50mm primes & sharpness

dirtyghettokid

i have an EF 50mm f/1.8 for canon. i mostly shoot at f/2.8 with it, as i know most primes can be a bit soft wide open.

today i saw pictures taken with a nikon f/1.4 wide open and the sharpness in the centre of the image was UNREAL! i definitely do not get that from my f/1.8.

i'm wondering.......if i were to get a canon f/1.4, would it be sharper than the f/1.8... or is it just a matter of the nikon being a better lens than the canon?

i know there's a sigma f/1.4, but there's too many lemons floating about, from what i read.

and lastly, if anybody has the EF 50mm f/1.4, is the AF a lot quicker/better than the f/1.8?

any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

OldGoat

PM me if you want to borrow my Canon 1.4 and give it a try yerself.

Splinters

Maybe Ive just been lucky but Ive had 2 copies of the Sigma 50 1.4 and both have been RAZOR sharp, far better then the Canon 50 1.4.

5uspect

You can compare the 1.8 and the 1.4 here for crop and full frame.
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/canon_50_1p8_ii_c16/3
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/canon_50_1p4_c16/4

They conclude that the 1.4 is soft wide open. The main benefit over the plastic fantastic being build quality.

DaireQuinlan

probably more PEBKAC (or whatever the camera equivalent is) than anything else. I'd say most modern 1.4s wide open probably behave much the same. I'd try and avoid shooting mine at anything bigger than f/2.8 for the same reasons as you give above, except grainy B&W and portraiture, when the softness really works for it.

dirtyghettokid

thanks for the replies!

OldGoat wrote: »

PM me if you want to borrow my Canon 1.4 and give it a try yerself.

that would be fantastic! really appreciate that. i'll pm you in a bit

ditpaintball

The 1.4 and the 1.8 lens are very different in terms of build quality ( and price!) that will explain the difference in image quality.

Try renting / borrowing a 1.4 for a day and test it out to see. If your buying one from a shop, make sure to try it out first as different copies of lenses can be slightly different.

sebphoto

As ditpaintball says Canon 50 mm f/1.4 is totally different than f/1.8 version.
First of all f/1.8 does have DC Micro Motor and f/1.4 version is using micro USM (unfortunately not ring-usm). AF is quicker in f/1.4 version. I was using f/1.8 for some time and it was razor sharp wide open, but I had a chance to check few copies before I bought one.
If you can afford f/1.4 version then go for it or invest in your hobby and get 35mm f/1.4 - you'll be very happy.

dirtyghettokid

i bit the bullet and ordered the canon f/1.4 version. i know i was supposed to try oldgoat's one first.. but i've read/seen enough online. be grand!
i primes hehe

cheers to oldgoat again, really appreciate the offer.

sebphoto

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

i bit the bullet and ordered the canon f/1.4 version. i know i was supposed to try oldgoat's one first.. but i've read/seen enough online. be grand!
i primes hehe

cheers to oldgoat again, really appreciate the offer.

congrats! share your thoughts with us when you recieve it

Ballyman

Its a fantastic lens, I use it at weddings all the time and the IQ is beautiful. I usually use it at f2.0 as its sharper at this aperture than wide open but I also found it seems to focus faster/more accurately when not wide open.

DaireQuinlan

Ballyman wrote: »

Its a fantastic lens, I use it at weddings all the time and the IQ is beautiful. I usually use it at f2.0 as its sharper at this aperture than wide open but I also found it seems to focus faster/more accurately when not wide open.

That's gotta be your imagination The camera will always focus with the lens wide open, only stopping it down to the selected aperture when you hit the shutter button or the DOF preview...

dirtyghettokid

awesome, will do & thanks for the tips! i normally try not to shoot wide open anyway. can't wait to get it! just have a week to wait now

Ballyman

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

That's gotta be your imagination The camera will always focus with the lens wide open, only stopping it down to the selected aperture when you hit the shutter button or the DOF preview...

It probably is my imagination! Its amazing what you can convince yourself of

Brian

Try shooting with the 50 mm f/1.8 at f/4.0, the sharpness is excellent. I've been walking around taking random photos at 4.0 just to admire how sharp they turn out compared to the wider apertures I had been using previously!

Scaled shot from 500D at ISO1600; 50 mm; f/4.0; 1/250 s



100% crop

dirtyghettokid

i already sold the f/1.8... still waiting on the f/1.4... ugh.. hurry up postman!

Cienciano

dirtyghettokid wrote: »

i already sold the f/1.8... still waiting on the f/1.4... ugh.. hurry up postman!

Was thinking of doing the exact same upgrade! Where did you end up buying from if you don't mind me asking?

dirtyghettokid

a shop on ebay, i can't remember the name right at this moment.. but anyway i won't recommend them until i get the lens in my hands!

dirtyghettokid

eeeee!


EF 50mm f/1.4 by jbredrebel, on Flickr

took the above with the 85mm.
first thoughts.....soft wide open. i'ma stick with f/2.8. very nice facial sharpness at that aperture. tried it out on the 5D2 and the 600D. i'll test some more this evening when i have a subject to use :P

edit: got the lens from UKBNS shop on ebay. cheapest sterling price for that lens. it's actually shipped from the UK as well, and not HK. they sent it the next day (5th january), but sent it with interlink (slowwwwww). it arrived to parcel motel last night. free UK shipping though, so can't really complain. all i paid was €3.50 for parcel motel. WINNING!

ablelocks

Cienciano wrote: »

Was thinking of doing the exact same upgrade! Where did you end up buying from if you don't mind me asking?

it's so worth it. (i haven't had much chance to use mine tho')

if you know of anyone going to the US, price is currently hovering around the $300-350. keep an eye on amazon.com - that's where i got mine.

Cienciano

ablelocks wrote: »

it's so worth it. (i haven't had much chance to use mine tho')

if you know of anyone going to the US, price is currently hovering around the $300-350. keep an eye on amazon.com - that's where i got mine.

I want one, but can't afford one just yet. Mate ordered one yesterday and I'll get a go of his

The Doktor

Cienciano wrote: »

Mate ordered one yesterday and I'll get a go of his

No you wont!

Cienciano

The Doktor wrote: »

No you wont!

LOL, i'll take my 17-55 back then

Was going to tell you about this thread, but you'd already bought it!