poor value in my experience.
Date published: 2009-03-21T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A Very Superb Lens This lens is AMAZING. This lens is one of the sharpest that I have ever used! I have worked with a 70-200mm IS USM f2.8L, a 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L, an 85mm f1.8 USM, a 24-70mm USM f2.8L, a 24-105 IS USM f4L, 15mm f2.8 fisheye, 10-22mm f3.5- 4.5 USM EF-S, and a 50mm 1.8.This lens is by far one of the sharpest! It is easily "L" image quality if not "L" build quality. It is a solid lens. For the outstanding images it produces, it is very light and maneuverable. It is amazing for portraits and for indoor events as well. The only issue I se with it is that it is slow to focus when indoors. It should also come with the hood but that is just a preference. For it's relatively low price, this lens cannot be beaten. Definitely one of the best purchases I have made!
Date published: 2011-08-05T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Canon 50 1.4 loses AF Hi, I love Canon cameras! However I have had issues along with others on the internet on the Auto Focus feature going dead on this lens. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I can't have this at a wedding etc. Please read the forums as they are true to form....It is hard to put your trust in this lens when you are shooting for money. thanks, Dave
Date published: 2008-12-02T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from null At first the lens worked great. Super sharp images, great depth of field, fast auto-focus. But, after a few months the auto-focus is off by several feet in front of or behind of the subject of interest. I thought it might be my camera but all of the other lenses focus properly. Not sure if accidentally turning the focus ring manually in the wrong direction may have loosened something or if the USM is going bad.
Date published: 2009-05-04T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Perfect I love shooting abstract architecture and wildlife with this lens because of the DOF you can get. You can get a portrait "framed" without literally framing the subject because of the selective focus that you can achieve. I love the bokeh and USM motor. Great lens, a must-have for beginners-pros
Date published: 2010-03-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great Lens for Beginners This is actually a great lens for beginners; however a little pricey. Wonderful lens for outdoors. It has a nice effect if you don't use the flash indoors (if there is already enough lighting inside.
Date published: 2009-12-15T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Lens Quality I love this lens. I am a believer in using only prime lens, there is just something that you can get using prime lenses that you cannot get using a zoom. I feel like for this price you could not get a better prime lens, seriously. I have thought on numerous occasions, should I replace this lens with the L-series 50mm f1.2, but it is just so much more expensive I can't get myself to do it. Now that I've been shooting with this lens for over a year now, I don't even consider replacing anymore. It's lightweight, very versatile, works well in low light conditions and has a beautiful brokah. The crispness of this image is suburb at all apertures. I can't imagine going anywhere without this lens.
Date published: 2011-11-10T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great lens zero trouble with this lens, great portraits and very good in low light situations like night sports events.
Date published: 2009-06-13T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great Portrait and Low-Light Lens The 50mm f/1.4 is a great lens for low-light shooting and produces superb portrait shots. The depth of field at maximum aperture can be tricky to use effectively depending on your distance from the subject, but that is the nature of shooting wide open. When used correctly though, the background blur is beautiful and the clarity is great. Highly recommended. This lens is the perfect balance between the 50 1.8 and the 50 1.2L
Date published: 2008-12-24T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great concept poor execution Loved this lens at first but after 1 yr autofocus has completely quit working.
Date published: 2009-02-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Not sharp wide open I got this to mount on my Canon dslr and film cameras. While it does capture nice photos in dim light, it does have trouble focussing, which might be the camera's problem. It is a solid well built lens, that does mostly what I'd like.
Date published: 2018-08-16T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Just OK I have used the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II and the new STM but didn't care for the cheap plastic feel. Purchased the 50mm f/1.4, more solid feel but really unimpressed. I find images are ok, but a little soft for my liking. Rumors have been circling for a few years that Canon is planning a version 2, sure hope its true. Canon has introduced some truely incredible DSLR's, hopefully they keep up in the lens department.
Date published: 2016-08-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from everyone needs a 50! Whether you opt for the 1.2, 1.4, or 1.8, every photographer should have a 50mm in their bag. I chose the f/1.4 strictly for the combination of price and performance. This lens rarely leaves my camera body, and is really diverse enough for almost any situation. At f/1.4 I usually switch over to manual focus to get the right shot, but leave it on automatic at f/2 and above. The AF is not quite as fast as some other primes, however it is not an "L" either. I will always carry this lens, as it is the best bang for your buck that Canon makes.
Date published: 2014-01-23T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Broken after a year Enjoyed it while it worked. Stop focusing in about a year and half.
