Question about EF 50mm f1.4

[min_wong1]

Hi,

I read a lot of reviews about this lens. Many people said the USM

of this lens often broke down. Is it true?

 

Thank you!

[WM]

Nope, mine is already 5 years, used heavily and is still working like new. You won't regret getting this lens.

[joshchapman]

This lens is a micro-USM lens, as opposed to ring-USM (ring USM is a bit better/faster). Micro-USM doesn't permit full time manual focusing <b>except</b> in the case of the 50 f/1.4: it has a unique plastic "kludge" gear to let you focus manually in AF mode. Unfortunately, a knock can often upset this little plastic part. The thing is, I can't say how much of a knock, or how often this happens. Actually, most people with a 50 f/1.4 seem to be pretty happy with them, so I doubt it's all that common. Hope this helps

 

Josh

[jimstrutz]

Mine broke when it was dropped. AF is very sluggish now.

[marcin harla]

<i>Many people said the USM of this lens often broke down</i>

 

<p>One of the reasons "many people" say this is because people often repeat what they read on the net. It may be true, but i would take everything what I read with a grain of salt. So it is said that it can break if one uses it often in FTM focus - as it is micro USM.

<br>I can't comment much on this as mine is only 4 months old and no problems so far.

[barmijo]

I've had mine for two years with no issues at all. I also read posts a couple times a week and this is the first I've heard of any issues with the reliability of this lens.

[min_wong1]

Thank you guys. It semms like a good lens with light weight.

[PuppyDigs]

Mine is 5 years old and still going strong. The only negative thing I can say about this lens

is AF is weak in low light (my EF 28-105 3.5-4.5 USM is better) and plenty 'o barrel

distortion nearer than 2 meters. Other than that it's perfect.

[terry_smith2]

The AF failed on two of mine. One was bought new and the other used. I'm on my third one at the moment. I don't use a 50 that much, so I'm not overly pleased with this.

[PuppyDigs]

"So it is said that it can break if one uses it often in FTM focus - as it is micro USM."

 

Perhaps. However, I have the habit of almost always using FTM to prefocus and try out compositions. I grew with MF and it just seems natural. Plus it saves on battery use. Nevertheless, no sign of problems. My EF 50 1.4 USM lives on my Elan 7E.

[ren__damkot]

No problems so far. Bought the lens second hand some 4 years ago. Still going strong.

[vatovec]

I`m using the lens for 5 years now - no problem.

[jeffc1]

Had mine for some time also, and not a problem. I guess if you take very good of your equioment, it'll take care of you. I use mine alot, and it still looks and functions brand new.

[steve_dunn2]

<p>I think the failure rate of the AF mechanism on this lens is probably higher than that of most other lenses due to the mechanism Canon used to implement FT-M on this lens. But AF mechanism failures are rather uncommon, so it's not something that's likely to happen.</p>

 

<p>I bought my 50/1.4 used in 2000; I don't know when it was manufactured (it doesn't have a date code). It was in very good, if not excellent, condition, but I don't know if that means it wasn't used much, or if it was used a lot but by someone who was careful with it. In any case, its operation has been flawless for me, and it takes lovely pictures.</p>

[alexandru_petrescu]

IIRC, the 50mm f/1.4 is micro-motor USM (as opposed to "ring" USM). Which boils down to, IIRC, the fact that the ring is actuated by a motor that touches a "point" of the ring; as opposed to the "ring" USM where the same ring is actuated by some electromagnetical field, which have no single point of stress.

<p>

So I imagine this lens suffers some stress at a specific physical point, as opposed to the "ring" USMs. Even if 50mm is not called "ring" USM I imagine there's a ring being actuated. This is all stuff I think I read on a Canon <a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/html/eflenses/technology/ultrasonic.html">website</a> a while back and my 50mm1.4 1yr old is acting perfectly despite heavy use. Focuses slowly in low light low contrast, but I don't care.

[alex_medeiros]

The focus mechanism on mine ground to a halt about two years ago after I had it for about two years. I sent it in to Canon for repair. The cost was approximately $100. It was the auto-focus clutch that went bad. It has worked well since. This is the common repair on this lens and while it is a common issue it is not that frequent, my guess is probably 5%-10%.

[aljaz_.]

Mine worked perfectly for two years and then it fell to the floor one early morning. It worked well again at a cost of 100$. Then I hit it again and now it works but not as smoothly as before. I should do something about my hit frequency. A v.nice lens though.

[terry_smith2]

I've had AF problems with two of these lenses and one was not repairable even though it did not suffer from impact damage.

[richard_scanlan]

Just throwing in--my USM broke on this lens after 7 months; almost entirely autofocus and VERY babied, not dropped or soaked or knocked around. It just clicks or the motor bumps a little but the lens won't focus.

[fourfa]

my AF broke after a couple months, fixed under warrantee.