50mm question

R

ricklopez1

New member
I am looking to by a 50mm lense, should I buy a canon 1.8 or 1.4 nikon or a vintage asahi super 50mm 1.4...i am noob but love how the canon 50mm 1.8 images look but wish they were sharper. I just sold my rebel and got the gh1 Thanks for the help.
 
I know perfect solution - Pentax SMC 50mm F1.7 , M version (it is cheapest)
This lens in generally quite sharp right from F1.7 even for photo.
SMC coating is superb.

You can also experiment with Minolta Rokkor-X F1.4 MC version.
 
The Canon 50 1.8 is very sharp but the bokeh is very harsh

The Rokkor is excellent... actually, it's the Minolta Rokkor-PG 50mm f/1.4, the Rokkor-X is a newer MD version, very nice too, but the bokeh on the MC version is better, and sharpness is on par with the SMC Takumar 50mm 1.4
 
Apologies to Clapton but the Canon FD50/1.4 is God, as is the earlier FL50/1.4, though it flares a bit more. Love these lenses, and they're relatively plentiful and reasonable on eBay.
 
So from what I am gathering here. I would be better suited to go with an older piece of glass vs say new canon 50mm 1.4? I guess I looking for the best bang for the buck and wanting great quality shots that are sharp.
 
You have to go with old manual lenses, new auto-focus lenses won't work. The adapters used to mount non-native lenses on m43 lack electronic contacts. Stick with the vintage lenses. They're cheaper, cooler, and often have better image quality than a modern AF lens.

Best bang for the buck IMO is Canon FD50/1.4.

ricklopez1 said:
So from what I am gathering here. I would be better suited to go with an older piece of glass vs say new canon 50mm 1.4? I guess I looking for the best bang for the buck and wanting great quality shots that are sharp.
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shaveblog said:
Apologies to Clapton but the Canon FD50/1.4 is God, as is the earlier FL50/1.4, though it flares a bit more. Love these lenses, and they're relatively plentiful and reasonable on eBay.
Click to expand...

I would have to agree with you on the FD 50mm f1.4 being a really sweet lens (though as religious man, I would have to disagree with you on the God part :laugh:).
Most the FD lenses create a very pleasing filmic look.
 
I've got a question for any non olympus or panasonic 4/3 lens. Does the focus assist magnification during manual focus work?
 
Yes, but you have to engage it manually, as the lack of data link between lens and camera means the latter can't know when the former is being focused by hand.

On the GF1 it's a press of the thumbwheel, and magnification screen comes up to help you focus.

climber said:
I've got a question for any non olympus or panasonic 4/3 lens. Does the focus assist magnification during manual focus work?
Click to expand...
 
thanks for all the info its much appriciated. Now after I buy the 50mm do I need to have a pancake lense in my inventory? Is there a major diffence from a pancake 20mm and a 50mm?
 
ricklopez1 said:
thanks for all the info its much appriciated. Now after I buy the 50mm do I need to have a pancake lense in my inventory? Is there a major diffence from a pancake 20mm and a 50mm?
Click to expand...

If you wanna' shoot wider, by all means buy it. 50 is nice on four-thirds, but a bit narrow sometimes. It's nearly impossible, for me at least, to shoot a 50 handheld. I say get it.
 
IMO the Canon FD 50mm 1.4 (I have SSC model) is really quite soft wide-open especially for photos. It's not just the softness that is bothersome but a general lack of overall image contast which doesn't fully go away until at least f5.6 outdoors. Indoors (lower contrast scene and lower light) it fares better.
I also have Canon 50mm 3.5 Macro which is sharper at 3.5 than the 1.4 is at 3.5. Somehow it is also brighter than the 1.4 is set to 3.5
I also have Olympus 50mm 1.8 which is sharper than the 1.4 Canon at all apertures.

Unless you are shooting videos in the dark, or portraits in studio where sharpness doesn't matter as much, I think there are better options than Canon FD 50mm 1.4
 
Point well taken, though I personally feel the FD50/1.4 sharpens up nicely by f/2-2.8, no need to go all the way to f/5.6 and throw focus all the way back to the mountains.

I also feel the Canon's look wide open is fantastic for video, extremely filmic and lovely. I think this may be a generational and/or taste issue, as wide open, the lens harkens back to the softer look of film instead of the razor sharpness younger generations have come to expect from HD video. Both are equally valid aesthetics, and I'm glad I have the option to shoot the Canon wide open or the Panacake if I want a more filmic or a more HD video look, respectively.

I view video and stills differently. Stills I try my damnedest to get tack sharp. With video I find a softer look not only pleases my eye but does much to minimize the artifacts that still remain even with high bit rate footage.

Budding DSLR filmmakers chasing the film look would be surprised if they took a break with the struggle to turn 30p to 24p and just tried shooting wide open with a good older lens like the Canon FDs and FL.



dasbin said:
IMO the Canon FD 50mm 1.4 (I have SSC model) is really quite soft wide-open especially for photos. It's not just the softness that is bothersome but a general lack of overall image contast which doesn't fully go away until at least f5.6 outdoors. Indoors (lower contrast scene and lower light) it fares better.
I also have Canon 50mm 3.5 Macro which is sharper at 3.5 than the 1.4 is at 3.5. Somehow it is also brighter than the 1.4 is set to 3.5
I also have Olympus 50mm 1.8 which is sharper than the 1.4 Canon at all apertures.

Unless you are shooting videos in the dark, or portraits in studio where sharpness doesn't matter as much, I think there are better options than Canon FD 50mm 1.4
Click to expand...
 
canon fd 50 1.4 gives good old filmic look. it looks so good that prolly gh13 is currently the best body for canon fd lenses. its so uniquely different... for good and bad. either go for all canon fd primes or none. im using vivitar komine and nikkor ais primes and they match well.
 
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