Date published: 2012-12-19T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Excellent standard lens I have this lens for more than five years now and it is very good in all aspects. It is small, light, very fast focusing. The sharpness is amazing from f/2.8 upwards and the contrast is L grade. I hear that some people have focus problems but i haven't. It works great at all times... My suggestion to anyone that wants a very fast low cost lens is go out there and get one...
Date published: 2010-12-11T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Save your money. It was great while it worked! Save your money for the L 1.2 instead. This one has serious focusing issues and started not wanting to focus at 6 months old. Then just after a year it has stopped focusing completely. I can't even focus it manually. I will be sending it in for repairs. On the bright side I loved it for the first 6 months. Hope it last longer after the repair!
Date published: 2012-02-28T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A bar lens! I really like this lens! It is fast and sharp, I have to have a real need to change to my zoom lens. I find it has great speed and is great in poor light. Switch to manual focus and you can see everything in the optical viewfinder. I am very pleased with the light gathering ability of this lens. A true bar lens for a good hand held shot.
Date published: 2009-02-14T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great until USM focus goes bad... This was the first lens I purchses for my camera and it was hands down my favorite lens. The pictures that I got from this lens were fantastic! The only problem was that after a few years, the Auto Focus stopped working. not clear as to why but it seems like others folks have had issue with this as well. I've switched to using an "L" series Zoom but I would still have preferred using this 50mm prime on some occasions. I don't know if it's worth the out of warranty repair costs or if I should just pick up an 50mm 1.8 since I heard that the difference may not be too bad in terms of image quality. For now, it sits in storage but is operable as a manual focus lens.
Date published: 2009-12-10T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great alternative to flash! I went to authorized Canon dealer with every intent to purchase a flash due to the low speed of my 60D kit lens 18-135. Salesman suggested faster lens and I am glad I listened. This is a great lens, worked great on 60D and works equally well on 5d Mark II. My only concern is noise of AF motor and rumor that the motors are weak and don't stand the test of time. Super fast lens, beautiful bokeh, I hope my motor lasts!
Date published: 2011-10-20T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Refurbs from Canon are not all good I own and rent a lot of Canon lenses. I recently bought the 50mm refurbished from Canon, thinking, if it was from Canon directly, it would have to be in top notch shape. I was sadly disappointment. The copy I received made a loud grinding sound and back-focused so badly that I could not get the 6D body to rectify the misalignment. I sent the lens in for repair (I should have returned it) and they said it was 'impact damage' but repaired it without cost. However, when it was returned it was only slightly better. It still requires a significant correction on the camera body and I now just don't trust it. Be cautious and check your refurb closely. This was a costly mistake for me.
Date published: 2014-09-05T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from I love this lens This is my all time favorite lens. Performs as well as any L lens........ if you know how to tickle it.
Date published: 2012-10-05T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Yes you need a 50mm prime The 50mm prime fast lens is an excellent addition to your lens collection Fast, mine is the F1.4 and it certain situations it may be the perfect selection, low light or when a super fast shutter speed is necessary. For the price of this quality item, it's just good to have in your bag. The out of focus background is amazing and just gets the job done.
Date published: 2015-06-06T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Highly Underrated This lens does not get a fair shake on so many reviews. So much of the negative reviews I read are frankly amazing. I really don't get it. I've used this lens extensively on both sub-frame and full-frame over the years. I've had multiple copies and none have varied. This review focuses on my full-frame experience. This is an excellent all around 50mm lens. The image quality is exceptional with good color and contrast. Read the technical reviews. They don't lie. This lens only performs poorly at f/1.4. Stop it down.. By f/2.0 its a completely different lens. Center quality is very good at f/2.0. By f/2.8 its right there with the EF 50mm f/1.2 L. The 50mm L may have better artistic quality but don't expect it to be sharper. The EF 50mm f/1.4 is an impressive lens that performs very well from f/2.0 to f/18. Most of my use is for general landscape work from f/5.6 to f/18. I'm mostly using it from f/13 to f/16 for full depth of field with close foreground . Small aperture performance is killer sharp across the entire frame. Sure the build quality appears marginal but it works much better then it looks. Don't bash it against stuff and it will perform flawlessly for years. Many people complain about the autofocus. The autofocus has never given me any issues. It's always fast and accurate. I suspect most autofocus issues are due to the razor thin depth of field at this focal length at large apertures. 50mm is not a forgiving focal length on full-frame. If you have a strong understanding of depth of field and use this lens within its strengths it will make you very happy. The current price is basically free for what you get. The only negative that every technical review will agree on is sharpness at f/1.4. It's great from f/2.0 on. f/2.2 is where it really starts to shine. Depth of field is so thin at f/2.0 on close subjects. Your talking inches.. Don't get so hung up on wanting it to kill at f/1.4. Just stop it down. It works great. The low price is a no brainer. Do you care about red ring bragging rights or results? That's really the big question. Results always win in my book.
