Should I buy Canon 50mm 1.8 or Canon 50mm 1.4 ?

<p>Hi I am looking to get into potrait photgraphy, I recently bought the 500D. <br>

I was going to go for the 1.8 because I didn't want to invest too much until i had a full idea of what primes can do. I know that you get what you pay for, and the build quality isn't that good. But I have now heard there have been a number of instances where this lens gets stuck to the body. This worries me, while I understand the lens maybe fragile and break, which i can live with. But, I don't want to damage my brand new camera. <br>

I have also heard that the 1.4 has it's motor problems as well.<br>

Am I right to avoid these two lens and go for another manufacter ? Or do you think these are isolated incidents ?</p>

<p>I wouldn't buy, or not buy, either of those lenses out of fear of damaging the camera. Make your decision based on the optical qualities and how they relate to your budget and intended use. For portraiture, you probably want the more pleasing background blur (bokeh behavior) that you'll enjoy from Canon's f/1.4, or from the Sigma 50/1.4 HSM in that mount. But this depends entirely on your style and budget. If you aren't interested in the shallow DoF look, you might indeed be better off keeping the lens price down in that easy 501/.8 neighborhood, and thinking about lights and light modifiers, since that will have more to do with a lot of portrait results than will the differences between those lenses.</p>

<p>The Sigma 50mm f1.4 has its fans and gets an excellent rep for IQ, though there are occassionaly those who have problems, as with any mass-produced product.<br>

The main benefit of the canon f1.4 over the f1.8 is the improved focus motor, yes there are other improvements such as build quality, the extra half stop max aperture may be a benefit for some, but generally you would want to use these lenses at around f2.8 for max quality anyway. From f2.8 onwards there is no image quality benefit to the f1.4. In practical terms it is only really worth the extra if you need USM focusing. On a cropped sensor body you could really get decent results from wide open with the 50mm f1.8.... The horror stories about the f1.8 build quality are overstated somewhat...<br>

The difference in price would go quite a long way towards a decent external flash such as a 430EX II.<br>

Lets rephrase the question: Canon 50mm f1.4, or Canon 50mm f1.8 & Speedlite 430EX II?<br>

Canon 50mm f1.4 or Canon 50mm f1.8 & Marumi ring flash for canon E-TTL (great for portraiture) and spare battery?<br>

Canon 50mm f1.4 or Canon 50mm f1.8 & BG-E5?<br>

Canon 50mm f1.4 or Canon 50mm f1.8 & Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod?<br>

I could go on but I think you've got what I'm getting at.</p>

 

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<p>I was going to go for the 1.8 because I didn't want to invest too much until i had a full idea of what primes can do</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Good thinking. Just get the 1.8, no it won't be stuck to your camera. I wonder where you read this "a number of instances" incident. If you're ready to move on to better lens, you can sell it for not much less than your purchase price.</p>

I'm with A Novisto. Stuck to the camera? And frequently? I think not :) It is a great little lens. Not as fragile as people claim. Mine has dropped twice. On concrete and on tarmac. Both times I was running and it somehow fell out of my pocket. I think it's light weight is a blessing in disguise. A heavier lens might not have made it unscathed. Optically, it is arguably the best lens, bang-for-buck, that Canon make. The vast majority of my current portraiture has been done with that lens. Great bit of kit. Get one. Learn primes :)

<p>I'm with A Novisto too. Don't forget the EF-S 60/2.8 macro however, another great lens for portraits unless you feel that you absolutely need f/1.8-2.5 for the task.</p>

<p>Just for grins, check out the Flickr group for "EF 50mm 1.8 II". You will see the lens is very capable. I have one and have not been disappointed in it.. maybe in my use :)</p>

I bought the 50 f/1.8 used two years ago thinking I'd eventually get the 1.4. Still have the 1.8.

<p>Either lens is good value. You get what you pay for.</p>

<p>50/1.8. The plastic lens mount works just fine. It's a tiny little lens, and the lens mount doesn't have to support much weight. The lens is reasonably sharp wide open, and extremely sharp in the f/2.8 to f/5.6 range. AF is slow, noisy, and accuracy can be a problem. If shooting wide open, expect a low keeper rate. When shooting wide open, forget about tracking action with AI servo. Shoot lots of frames to increase the keeper rate. But those keepers will have a very special quality about them. AF works find for posed portraits and slower work though.</p>

<p>50/1.4. You get metal construction, an extra 2/3 stop of light, 8 aperture blades for better bokeh. The AF motor is better although sadly you don't get ring-USM. There's full-time manual focus, a decent focus ring, and a focus distance scale. The colors and contrast that this lens produces are superb, and perhaps just a notch better than the 50/1.8</p>

<p>If you are getting a prime as a new DSLR owner more or less to fine out what the 50mm FL will do on your camera, two alternative suggestions:</p>

<ol>

<li>Get the fine and inexpensive f/1.8 50mm prime. It will do what you want it to do just fine. Or...</li>

<li>If you have the 18-55 kit lens, set it at 50mm and start doing some work at the FL on the zoom to see how this all works. It really isn't a bad performer, and shooting with it a bit as a "virtual prime" can help you understand better the goals you speak of.</li>

</ol>

<p>Also, when you read stuff online about this lens or that, keep in mind that there is a ton of hyperbole and that more of what gets written is the more extreme stuff. There is a lot of "Lens X provides magical and life-changing performance" and "Lens X sucks so bad that it is unusable" stuff out there. The truth lies somewhere in between.</p>

