Nifty Fifty - with out without USM

Viv. said:
Hello all,

Question please.

I've received a fair part-ex price for my old Sigma 170-500 lens.

If it worth getting the USM variant (f1.4) of the nifty or not (f1.8 II)???

This is the one i'm looking at :
http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/us...sed-canon-fit-lenses/canon-ef-50mm-f/1.4-usm/

Thank you much for any advice.

Cheers.
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Personally I would say if you already have the "Nifty" then no, unless you NEED the f1.4 aperture or the improved bokeh.

The "Nifty" is at least as sharp as the f1.4 and at a far less price if you don't have it.

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Sorry - my bad - I assumed all the 50mm had the same nifty nickname.

Am confused as what to get now.

I do want something for indoor use (low lighting), but maybe a 50mm or something wider ......
 
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Viv. said:
Not that many that would do well indoors & within budget .......
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Lol I think you've made a typo...unless you are inside some very long rooms :p
 
Now you've finished taking the .........

Any helpful suggestions ?
 
Don't own either but going from what I'v read the advanatges of the 50mm f/1.4 beyond the obvious slightly larger appature seem to be better build, faster supposidly more accurate AF and fulltime manual focusing. Basically the 1.4 sounds like its more durable and easier to use so I'd say the choice would be based on how much you intend to use it.

50mm on a 7D isnt going to be that wide remember, an 80mm field of view so indoors it would be best suited to head and sholders portraits or closeups of objects. The Canon 28mm f/1.8, 35mm f/2 or Sigma 30mm f/1.4 would all provide something closer to a classic 50mm field of view and likely be more versatile indoors.
 
But the nifty fifty is so cheap, you might as well buy one, and see if you like it!
 
Other than for portraits a 50mm lens on a crop sensor camera is way too long for most indoor use. Even on a full frame camera it would be too long.
 
The USM motor of the 50/1.4 is not the "good" type of USM (Ring USM) that is used in Canon's better lenses. Having owned the 50/1.8, and now owning the 50/1.4, I would say the difference in AF performance is not a compelling reason to upgrade. It's still flaky.

http://photo.net/equipment/canon/lens-motors
 
dudefish said:
The nifty is actually sharper than the f1.4 but not enough for the naked eye to make a distinction. It is a really nice lens and cheap second hand!
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My f1.4 is very sharp at f1.4, good enough to still look sharp at 100% on the 5DII (even the edges are acceptable). On the other hand, my f1.8 is rubbish unless stopped down a bit. There is considerable variation copy to copy and there are some good copies out there as well as some bad ones. If you can try before you buy, then do so...

They are both good lenses.
As already said - the f1.8 is very cheap; well worth getting it just see if you get along with using a prime.
If you do, then at some point you may feel the need to upgrade, but until then you might as well pocket the difference.
 
Thank you all for your advice / input

Going to save for a wider, maybe the 28mm ..............

Cheers.
 
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