Date published: 2017-08-25T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great Sharp lens I have been a using this 50mm 1.4 lens since 2010 and it has delivered some of my sharpest images that I have in my portfolio to date. Great value.
Date published: 2018-02-21T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Can't tell from new I used the lens only for test shots and it seems to work as it should. I have a 50mm f/1.8 first version and it is okay but the build quality of the f/1.4 is much better. I get good shutter speed in low light. Very happy with the purchase.
Date published: 2018-11-14T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great for low light Photography without a Flash. Great for low light Photography without a Flash. The big 1.4 Apager lets all kinds of photo's at night without the use of a Flash. A must have for every ptogerafer's Camera bag.
Date published: 2017-08-27T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Basketball Star I bought this after reading a review in a magazine. I photograph sports for the high school where I teach. This is my 'go to' lens for basketball. The ability to shoot crisp high speed shots in low light gives me great pictures for my students. I own (and love) the 70-200mm lens used by many professional photographers, but I still prefer this one. I do use it with either my Canon D50 or my 1DS Mark III. These have enough megapixels to allow me to zoom the shot after it is taken instead of at the moment. I have read reviews questioning the quality of the motor,etc. I have not had any problems and I have taken thousands of pictures with mine. BLUF: I love it.
Date published: 2010-12-04T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great lens when it works This is my fastest lens and the only Canon lens that has failed me. I had to shoot a wedding in low light conditions when the Auto-focus stopped working. I had only mounted the lens about 5 times before it stopped working. Make sure you carry another lens with you. The quality of photos is very sharp but the design is very poor.
Date published: 2012-01-29T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Amazing prime lens The 50 f/1.4 is my favorite when it comes to indoor and/or people photography. The lens is super fast and the IQ is amazing. I also own a 24-105 f/4 L that i use as my standard 'walk-around' lens and i think the 50 f/1.4 is comparable in IQ if not better. On a crop-frame sensor camera (my 40D) the 50mm translates to about 80mm which make it ideal for portraits. I would say if you need a prime lens for a long term this is the best bet. If you need a prime to experiment and learn then you could consider the 50 f/1.8. Bottom line - amazing lens and no complains whatsoever.
Date published: 2008-11-29T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Problems return This lens failed to focus immediately after purchasing it. Canon wouldn't replace it, but did repair it. Worked fine and produced great images. That is, until today, when again the AF stopped working. If you search the net, you will find this is not uncommon.
Date published: 2012-03-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Have to use a tripod Images are blurry! No IS need to use a tripod to get decent images!. I returned the lens!
Date published: 2012-07-02T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great bang for the buck I have owned this lens for 5 years and used it to photograph weddings. Pros: Very near L lens image quality as far as I can discern. I'd say the contrast and colors are a tad flatter than the 50/1.2. Considering the low price and fast aperture, it has to be the best value of any lens in Canon's lineup. It is wide enough for group and individual full length portraits with minimal distortion. The subject's legs don't look stretched like with a wider lens. But, one has to be careful not to use it for very close up portraits because barrel distortion will become evident in the facial features. I use a tripod to get maximum sharpness at 1/50 shutter speed. I can zoom in to see tremendous detail because it is so sharp. If you're nitpicky about sharpness like me, I don't recommend shooting below 1/50 shutter speed even if you use a tripod because of subject motion blur. The bokeh is rather pleasing, like an L lens. And, the lens is rather lightweight, so it's great for walking around as a tourist. Minimum focusing distance is short enough that it can be used as a macro in a pinch. Cons: AF is slow and gets slower in low light. AF occasionally misses under f/1.8, like 10%, where it is focused on something else besides what was intended. Not super sharp at f/1.4 but acceptably sharp by f/1.6. That isn't much of a drawback considering its low price. There is some purple fringing below f/2.0, and at f/1.4 it has a heavy vignette. The vignette is easily correctable in post if you don't like it. Overall: I could photograph an entire wedding with this lens considering its versatile focal length, wide aperture, and near L lens image quality. It's the first lens I purchased, and if I had to sell off all my other lenses and keep just one, this would be it.
