Best way to use a Canon 50mm 1.4

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Andrew
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I yet to get a great shoot from my canon 50mm 1.4 and I am wondering if you guys who knows it all can give me some tips on how to get the best out of my lens. I been ushing it is P mode and AV Mode.
 
In what way are you un happy with the images it produces? What are you trying to shoot? I tend to stay away from P mode and stick to Av, Tv or M, but if the aperture/shutter are set to the same it doesn't matter what mode you use...
 
I dont know what I do I try and take something later and post something up for comments Might me be expecting too much
 
Pics please!

A f1.4 lens is a 1.4 for a reason. Light and lots of it! Two things you can do with that. One is to use some really fast shutter speeds to freeze movement that you might not be able to achieve with a slower lens. The other, which you are on the right track with, is to use a shallow depth of field.

Set the camera to Av and use some of that light. At f1.4 you might not get the absolute best out of the lens since the performance of most lenses can drop off a little at the extremes. Try selecting f1.8 or f2.8 and go and find some subjects to shoot with that narrow depth of field.

Take lots of pics with a range of apertures so you can see the effect the changes are making.

And use your feet! There's no zoom on it! :)
 
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I love my nifty fifty f/1.4. It's great for taking with you wherever you go, and snapping people just doing their thing.

The above was of my mother-in-law in a pub. Completely unposed.

A.
 
Taken with The Canon 50mm F1.2 L not the 50mm F1.4, but a great portrait lens the 50mm F1.4 will make.

AV Mode (Prefers Average User Mode)

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The 50mm is generally an excellent all round lens.
The 1.4 is one of the best.

It will be it's sharpest at around f8/f11, so bear that in mind.
Stop it down if the light can take it, and this lens will really shine. If not, stopping it down once to 2.8 will still show really impressive results :)
Alternatively, use it full whack on 1.4 to get an extremely shallow depth of field :)
 
When you say stop it down as in what? the F numbers?????
 
Yeah, in other words he means drop the aperture to a lower number (wider aperture) and you'll see some cracking results. At f/2.8 the lens will still be pin sharp, and wide open (aperture set to f/1.4) you'll get some serious depth of field. The lens will be at it's sharpest at f/8 - f/11.
 
Iv got this lens and as already said you'll get some serious depth of field with it, i find it rubbish in low light as the AV will search forever and by the time it finds the target, i have missed the shot, thats if it finds it at all? this is a lens that needs a fair bit of skill to use it to the max, and its not me lol, keep pratiscing and it will come.
 
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