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Author
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shipwack
Getting Comfy
Registered: September 2006
Location: Cocoa FL
Posts: 108
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Review Date: Sat December 30, 2006
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Feels solid, works great in low light
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Cons:
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Auto focus is little finicky in real low light, but that's not insurmountable.
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This is the first fixed lens I've bought. The quality in look and feel over my kit lens is amazing. Never will I doubt the advice about buying quality lenses again.
I do a lot of shooting in low light, and this has taken great photos even by candle light. I just have to pay attention to the autofocus in real low lighting, or focus manually...
Oh, and right now (29 DEC 06) Amazon has this on sale for $291.00 USD
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GainfulShrimp
Been here a while
Registered: September 2007
Location: Leicestershire
Posts: 325
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Review Date: Fri September 28, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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small and light (though much bigger and heavier than its f/1.8 brother), FTM focus using clutch, great bokeh, fantastic colours
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Cons:
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arguably not as good value as the f/1.8 version, focus hunts in very low light, micro-USM (rather than full ring type USM)
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This is my favourite lens bar none.  It's also my only prime.
I have taken similar shots with this lens and my zooms covering the same range (the EFS 17-85IS and EFS 17-55IS)... and 99% of the time the same shot will look better shot with this lens. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the photos from this lens have a certain vibrancy and richness that my zooms just don't match somehow.
The colours produced by this lens are absolutely lovely - similar to the colours I get from my L lens (the 100-400L).
This lens has several advantages over the f/1.8 'plastic fantastic' version:
- higher build quality - metal lens mount and chunkier construction
- better bokeh (i.e. background blur quality) - 8 aperture blades (vs 5 in the f/1.8) mean that out of focus highlights appear more circular
- it has USM - faster focusing and full-time manual focusing means you can manually tweak an autofocus shot without switching from AF to MF
- it's even faster - my copy is slightly soft at f/1.4 but still very usable
However, it's also more expensive than the plastic fantastic. It's up to you whether you agree with me that the advantages justify the difference. (The f/1.4 is worth it, in my opinion!)
I have achieved shots with this lens in almost total darkness.
In good light, you can get *very* shallow depth of field with this lens - i.e. just a few mm!
Here is a sample image illustrating the beautiful out of focus highlights this lens produces:
http://www.matthewh.com/gallery/disp...e.php?pos=-362
An example of the type of portraits possible in *very* low light with this lens:
http://www.matthewh.com/gallery/disp...e.php?pos=-343
Finally, a demonstration of the shallow depth of field possible with f/1.4:
http://www.matthewh.com/gallery/disp...e.php?pos=-288
Finally, the EF50mm f/1.4 is often criticised for being too soft wide open. Mine is slightly soft wide open, but many of the reviewers are no doubt confusing softness with user error... because at f/1.4 the depth of field is so shallow that shots can appear out of focus if the focus is only very slightly off target (e.g. due to focus-recompose shooting technique).
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_MB_
Forum Regular
Registered: March 2007
Location: Northumberland, UK
Posts: 828
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Review Date: Wed November 14, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £125.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Build, edge to edge sharpness, usable f1.4, contrast, OOF highlights
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Cons:
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mine is a bit squeaky when focusing
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I had the f1.8 mk1 before so already had good experience with an already excellent lens. This appeared and for the price I couldn't say no!
There are a number of reasons I think the 1.4 beats the 1.8s out there.
Build quality, although not quite Tokina ATX or Canon L bomb proof, is very good. This is a larger lens and feels more assured in use than does the 1.8
More aperture blades in the 1.4 means everything looks silkier - highlights and points of light resolve to something that approaches a circle instead of the pentagonal highlights of the 1.8
The lens is razor sharp and keeps it even at f1.4 albeit in a very narrow DOF.
Tonal range captured in the first instance appears to be greater. Deeper shadows, brighter highlights.
The 1.8 is an excellent lens that should be in every kit bag, but if you have the cash burning a hole in your pocket, grab a 1.4 if you can!
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