Date published: 2013-01-06T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Best Price/Value Lens Ever I've read a bunch of reviews claiming that lens is not good and all I can say is... baloney. This is the best price/value lens ever. Over the period of last 20 years I've seen lenses that were better (L Series) and much more common - worse than EF 50mm f/1.4. If there ever was one lens (scratch the FD 50mm f/0.95) that I would always have on my camera - this tiny gem would be it. In fact, it is on my camera most of the time, and I shoot a lot of different pictures - landscapes, portraits, street, you name it. Get this lens - it's a must have for any self-respecting photographer, be it a pro or an amateur, whether you have the latest 1Ds or XSi body - and enjoy shooting!
Date published: 2009-03-19T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Short Life Span This lens has a history with AF problems with the very min. of usage. I need a fast lens and I wanted to stay with the Canon brand. Now I will be forced to try a different brand for 50mm f/1.4. I love the L series lens. I wish canon made one in 50mm range.
Date published: 2010-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Excellent low light lens I've had my EF 50mm 1.4 lens for many years. My Canon 6D normally carries a 24-105 L series lens. The 50mm is used when I want to lighten my load or shoot photos indoors with natural light. Note that 1.2 and 1.4 lens opened to their widest apertures have a very narrow depth of field which, if focused properly, will provide the target in crisp focus and intentionally blur items in front or being the subject. My lens has been excellent at focusing on it's own and the manual override without throwing a switch is very convenient. Contrast could be a bit better. Highly recommended over the 1.8 50mm which I've also owned.
Date published: 2018-02-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Awesome Camera Lenses This lens is worth the price. The shots it takes are amazing and its way more worth it than buying a F1.2
Date published: 2012-06-02T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Love it so far! A shot from my 1st shoot with this lens. Beautiful colors(not pictured and pleasing bokeh.
Date published: 2018-11-11T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great kids lens If I only could have 1 lens it would be this one. The price is great and as long as you 'fill the frame' everyone will be impressed with your photos. From a 1.4 to 22 aperture it is very versitale. Don't waste your money on a kit lens. Learn on this lens first and I promise your photography will be better for it in the long run. The bokeh is very impressive even at 2.8 and your family portraits will be outstanding. It is lightweight and compact and no one will suspect that you are a 'pro'.
Date published: 2010-01-26T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from WOW......awwwww shucks I purchased the 50 F1.4 to compliment my new T2i for video. I have some very stunning enlargements hanging on my wall from this lens. My risk in buying this lens after reading reviews did not pay off. The lens focusing ability began to fail after 10 months. Service at Canon could not have been better and I received the lens back again working. The lens worked for a few months and the focusing does not work at the extreme ranges, manually or automatically. It is under warranty but I am worried what will happen when the warranty runs out. The Bokeh blows the kit lens away. I am amazed at the bright shots in low light at an event where fellow photographers are waiting on their flash. It is difficult to plan a lens collection when one of the lenses is frequently on injured reserve. I hope Canon upgrades the design soon and offers a trade-in rebate.
Date published: 2011-01-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Very happy I'm surprised to read so many reviews telling of the focusing problems. I haven't experienced any of them and I hope it stays that way. I use this lens mainly to photograph bands and it has always produced great results for me. I've had it about 2.5 years and I'm a little worried now. The focus is quick and works great with my 7D. The f stop is almost always at 1.4 or 1.8 due to my hatred of flash. The results could be a bit sharper but are decent enough to make every band I've shot very happy. awesome for portraits also.
Date published: 2012-08-30T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Excellent Learning Lens I've been reading the reviews on this lens, and I am stunned to find out that the biggest complaint is about the AF eventually breaking. I am a professional photographer, and I was taught many years ago not to rely on auto focus. I rarely use the AF, so I guess I don't have to worry about the lens ever breaking. I bought this lens for two reasons. 1. it was affordable. 2. I wanted to improve how I take portraits Not only did this lens do that for me, but I discovered that this lens is also great for other types of photographs. I like to use it when taking landscapes. Sure it is cool to have that wide angle look, but I prefer to get those distant vistas closer without a zoom. Also this lens is great for depth of field shots. Nothing cooler that a perfectly in focus foreground with a colorful blurred background. If you are looking to learn more about Depth of Field, apertures, shutter speeds, etc, then this is a good lens as a starter. Get off the Program mode. Use your Manual mode more learn how to take a really great photo
Date published: 2011-01-22T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Excellent low light lens I use this lens on a 6D full frame body and achieve excellent indoor natural light photos. Although the contrast is perhaps below current "state of the art" lens, this is a well made product that produces excellent results.
