What would I gain from swapping 50mm 1.8 to 50mm 1.4?

[LongLensPhotography]

if its the 85mm f1.8, thats the same build quality as the 50mm 1.4 you dont appear to like very much so i wouldn't get your hopes up to much

Nope. 85mm is full time USM excellent lens, that needs proper hammering to break it. 50mm f/1.4 needs only a slight tap on the front and it is dead.

 

[joescrivens]

well i have the 85mm 1.8 too and its great but the i ages arent any better in my opinion than the 50mm 1.8.

maybe i'll post two and see if you guys can spot the difference

 

[tikkathreebarrel]

I sold a Mk1 1.8 to fund the purchase of a 1.4. I concur with others who've already said that it isn't razor sharp @ 1.4 and tend to leave mine on 1.8 for maximum sharpness and short DoF. Was it worth the cost? Not really.
Also, and I'd encourage you to consider this, I have since discovered the world of manual focus lenses and absolute bargain 50mm lenses to be had at f/1.8, f/1.4 and f/2.8. Search your favourite auction site on M42 50mm lens and see what comes up. Why there's even a new Zeiss f/1,4 lens!

 

[joescrivens]

not really into manual focus lenses, i dont get how people can look through a viewfinder and tell manually when an eye is sharp focus as opposed to say the eye lash or eyebrow. i take my hat off to you if you can but not me

 

[antonroland]

the sigma 50/1.4 is a superior lens if you can get a good copy

So what are you actually saying here?

Having had my own fun with bum Sigma lenses there is simply too large a degree of hit and miss for me to take an interest in Sigma glass...ever again.:shrug:

 

[antonroland]

I have owned both lenses and neither are particularly amazing by any stretch of the imagination. Both are rather 'hazy' when wide open, with the f/1.4 suffering typical 'fast fifty' spherical abberation. it works almost like a soft focus lens wide open and I suppose you could see this as being beneficial for portraits. Otherwise, it's a step up to at least f/2 for anything larger than web sized photos. The f/1.8 is getting good at f/2.2, better at f/2.5 and very good by f/2.8. Both are stunning at f/4 -f/5.6 (100% size sharpness) and gradually start to decline in quality again at f/8 ~

The USM motor in the f/1.4 isn't a proper ring ultrasonic system like almost every other ultrasonic Canon lens out there, but instead some crappy pseudo USM motor. For me, it's akin to kit lens focus speed and accuracy, and in all honesty, isn't that much quieter! Focussing indoors under typical ambient lighting is slow and sometimes wouldn't lock at all; outdoors though in light focus is fine. The build quality isn't exactly great, for the £300~ you will pay for one, and the front of the barrel extends slightly as you focus, so you MUST put a hood on it as an accidental knock to the front will kill the lens.

The bokeh off the f/1.4 is more rounded than the f/1.8 as it has 8 aperture blades vice the mere 5 of the cheaper lens. The colour rendition is definitely better (I found my f/1.8 gave a magenta tint - which is also evident on your pics unless it's your PP work) and at f/2 and up the sharpness is quite good in the centre and thirds. vignetting wide open on a full frame camera is actually in some situations rather effective at helping frame the subject - but of course undesirable otherwise.

The only thing about both lenses that impressed me was the IQ - just about everything else is poor. I am selling my 50mm f/1.4 with ES 71II hood imminently - but if I were you, I'd stick with your f/1.8. The build quality sucks, but the IQ isn't all that far behind the much more expensive offering. If you wanted to spend the extra, get an 85mm f/1.8. Arguably better IQ wide open, a proper USM motor, build quality is better (I have held both, and it is true) - what more needs to be said?

In the line of this rather supercilious post you might want to change your signature

Much has also been said about the Canon 50mm f/1.4 and inferior Micro USM. I bought my first one second hand and used it for more than a year before selling it to a mate when I got a new one...it is still going strong and works hard a few days a week...:shrug:






To the OP:

1) Sorry for hijacking this thread.

2) I have owned both and as a freshly rehabilitated pixel peeper I say stick with the old one unless the noisy AF and awkward focusing ring gets you down and you feel you have to buy the f/1.4.

IIRC, my 1.8 MkII had a bit of a cool cast (which is not the end of the world) but it does yield fantastic images.

By all means buy the 1.4 as long as no-one goes hungry but do not expect warp-speed improvements in your images. Subtle improvements yes! Great lens, get it if you can. If you can't you are not that much worse off!