Bought a Canon EF 50mm f1.4 -- a mistake?

I don't mean to be rude, Rizzice, but you appear to be extremely confused regarding some pretty elementary concepts. You don't know what makes a lens "fast" or why 85mm lens would be a horrible "all around" lens for a crop sensor camera.

In all seriousness, I strongly suggest that you return your 50mm lens AND your Canon 7D. Your money would be better spent on a decent video camera.
 
Were you born understanding everything about cameras? I'm learning here. I may not know a lot, but I know I will be able to do a lot more with the 7D than a regular camcorder, so why are you flaming me? I'm just completely new to SLRs, is that such a crime? Other responses in this thread have already helped me learn a lot...

If you don't want to help out, then why reply? Just to point out my ignorance?
 
Rizzice said:
Thanks Michael. The thing is, I plan on filming a lot of different types of things...
<clip>
Isn't one of the main reasons to use 7D instead of a typical handheld camcorder the fact that you can have great manual control? Will I even be using AF very much? That would be cool if I could get an entire set of good prime lenses with my budget.
Click to expand...

[trying to get us back on track...]

Rehi,

Well, it's not as though we buy the 7D looking for manual control, it's more that we accept some its lack of automatic features (especially focus and zoom) as part of the deal and find way to cope.

Depending on your DOF, you may find focus is indeed a very big deal. Remember, you're dealing with a confluence of lens, camera settings, subject movement, distance from camera to subject, etc.

You can google for a wide range of articles on Depth Of Field. And an excellent video on DOF and Circle Of Confusion is here:

http://tinyurl.com/yc76xzm

At the expense of being repetitive, since your gear and shooting environment are new to you, I recommend you consider renting a lens before making an investment.

If you don't have anything local, consider an online rental company - well worth the small rental fee:

http://www.lensrentals.com/for-canon

Regards, Michael
 
Nice find, that's a great tutorial on DOF, a little slow but very informative and worth watching.

One thing that struck me was that in the graphic she was using to explain short and long DOF the icon for what's in focus is the symbol you might find on the mens public bathroom door, the icon for what's out of focus is the symbol you'd find on the women's door.

Is that a coincidence? Are they trying to teach us something different? What does it mean?
 
Hi Michael,

Thanks! That video was great.. I feel like I'm much more enlightened with lenses now that I have seen that.

Although the gear is new to me, my shooting environment isn't necessarily. I went back to look at some of my films I've made with my Canon HV30, and I noticed that I zoomed in/out probably once or twice out of all the films I've made, and there would have been workarounds in those situations. After some more examination of movies and such, I have found that zooms are much less important and scarce in the film world. On top of that, any photography I am going to be doing will most likely be shots that I have time to set up, instead of run and gun..

I just can't afford the L series at the moment, nor do I think my recreational use requires such a high grade of lens. So at this point, I'm really considering on just saving up on a cheaper Holy Trinity of primes.. perhaps the Canon 28mm, Canon 50mm, and Canon 85mm.

I just don't see a reason to sacrifice quality for versatility, especially if I don't plan on using the zoom function.

And again, thanks everyone for the responses, they've been really informative.
 
In almost all cases the 1.4 or 1.2 lenses for cameras are sharpest stopped down, so the only reason to buy one is to get the slightly fuzzy effect wide open. If you want sharp images, there is no reason to buy one unless you really need that extra stop or half stop of light. But it is catch 22, if you really need the light, there will be other issues with the video. Just using the lens as a photo prime, I used to carry the 1.4 or 1.2 to use in a pinch in a dark room where no flash was permitted. But that is mainly for concerts, restaurants and museums. And in concerts, you often need a bit more reach. Having said all that, the Canon 1.4 is a nice lens. It just is a question of how you want to allocate the $$$ best. The 7D is a great cam, enjoy it.
 
Okay Rizzice, sounds like you're better informed and ready to make your purchase. Incidentally, regarding the though of renting an L series lens I wasn't suggesting you'd buy the lens - I understood it's beyond your budget. Rather the suggestion was to affordably rent one or two to assertain what works best for your martial arts shooting environment and style. Then you could buy a lessor lens with the best tradeoffs, knowing your optimum lens length, f-stop, etc. And for your type of shooting with a 7D, you won't be zooming so going with your favorite fixed length lens will save your hard-earned dollars. And with your budget, you'll probably need to forgo Image Stabilization. Yes, the 28-135mm kit lens has IS but as you'll discover, the high internal f-stop will lead to blurred video for fast-action martial arts action. But who knows, maybe that will become your style - after all, necessity is the mother of invention!

Happy trails, Michael
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top