Date published: 2016-08-08T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Very good lens util it breaks Takes fantastic puctures until focusing assembly breaks with no aparent reason (see other reviews.
Date published: 2011-11-04T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Wonderful, But There Are Better This lens was one of the most exciting things to get in the mail. I had been a photographer for only a year, but I knew its potential. I focus in portraiture and concert photography. The first doesn't need, but it greatly helps to have such a large aperture. The latter needs such a large aperture because of how many indoor concerts I had to shoot in. It worked great for the first year and a half, then the AF just started to go out on me. I would have to still say that those 1.5 years were well worth what I paid for this lens.
Date published: 2012-12-23T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Such a great beginner lens! I bought this recently and am so happy I did. I love this lens and it's been great to practice with portraits. The shots come out so crisp compared to my old zoom lens. I love it!
Date published: 2018-11-16T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Autofocus will eventually break Great lens, unfortunately there's a design defect in the AF implementation that makes it prone to early failure...
Date published: 2010-09-16T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Solid value - Satisfied. It is a bit soft at f/1.4 if you pixel peep but in any normal print it is nice and sharp. Yes, there is some focus shift as you stop down, but that too is a well documented feature of this and many other fast lenses. Image quality is good, no issues. Autofocus on my 6D is fast and accurate. You're not going to do better at this price level. I've owned this lens 3 times before and used it professionally for HS basketball shoots where it worked very well. This time it joins my 35 f/2 IS and 100 f/2 to replace my 24-105L II which I found to be too heavy.
Date published: 2018-07-14T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Amazing lens I bought this about a month ago and it is amazing for portraits. This lens is everything and more!!! Such a great buy!
Date published: 2018-11-09T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Good as a Manual Lens Only The glass in the lens is good, but as others have pointed out, the autofocus stops working after light use. This makes the lens useful only as a manual focus lens. With that in mind, it's overpriced. If you find one for sale, make a big deal to the seller about the autofocus being broken, and get a good deal on a decent manual lens.
Date published: 2010-03-03T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Good glass but bad motor Like a number of other users, mine develops the back focus problem. I bought this almost 2 years ago as a replacement to the 50/1.8 cheapo plastic. I was hoping to get faster and quieter AF and I did, but these come at the expense of getting way out of focus. Having struggled with proper focusing for several months now the motor is completely dead. This leaves me with a choice of either a sharp manual-focusing lens or a slow+noisy but with accurate AF f/1.8 old lens. So, now I am back to the old 50/1.8! In summary, this 50/1.4 is an excellent lens optically but has very bad AF mechanism.
Date published: 2010-07-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Best Lens I Own Obviously this lens is not as versatile as a zoom lens, but the image quality is SO superior to any of my other lenses that I choose this over getting the subject framed in many cases. Lately I have been using it for video projects and the depth of field at f1.4 creates a look that cannot be reproduced by standard video cameras. This week I shot interview in very low light and at f1.4 I got the video to turn out like it was taken on a bright day. I really want to try the f1.2 now to see if it really gets better than this. For the money, I think this is a great lends to have in your bag.
Date published: 2011-11-04T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from BROKE ! Was great when it worked, then like every other one came focus issues. It doesn't focus in Auto or manual, so lens can't be used at all.
Date published: 2017-01-06T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Canon 50 mm f/1.4 It works for a few months and than you're stuck with a manual lens. Manual is OK, but you pay for an autofocus. You have to wonder why Canon still knowingly produces a lens that has such a short life, without fixing the problem.
Date published: 2011-12-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Nothing great apart from the 1.4 aperture. Dated design, Micro-USM motor for AF has a clutch that is too easy to break. Canon should've updated this with ring USM a long time ago. I used it a decade ago and never used it again. NOT recommended.
Date published: 2016-10-12T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Awsome Images, but bad build quality I think anywhere you look you will read great things about the images you can get with this lens. I back every one of those comments. This has been by far my favorite lens to carry, and it is the lens I leave mounted to my body. However, after only a year of moderate to light use, the AF began to fail and now at 1yr 4mo, it is nearly unusable. I use a 400D (XTi) with a small viewfiner, so manual focus isn't much of an option. Canon is offering to consider extending the warantee which will help me in staying with Canon, however considering the many other complains of the same failure, I am disapointed in Canons build quality regarding the USM motor/gears on this model. It would be VERY good if Canon would redesign the drive on this lens to be a ring USM, even if the price goes up $50-80. To be clear, I expect a lens to outlast the body i buy it for. If not three times over.
