Canon EF 50/1.4 Lens

by Philip Greenspun; revised August 2018

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Canon's 50/1.4 is a bit heavier than the 50/1.8 but it gives you simultaneous AF/MF because of its USM focusing motor (the latest Canon 50/1.8 STM lens also has good AF). It is one f-stop slower than the 50/1.0 but much lighter weight and less than one-sixth the price.

If you are going to limit yourself to one 50mm prime lens, this is the natural choice. It is reasonably light in weight, a joy to focus manually or automatically, has an 8-blade diaphragm so that out-of-focus highlights look natural (good "bokeh"), and takes a bayonet lens hood.

If you're stuck with Canon EOS bodies, it won't cheer you to know that Popular Photography's comparison of 50/1.4 lenses showed the Contax/Zeiss 50/1.4 to be slightly better than Canon's. On the other hand, the Canon lens proved superior to Leica, Minolta, Nikon, and Pentax (in that order).

Where to Buy

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canon_50/1.4

Technical Data
Construction:	7 elements, 6 groups
Angle of view:	46 degrees (diagonal), 27 (vertical), 40 (horizontal)
Diaphragm Blades:	8
Focus motor:	Micro USM (allows full-time manual focus)
Closest focusing:	0.45 m (1.5 ft) -- magnification of 0.15x
Filter size:	58 mm
Lens Hood:	ES-71 (outside bayonet)
Length and diameter:	50.5 x 73.8 mm
Weight:	290 gm

My trip to Ireland

I bought the Canon 50/1.4 just before a business trip to Ireland. I only had two free days and my primary photographic tool was to be a Fuji 617 panoramic camera. I wanted something light but high quality to stick on a EOS-3 body for snapshots. Why not a zoom lens? I find it less mentally challenging to take pictures with a fixed lens. I don't have to spend time choosing a focal length before each photo. Anyway, here are the best of my snapshots during those two days (all with the EOS-3 body and Fuji NPH ISO 400 color negative film; no filters or lens hood;

Eve in Aer Lingus Business Class (thank you, Andersen Consulting).

Eve making her first purchase (cosmetics) in Dublin, Ireland.

International Financial Services Center (with famine monument in foreground). Dublin, Ireland.

Guiness Sign outside a pub in Laragh. South of Dublin, Ireland.

Military Road (R115) in the Wicklow Mountains, south of Dublin, Ireland.

Sheep in the Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin, Ireland.

Powerscourt Waterfall. Wicklow Mountains. Ireland.

Japanese Garden. Powerscourt. South of Dublin, Ireland.

Girl on a rocky beach north of Dublin, Ireland.

Joy of Coffee. Temple Bar. Dublin, Ireland.

Overturned Golf. Entering the Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin, Ireland.

House that in the guidebook had a lovely thatched roof. Carlingford, Ireland.

My trip to Florida

Boca Grande. Gasparilla Island. SW Florida

Shells in the morning on the beach at Sanibel Island, Florida

My trip to Spain

philg@mit.edu