Canon EF 50mm F1.4 USM Prime lens. My thoughts after twenty years of professional photography use

I have a love hate relationship with the canon EF 50mm F1.4 lens yet despite its many shortcomings it does hold a special place in my lens line up. In this video I show a small selection of the photographs I have taken with this lens and talk about my experience of using it and some of the good and bad points Hope you enjoy. Thanks for watching. Roy

[bryanbaskett]

Have to say you have become my "Go to" review guy for camera equipment. I like that you don't sugar coat things, give the pluses and minus and you speak from years of experience. Photography is not cheap for the hobbyist or pro, and getting a really informed, subjective opinion on equipment, particularly lenses, is very helpful in deciding what equipment to buy. So thanks for sharing! Please keep your reviews coming!

[matthewpierce]

Smallest channel, but the best of them all. The internet is a strange place. Really enjoy your content. Like your work as well. Thanks for existing.

[trifix]

I have researched for weeks about this lens and FINALLY I found a video from someone who's actually using it. All the videos and reviews talk about the CA and the softness but i have seen photos that looks fantastic. So your "review" tells me what I have been thinking all along - it all comes down to wich sample/version you get. Also good the hear about the buildquality and what to look for when getting it second hand. I had my eyes on a second hand unit that has a dent in the front but after your video I'm gonna look elsewhere.

Yes the Sigma Art 1.4 is a beast in every way in comparison. Having owned one for 4 years I absolutly LOVE IT. Too bad I had to sell all my gear (financial problems) and can't afford it again as of right now. Used they are still triple the price of a used Canon 1.4.

[campbellsups]

i really enjoy the bold and vivid color rendition from this lens even wide open. it gives deeper and more vibrant colors than other 50's ive seen and the nifty fifty

[robbellphoto]

those images are wonderful, thanks for sharing sir

[MannyScoot]

there are different qualities of the 50mm 1.4 USM and since they produce such a large quantity it's difficult finding an exemplary razor sharp copy that doesn't need micro when you find a perfect copy, you will never sell it

[Robdickson]

You will big the biggest camera channel soon,

[meowmix]

i would've never realized you only have 6k subscribers, really great videos all around. exceptional video quality, i love your photos from the 2000s that you've shown in your old DSLR reviews. subscribed.

[philipprice]

Hi Roy
I just landed on your channel for the first time but will definitely be back. Wildlife and macro has taken me away from Canon gear but wear and tare has taken its toll on my old body and I'm no longer able to wield the big wildlife lenses and I'd love to have a good reason to buy a used
5Dii, 24-70L and maybe 50mm 1.4.

I'll definitely be back.

[markhayes]

Thanks for your videos Roy. I have been watching the ones covering my old equipment which has been sitting unused for the last 10 years. My interest has been sparked again and I am looking to get a Canon mirror less body later this year. You have reminded me just how capable my old stuff is and how the “glass” will adapt to a newer “R” body. Thanks again I have had an enjoyable evening watching several of your videos.

[palouuk]

I've only ever had 1.8 nifties but thinking of getting something more robust after pulling off the front element whilst trying to remove one of those white lee filter adapter ring lens caps.

[robertlawrence]

Having been working my way through your back catalogue of videos I started to wonder what it was about these videos of older kit that was so appealing. I came to the conclusion that looking back at gear that we used to use is of far greater benefit than looking at new gear. There are so many YouTube channels around which are constantly looking at the latest gear, often gear which isn't even available. I liken it to my grandchildren who never seem to be content with the 'tech' they have and are always looking to the next update. I feel that modern photographers appear to want the gear to do ALL the work for them.
Modern cameras and lenses are all absolutely superb in comparison to what we used to use and this is where the appeal of looking back comes in. Knowing that great images have been made (and no doubt are still being made) with all this older kit really puts into perspective just how fortunate we are these days.
Knowing just how incredibly difficult it was to capture decent images of birds in flight for instance means that when I now shoot at twenty frames a second with focusing that not only follows a bird but is actually predicting where it is going, I can actually fully appreciate it instead of whingeing that a few frames out of those twenty may not be sharp!
Apologies for what must seem to be a bit of a rant 😬

[kinmanleung]

I like how you talk…. sincere n professional ！

[SterlingSigurdsen]

Really great review. I'm actually switching back to film and re-adding this lens to my kit along with the 85 and 70-200

[MKitchen]

really nice pics.. Im ust bought to my M50 II 24-105 L and 1.4 50mm and I cannot be happier.. picture quality is great for me..

[VicenteSchmitt]

That sums it up very well.. nowadays I'd go for the 1.8 for value or the sigma 1.4 for the middle ground before the expensive L's. I have one but haven't used much lately as the internal focusing guide (made of plastic) started playing again and sometime locks on either end of the range. Got the newer 1.8 stm, even smaller, lighter and makes less noise.

[DartzIRL]

It was the very first new lens I ever bought. One of only two pieces of equipment I own that ever came with a warranty.

Paired with an ancient EOS650, it was the perfect travelling companion. The extra little bit of aperture over the 1.8 was useful in some very specific occasions.

When I use it on a dslr I have - it'll be sharper when used in Live View shooting than shooting using the camera's AF sensor. So perhaps calibration is a little bit different between film/digital.

[kimw]

I think there's two version of it: the first with less "steps" to focus- the reason to miss a lot of sharp shots.. with my latest (3.?) it focus even more exact - best I had so far ....

[L.Spencer]

Just got this lens and tried to take pictures of flowers, very close, at 1.4. It had a hard time focusing, and I'm not happy with the results. That's why I'm here. I was wondering if there's a minimum distance to get a better focus, but maybe it's better to not go down to 1.4. The one I got is used, it is noisy and slow, so that's good to know. I was wondering if it was not working right. Thanks so much for your video!

[TheUltimateBlooper]

I'm a weird kinda guy who thinks ahead when buying stuff so that I have an upgrade path. Back when I was a student and got my first job back in 2012 - I bought a 60D body (to keep the batteries for when I upgrade down the line to a FF body) and this here 50mm f/1.4 USM (because I did not want to be stuck with EF-S lenses). It certainly wasn't the best thing since sliced bread on a crop body, but once I upgraded to a 5D3 and later 5D4 - this lens remains one of my favorites!
I do baby my gear a bit, so mine's still absolutely fine (though the rubber focus ring looks a bit dirty), but I have been in the open rain with it and it's delivered. It's not the sharpest, it's nothing to write home in terms of fringing, focusing can be a bit crunchy...but the shots come out so buttery and special! And, as Jeffrey Wolk mentioned in the comments here - it can be tack-sharp when stopped-down.
No idea how much longer mine will last, but I certainly don't think I'd replace it with a huge ART lens or a nifty-fifty, or anything like that. It's just one of those lenses that does a lot in a small package (assuming you have a FF sensor camera, that is!) and I'd happily buy another in case my copy breaks.