Date published: 2008-12-05T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Not Worth Purchasing I owned this lens for a year but didn't use it very often until the last three months. The focus is terrible. I would tell it to focus on one point and the lens would focus in back of it. It was an absolute pain trying to shoot photojournalism, events that only happen once, with such a slow, imprecise lens. I missed out on many shots because this lens could not automatically focus quickly. Do not buy this lens. It is a waste of money.
Date published: 2010-01-01T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from null very good but it's too expensive for amateur photographers
Date published: 2014-03-26T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great Lens with Improving Results Have been using this lens with my T2i in lieu of kit lenses (18-55mm and 55-250mm) over the past year. Am enthusiast/my extended family photographer by default. All of my best pictures have come with this lens. The problem I have with the lens is depth of focus, but I am still experimenting with non-auto settings, it is not necessarily the fault of the lens. No issues with the mechanical problems noted on other reviews thus far and have easily taken 2000 pics with lens. Relied on reviews to buy product originally and would buy lens again based on my experience. What I would have done differently with this lens was to buy the camera body only and this lens separately. I still use the 2 kit lenses but wish they offered the same super sharp focus this lens provides. I continue to shoot with this lens as my first choice and continue to evolve into a better photographer. Looking for next lens to complement this one......
Date published: 2012-10-21T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It broke. Used very rarely for about 24 months. It spent most of its time in a professional case. It was very well cared for. The focus is now not working. No manual focus. No auto focus. This highlight an extremely poor build quality on this lens that is well known, and manufacturing on this lens has not changed. For the days that ti worked, it had a difficult time finding focus among the 9 points on my camera. Images that were focused looked acceptable.
Date published: 2014-06-02T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from sharpest images sharpest images ever. have 16-35 II L, 100 macro L, 100-400 L, and this lens. none have the sharpness and clarity this lens has. this is worth every penny. have had this lens for 18 months and no mechanical malfunctions.
Date published: 2011-05-14T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Lovely little thing This lens is a great value! I shoot mainly at 1.4 and am very impressed as to how crisp the colours and clarity are. The build quality is sturdy, but not in comparison to an L lens. Autofocus seems to 'hunt' horribly, so manual focusing is a must for this lens.
Date published: 2011-09-03T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great Lens! I've owned this lens for almost 7 years and have used it on the Digital Rebel XT and 40D with great results. The lens delivers very sharp images through the entire focal range except at f/1.4 where images can be a little soft but just a little. Focus is very fast and the lens has been trouble free. It's been my favorite for so many years I was surprised and disappointed to read about focus problems others have experienced.
Date published: 2012-09-12T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Very Problematic Focusing My particular 50mm 1.4 is very poor. Even at f/5.6, I couldn't get it to focus accurately. After four years of thinking my out-of-focus photos were due to user error, I got a camera body with auto-focus micro-adjustment (AFMA. The lens needed a +15 adjustment, and still doesn't focus right. I tried using live view, which in theory should avoid any mis-calibration by using the imaging sensor for focus determination. The lens still can't focus properly in live view, systematically focusing 1-2 inches behind the target, on a target 3 feet away at f/2.8. None of my other lenses behave like this. I can only guess that there is some sort of focus shift, where the camera sets the focus based on light gathered at f/1.4, but the effective focus of the lens changes as aperture changes. That could explain why I still don't get consistent results even with AFMA. My copy is too soft to use effectively at f/1.4. Over 5 years I have had a couple of nice photos taken with this lens, but these are happy accidents since the lens simply does not focus where I want it to. Overall, I can't stand to put it on the camera now since I know the results will be out of focus no matter what I do. When I called Canon service, they refused to give me even a ballpark estimate about what it might cost to fix the lens, and I'm thinking this one is flawed beyond repair. Hopefully Canon will make a mark ii that works more reliably. I'm planning to get rid of the 50mm 1.4 and maybe "trade up" to the 50mm 1.8.
Date published: 2017-08-09T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Terrible Lens I purchased a refurbished unit; it was soft and focused inconsistently out of the box. Using lens calibration software, I dialed in an AFMA of -3, but images were still soft and lens would front or back focus inconsistently. I sent this back for warranty repair, it came back worse. The repair notes said electronic adjustments were made to the auto focus. This time lens calibration software recommended an AFMA of +10, but the target images were so fuzzy and focusing so inconsistent throughout the AFMA range, even with this adjustment the images are unusable. I think they were hoping for s placebo effect. I regret buying this lens, and moreso regret giving away my 50mm f/1.8 STM (which was sharp and consistent) when I ordered this.
