Canon 50mm

Chris Johnston

Chris Johnston

Veteran
Sold my T2i and lens' a while back and bought a 60D and 17-55 2.8 (and still have several old Nikkors) All is fine........but

For photography, (almost ashamed to say this) I REALLY REALLY miss my nifty fifty. Love that thing for portraits...... I'm on B&H site ready to pull the trigger on another nifty fifty and I see another Canon 50mm ( but 1.4 ) $339

I love the DOF on a lot of photos I do, but is 1.4 gonna give me much more than a 1.8? Is it worth 3 1/2 times the nifty fifty? Photos aren't gonna be low light, mostly studio stuff.
My nifty fifty was kind of a sharp lens, just curious if the 1.4 is just as sharp????
 
Yea, I know what you mean about stills only. I used the nifty fifty for some video and didn't realy care for it much. I have a nikkor 50mm 1.8 that is great for video but I absolutely hate it for stills. Something about Canon glass for stills just looks right to me.

Took this Saturday with my zoom. (even though I goofed with it in PS)
pretty girl
 
I think I'm gonna go for the 1.4

I like the focal length, EF so it's good for the 5D if that ever happens, Don't know if the 1.4 vs 1.8 will make that much difference but for me, it's probably gonna be one of those "Keeper" lens'. Just a little shakey about no IS......
 
Nice photo!

I totally know what you mean about old primes for stills. I do fine with around 50mm and longer on my 60D with EF-S focusing screen, but anything wider is much tougher. That is why I love the 24 F1.4L II for a walk around lens.
 
I have to say that getting full time manual focus override, 200 degree focus turn, a real focus ring and 2/3rds of a stop are worth the extra cash if you can swing it. I was intrigued about the bokeh of the 50 1.8 being unpleasing. It is not really that bad. Breaking Bad has tons of shots where you can see the aperture is 6 blades and it is some of my favorite cinematorgaphy.
 
I was in the same boat, but decided on a Vintage Nikkor 50mm 1.4 for $140 on B&H. For the price, I just couldn't justify the Canon. Autofocus be damned!
 
I've got a non-AI Nikon 50mm f/1.4, a Nifty Fifty, and a Canon 50mm f/1.4. All good lenses and each useful for different purposes. The manual Nikon is best for video. The six-bladed aperture of the NF is, as mentioned, not only "not bad", but sometimes quite stunning, in my opinion. It has its place. And, of course the f/1.4 is a faster lens, quicker to AF, and indispensable on a FF body.

In any case, if only buying one, the Nikon was a good choice. Inexpensive, fast, and with the best focus ring.
 
Jordan_S said:
And, of course the f/1.4 is a faster lens, quicker to AF, and indispensable on a FF body.
Click to expand...

Faster than which? The Canon f1.8 I guess you mean.

I would guess that the Canon f1.4 is slightly sharper than the Nikon, when wide open. My Nikon (also non-AI), is slightly soft at 1.4, although I love how that looks, almost a little dreamy.
 
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