<p>I don't own the f/1.8 lens. I do own and frequently use the f/1.4 50mm lens. When you handle it you will be aware that it is not an L lens. However when you shoot with it you will be very happy with its performance. It works very well. It has - as do all lenses, even the expensive L primes - some weaknesses. In terms of optical performance there area two, neither of which is a deal-stopper:</p>

<ul>

<li>At f/1.4 it becomes noticeably softer and has less contrast. It is still quite usable at this aperture when you need it but the image does change. This issue diminishes very quickly when you stop down one stop or less.</li>

<li>I shows a bit of barrel distortion. You normally won't even notice it, but you might in certain shots with parallel lines near the edges of the frame.</li>

</ul>

<p>That said, again I have to say that I like the performance of this lens a lot and use it frequently.</p>

<p>Dan</p>

<p>I'd suggest the 1.8 until you could identify a reason to upgrade to the 1.4 (after you personally use it).</p>

<p>I was in the same position once. 1.8 or 1.4? I considered build quality, the extra stop and price of course. In the end I opted for the safe (save) option and went for the 1.8. I have been very pleased since. I use it on both my 400D and EOS 30 SLR. After much experimenting I found that it worked best at 2.8, which was fine by me. I dropped the lens twice, once on the grass and once on a tiled floor. To my surprise it still worked as usual. I do aspire to own the 1.4 but thinking of other alternatives such as the 85mm 1.8 or the 100mm 2.8.</p>

<p>Wow thanks for the answers guys! My first post i was expecting one maybe two answers if i was lucky. Thanks again</p>

<p>get the 1.8, its $100. Then if you think you need the 1.4, you can buy it later. I originally wanted the 1.4, but bought the 1.8 b/c I came across one for a good price. I have never even lusted for the 1.4 since; I am perfectly content and I saved about $250.</p>

<p>For portrait work, why bother with a 50mm at all? I know they're relatively cheap for the speed, but the effective focal length has always struck me as awkward for portraits, and whatever money you spend on one is money you won't have to put towards a true portrait-length lens.</p>

<p>I think by being stuck, Steve might have misinterpreted it as "not leaving my camera body forever under my own volition", not "somehow physically melded together" stuck. That's what almost happened to mine.</p>

<p>Just sayin'..... ;)</p>

<p>I had the 50 1.8 briefly, and it and my T1i didn't do a very good job of autofocusing at 1.8. For portrait work you will need to use magnified live view when it is wide open. </p>

<p>The lens I find most amusing, and that would work for portraits, is the Tamron 60mm f2. </p>

 

<p>The only reason that my 50/1.4 is stuck on my camera is that I like it so much. I read about those motor problems but haven't had any problems. I chose the 1.4 less for any optical advantage than the fact that it focuses quietly. (Years ago I had an early Nikon AF that I ended up selling and switching back to MF because of the noisy motor.) Be sure to get the hood (sold separately)--it improves image quality in many situations and it protects the delicate lens barrel assembly from shock, which is rumored to be the cause of mechanical failure.</p>

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<p>Stephen Cumblidge [subscriber] , Feb 19, 2010; 03:55 p.m. I had the 50 1.8 briefly, and it and my T1i didn't do a very good job of autofocusing at 1.8. For portrait work you will need to use magnified live view when it is wide open. The lens I find most amusing, and that would work for portraits, is the Tamron 60mm f2.</p>

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<p>Sorry to be a pedant Stephen but this lens always focuses at f1.8 regardless of the aperture set, it will stop down at the point of exposure. On my XTi it performed fine in Ai mode, or centre AF select & recompose. On my 3 and 7D it rarely needs any help at all.</p>

<p>i had Canon 50mm 1.8 lens for about 5 years (the lens and the body were stolen some time ago) and soon after i got it it became my main and favorite lens. i went on many overseas trips with it, it's been though Thar and Moquegua Deserts, incredibly bumpy bus rides on the Pan-American Highway in South America and equally bad buss rides in India, it's been in snow storms and rainstorms, i dropped it several times - i never had any build issues with it. it feels weak but it's strong enough for many situations. check these out , all with that trusty 50mm 1/8 - <a href="http://mooostudios.com/India_animals/India_animals.htm">http://mooostudios.com/India_animals/India_animals.htm</a></p>

<p>Hi Steve,</p>

<p>I have the 50mm 1.8, it is sharp, it is a great lens to start with. The build quality is pretty poor, but at this price you cant really complain. I too would like to know where you have heard that this lens can get stuck to the body? I also had the 500D which suits this lens fine. I dont think you can go wrong with this lens.</p>

<p>All objective evidence I know of suggests that the "plastic fantastic" 50mm f/1.8 is at least as tough in actual use as the 50mm f/1.4 lens. It just <em>looks</em> cheap and plastic. Looks can be deceiving.</p>

<p>Lenses are forever. 1.4 is forever.</p>

<p>I agree with what everyone else has said here. For the money you absolutely can non beat the value of the Canon 50 1.8. It is an excellent light durrable low light lens and has saved me in many occasions when my Tamron 28-75 F2.8 failed or my Canon 580 EX had burned up all my batteries. Even as a pro I always keep my trusty 50 in the bottom of my camera bag. It is very sharp and descrete when I don't really want to be noticed. I use it a lot for street photography where I don't really want to have all my expensive gear.</p>

<p>I've owned the 1.8 for about a year and just upgraded to the 1.4. The 1.8 will serve you just great. It's a fantastic lens, and it will take a while for you learn to exploit it. The extra half-stop is nice, but you can get good shallow DOF with the fantastic plastic. Plus, you can dump in on CL for 75 when you don't want it anymore in a year. $25 "rental fee" for a year of using the 1.8 is worth it. Don't spring for the 1.4 yet. Someday maybe. Not today.</p>