Date published: 2018-07-09T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from clicking I have had this lens for about 2 years... love it... but about 6 months ago it started making a clicking sound when using it.. and then it wouldn't work... UGH!
Date published: 2012-05-29T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Failure to keep up with quality Having used L series lenses, I know that the quality is beginning to degrade. 20 year old L vs. new? There is a marked difference. Be careful.
Date published: 2015-11-14T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Good Valued Lens I had a couple of these lens...both work well, no auto focus problems, good reliable Lens for me
Date published: 2010-03-31T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Sharp, low distortion, good price I needed a lightweight, inconspicuous all-purpose lens to use with my Canon 6D for family, landscape, and reasonable close-ups of flowers & wildlife while visiting Colombia. This 50mm is my least expensive yet sharpest EF lens between f4 -f8. Very good focus, nice colors, low distortion. did fine for night time and street photography - a bargain.
Date published: 2013-12-24T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Nice lens but... This produces a colorful sharp photo however is not as good as I expected in low light situations. With the large aperture (lower f stop) there is a very shallow DOF which may or may not be desirable.
Date published: 2018-06-22T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Fantastic Lens Absolutely fantastic color, great contrast, combined with tack sharp focus and light weight make this low light lens a great all around lens. Like this better than the f/1.2 which is so heavy.
Date published: 2010-08-08T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Wait Until the next Mark Version > not worth upgrading from the 1.8 cheapo 50mm toy until Canon puts out an updated mark of this lens that competes w/ L build > autofocus when it works is ok, but is terribly unreliable > build quality is cheap, drop it and you're done for (talking from experience > very sharp photos and great optics
Date published: 2010-04-27T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great lens, but AF fails easily I LOVED this lens for the 13 months that the AF worked. But it stoppped working and apparently a lot of people have had issues with this. Recommend using a hood even with storage if you get this lens. I've read elsewhere that light pressure on the front of the lens can make the AF fail.
Date published: 2011-01-06T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Forget it Total failure in 14 months of very light use, 100 photos.
Date published: 2008-12-19T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Best bang for the buck EF mount optic The Canon EF 50 1.4USM is possibly the best bang for the buck in the entire EF mount lens system! Fast, quiet focusing and when stoped down two or three stops nothing short of my old EF 135 2L USM or EF 200 1.8L USM lenses are sharper on film or FF EOS 1Ds mkXX bodies. If you can't produce incredible images with this lens get a point and shoot. If you do not use a 50mm prime regularly the EF 50 1.8 II lens while not quite as sharp when stopped down to optimum aperture is very, very close. You will need an EOS 1Ds mkIII or 5D mkII and/or fine grain chromes to see the difference though. The down side to the EF 50 1.8 II is noisier, much slower focusing and really cheap construction which shouts "HANDLE ME VERY CAREFULLY OR YOU'LL BREAK ME." I mean REALLY cheap. I've owned several examples of both the EF 50 1.4USM, EF 50 1.8 mkI and mkII lenses and they were all excellent shooting lenses. I currently only have an Ef 50 1.4USM for its great image quality, lens speed, much better focus speed, low noise and construction quality. I use it all the time on my EOS 1N, EOS 1D, EOS 1Ds/MkII bodies.
Date published: 2009-08-07T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Fantastic for indoors without the need of a flash Good customer service. Great value. Highly recommend
Date published: 2018-07-17T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from First lens For this being my first lens (other than the kit), I'm pretty happy. I know that a few people dislike this lens because its a bit old in design, but if ain't broke, don't fix it. Yes, it would be nice if they had a updated version of this lens, but for now, i'm happy with my purchase.
Date published: 2016-03-14T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great lens! I got this lens as a gift and it has been a great lens for portraits I have shot. Excited once the weather gets warmer to get out and use it more.
Date published: 2019-02-11T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Stick with the 1.8 With all the hype that came with the 50mm 1.4 I thought I would give it a try over my 50mm 1.8. I have shot a lot of portraits (1000's) with the 1.8 and wanted to see what improvements the 1.4 could give. I ordered a brand new 50mm 1.4 and put it to work and work poorly it did. Like many have said here it has a huge focusing problem. Set it up on a tripod and shot 100's of images at different f-stops and distances-all at the very same object that never moved.. Then I checked each image. There was no consistency in the focus. Then I tried the very same tests with my 50mm 1.8 on the same day in the same way and magically all the images were in focus. I own the Canon 5D Mark III. Finally I sent it back.
