Canon 50mm F1.4 or F1.8


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Hi...just to ask whether there is a great difference between the 1.8 and 1.4 besides their prices....

Any comments from users of these 2 lenses??
 

pic quality wise, not much difference. but u can get better pic at f1.8 using the f1.4 lens cos it's not wide open. dun think the 1.4 is worth the extra dole n weight if u seldom shoot at such low light.
 

If i have to choose, i get f1.8 and use the price difference of 1.8-1.4 to buy something else. It's just isn't really worth it to pay a much more for a 1.4/
 

True, if budget is a contraint, get the f/1.8. But having used the f/1.4, I wouldn't trade it for the f/1.8. Not that I need the f/1.4 often, but it's much more solidly built, and manual focusing (with FTM even) is much smoother and easier. Built quality also doesn't make it feel as plasticky cheap or toy-like like the f/1.8.

Having said that, your final image is more important and I would agree somewhat that the price difference betn the 2 is difficult to comprehend....At f/1.8 or f/2, the f/1.4 big brother performs better than the f/1.8.
 

I've never used the 1.4, so I cannot make a comparison.

But I am VERY impressed with the optical quality of my 50mm 1.8, especially for portraits.

The plastic has never really bothered me. I destroyed one lens by dropping it and did not hesitate to get another one, because it was so cheap.

The autofocus hunts a bit in VERY low light, not sure how much the 1.4 will improve that, with 2/3 stop better.

Here's a coupla low light shots taken with this lens:

Taken only with single dim uplighter lighting the room:
00003506.JPG


Taken with ambient street lighting only (ISO 1600):
IMG_5666.JPG
 

Try to get a 50 1.8 Mk1, that is if you can find one and it will most probably be a used one also. If you think the 50 f1.4 is well built, wait till you see the 50 1.8 Mk1.
 

thought I would share my quote from Cathay 1 week ago.


item :
Canon D60 digital body c/with
std access @ S$3,700.00 ( no stock )

a) Canon EF 50mm/f1.8 II @ S$130.00
b) Canon EF 50mm/f1.4 (U) lens @ S$630.00
 

50mm f/1.4 USM over 50mm f/1.8 II
  • Faster AF
  • More Quiet
  • Better built
  • Slightly better quality
  • you have the $$$ :D

My advice is get 50mm f/1.8 II 1st ... after you satisfy with the 50mm focal length and the quality , then upgrade it to 50mm f/1.4 USM ..
 

Originally posted by megaweb
50mm f/1.4 USM over 50mm f/1.8 II
  • Faster AF
  • More Quiet
  • Better built
  • Slightly better quality
  • you have the $$$ :D

My advice is get 50mm f/1.8 II 1st ... after you satisfy with the 50mm focal length and the quality , then upgrade it to 50mm f/1.4 USM ..

The AF is only more silent but not at all faster.
I own both the 1.8 and 1.4.
Anyone want to buy my 1.8?
 

Hi All !!!


Thanks for all the replies.....I will probably get the 1.8 then upgrade later to the 1.4 . ...

Also just to ask are the AF lenses affected in any way if you forget to switch to the manual mode before you start to twist the the focusing ring to manual focus on your subject...

thanks...
 

Originally posted by zhoufang


The AF is only more silent but not at all faster.
I own both the 1.8 and 1.4.
Anyone want to buy my 1.8?

Please check your PM. I am interested...
 

Originally posted by zhoufang

I own both the 1.8 and 1.4.
Anyone want to buy my 1.8?

Let me ask the questions others would like to know (not me, I'm a Nikonian ;) ):

Is your 50/1.8 Mk I or Mk II?
 

Originally posted by zhoufang


The AF is only more silent but not at all faster.
I own both the 1.8 and 1.4.
Anyone want to buy my 1.8?

Me, I'm interested. PM me the price?
 

The f/1.8 Mk I non-USM is much noisier and a little slower than the f/1.4. It also doesn't come with FTM. It's long out of production so not sure if you can still get it easily in the shops. I saw it early last year selling for close to $180 (very ex!) in a 2nd-hand shop. Went in to try it. Built quality is better than the f/1.8 Mk II of course but I'm not impressed with the focusing. It tends to hunt. In the end walked out w/o buying cos I wasn't duly impressed.

Canon deserves a good beating for coming up with the Mk II which is physically much more inferior than its Mk I predecessor. Don't know how much a Mk I cost originally many years back though...

Built quality is important to me as oddly, I feel more in control and 'shiok' when I hold on to something solid. And subseqently, my mood and inspiration for shooting goes up too!

I think most pple will go for the f/1.8 first and I tend to agree with that. I still can't justify the huge price difference except once you have the $$$. That's what happened to me. Wouldn't want the f/1.8 anymore since then. (But it's still very good optically and value for money.) :bsmilie:
 

Don't know where you saw that ultra expensive 50 mk1 but so far, the prices of the mk 1 I've come across are almost the same(if not the same) as a used mk2.
 

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