Date published: 2015-01-11T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Love it I bought this lens for my daughter for a birthday/ graduation gift. She loves it and is enjoying the nicer upgraded lens.
Date published: 2018-06-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Decent lens at best I purchased this lens about 10 months ago. From the very beginning I noticed I was having focus issues. I have used this lens on both a film camera and digital, having issues on both. My lens has a front focus issue. I usually take still shots and with some luck they are sharp if the lens isn't wide open. The reason I purchased this lens is because of its ability to produce beautiful bokeh. I just recently went out and used this lens for a senior photo session and it was terrible. If I was up close to the subject the focus was better, but not perfect. At a distance, I could forget about trying to get a sharp picture. More than half of my photos were off focus. I tried to adjust my settings, with no luck. I had to go in a manually focus most of my shots in order for them to be sharp. I'm not entirely happy with this lens and hope that by sending it in to Canon, they can adjust it for me. Otherwise I don't see myself using this lens much If I can't trust it. For the price I expected better.
Date published: 2015-05-18T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Disappointed User Having read many magazine reviews on this product, I bought this liens to go with my 50D especially for very low light shooting. Having had many disappointing results I made some test on the lens. I thought my first set of test was faulty so I repeated the test 3 times to confirm my findings. To do the test I place a wooden metre ruler on a table top with the ruler going away from the camera. The camera was set on a tripod at an angle 45 degrees onto the ruler. The focus was on the centre of the ruler which was 2.5 metres (just under 8 feet) from the camera. A cable release was use to minimise camera shake The test was done under low light as I would normally intend for the lens to be use. The following are the average of the 4 sets of test I made At f1.4 - unsharp results - back focus 1.5 inches At f1.6 - unsharp results - front focus 0.5 inches At f1.8 - better sharp sharpness but still not tack sharp - back focus 1 inch At f2.0 - slightly sharper again - front focus 0.75 inch At f2.2 - tack sharp - focus spot on At f2.5 - sharpness start to deteriorate - back focus 1.5 inch At f2.8 - sharpness gone - back focus 2 inches At f3.2 - back focus 3 inches At f3.5 - back focus 3.5 inches At f4 - back focus 4 inches. Testing was not done on other f-stop. If you were to purchase this lens I would suggest strongly for you to test for the best f-stop for your lens.
Date published: 2010-05-17T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Terrible Lens A 50mm fast prime is very common, useful lens. With Canon, there are three options: the 50mm 1.2 L ($,$$$) the 50mm 1.8 STM ($$), and this thing. I started off with the 1.8, and thought for the increase in price, there must be some benefit. The 50mm 1.4 I received was soft and focused inconsistenly out of the box; it was sent to Canon for repair they performed electrical adjustments on the autofocus assembly--and the lens is now worse than when I first got it. I guess the advantage of this lens is that it's not as expensve as the 1.2, and has a wider aperture than the 1.8--but if it's totally unusable until f/2.8 or f/5.6, why on earth do they make this?
Date published: 2018-07-09T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from It's an "OK" lens I've had some success with this lens under low light conditions. However it gets pretty soft at f/1.8 or less, so I find myself using it primarily in the f/2.2 - f/8 range and under those conditions, it's very sharp. I do have a concern about the build quality, however. This is absolutely not an "L" class lens. The focus ring has a fair amount of slop and doesn't feel very smooth, although the manual override is a nice feature.
Date published: 2009-08-09T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Excellent low light lens I've had my EF 50mm 1.4 lens for many years. My Canon 6D normally carries a 24-105 L series lens. The 50mm is used when I want to lighten my load or shoot photos indoors with natural light. Note that 1.2 and 1.4 lens opened to their widest apertures have a very narrow depth of field which, if focused properly, will provide the target in crisp focus and intentionally blur items in front or being the subject. My lens has been excellent at focusing on it's own and the manual override without throwing a switch is very convenient. Contrast could be a bit better. Highly recommended over the 1.8 50mm which I've also owned.
Date published: 2018-02-08T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from My Baby! This is my baby! Best lens out there! Never fails me and it hurts when I need to switch lenses, MY BABY.
Date published: 2020-01-20T00:00:00-05:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Great I bought this as a gift . He was very pleased with this lens and it was one that he wanted. Package came very quickly and packed very well. Great website and service.
Date published: 2019-07-05T00:00:00-04:00
Rated 5 out of 5 by from 50 mm 1.4 USM Wonderful images, very compact, my first lens for my 1dx ii, low light is wonderful, I will stick with Canon lenses
Date published: 2023-08-07T00:00:00-04:00

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