Help me pick an Prime Lens

[rebeccajones]

Ive decided to get a 50mm prime lens, but Im a bit confused over which to get...

looking at the Canon 50mm lens, there is an f1.8 and a f1.4...

The f1.4 is of better build quality, and a lot less plastic than the f1.8.. but its also at least £200 more expensive...

Is it really worth paying the extra £200?

[Wishy]

50mm on a crop sensor is quite long and doesn't suit all.

Buy the 1.8, work out if you like it and flog it on if you don't. Half a stop isn't worth worrying about. (And if you want better build quality buy something that isn't modern)

[RobDickinson]

Canon 50f1.8 = cheap n plastick build, not robust, slow focus, poor low light focus(!), terrible manual focus and poor bokeh when stopped down some. Upsides = cheap, fast, very sharp (from f2.5 on - sharper than the 1.4).

Btw the mk1 f1.8 solves a lot of those issues.

Canon 40f1.0 has micro motor usm (so not proper usm) better bokeh, and f1.4, better build, better manual focus.

Sigma 50mmf1,4 has proper HSM , is more money, has the best bokeh and is a lot sharper. downside is some focus issues.

[Vulcan101]

You could get a Sigma 30mm f1.4 instead. It works out as 48mm on a crop sensor so much closer to an actual 50mm.

It's also a first rate piece of glass and whilst subject to some sample variation can be sharper than a sharp thing.

[Taq]

I sold my f1.8 50mm after I only used it about three times in 2 years. As mentioned above it's an odd length for a crop body.
Would a 30mm be a good alternative?

[ChrisBlack]

/curve ball time

Canon EF mount Voigtlander 40mm f/2? http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=1818

Or the 58mm f/1.4 Nokton (Canon fit not available at Robert White)

/backs away from thread :|

[RobDickinson]

^ manual focus only I assume, do they focus confirm even?

[ChrisBlack]

Don't know mate - never used a DLSR Voigty. Besides, manual focus is the future.





No, hang on, its the past, isn't it? :thinking:

[RobDickinson]

Its useless on a standard SLR if you dont change the focus screen!

[Wishy]

Manual focus lenses deserve a manual focus camera. AF focus screens aren't much use, focus confirm is better than nothing but its nowhere near as good as a proper split prism / microprism. Other thing is the crop sensor SLRs have viewfinders like postage stamps, even with a proper focus screen its not like using even the most mediocre 1970's manual focus SLR

For me 35mm full frame is the bestist! A 70-80ish (equiv) mm prime is way too long. A 50mm is too long.

[RobDickinson]

Hmm. Used a D300 with a split prism focus screen and it works just fine. Also used a 5D2 with the fast focus screen and that was good too (as expected) but no better realy.

next you'll be berating meetering and drive modes...:D

[DeadYankee]

I'm curious as to what a 50mm is too long for. I've got a 24mm, 50mm, 100mm, 200mm and 400mm primes and none of them are too long for anything. They are all useful for different things.

[RobDickinson]

Especialy as rebeccajones started by saying they wanted a 50mm lens. Ofcourse some people know better... :shakes heed:

Canons 50f1.8 is always worth a go I've got some excelent pics out of it, just got to know its limitations. Its almost disposably cheap.

[Woz]

50mm is my favorite lens on a crop body. It tends to reflect how I 'see' the world so it works for me. This is not a hard and fast rule.

As for the two lenses. I have both, so some examples:

50mm F1.8 wide open on a Canon 400D:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvf-woz/4730792451/" title="Wills' Prom Photos by Woz!, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1165/4730792451_be52b5e88e.jpg" width="500" height="463" alt="Wills' Prom Photos"></a>
(taken by my 8 year old!)

Another one by him to give an idea of the Bokeh from this lens:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvf-woz/4730795067/" title="Wills' Prom Photos by Woz!, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1022/4730795067_e35c055ea4.jpg" width="500" height="412" alt="Wills' Prom Photos"></a>
(He's small, hence the low angles!)

50mm F1.4 on the same 400D @2.8
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvf-woz/1307029910/" title="Benedict by Woz!, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1395/1307029910_324bee5dc7.jpg" width="357" height="500" alt="Benedict"></a>

100% crop:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvf-woz/1306147669/" title="Benedict-eye by Woz!, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1291/1306147669_b119f01165.jpg" width="295" height="194" alt="Benedict-eye"></a>
Not sure you'd want any sharper than that!

and at F1.4:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvf-woz/3351235086/" title="Red Nose by Woz!, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3444/3351235086_db37205429.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Red Nose"></a>

I think the 1.4 is astonishingly sharp (well my copy is, and this is the second one as I broke my first, which was equally sharp). Techically it's a much better lens and it's way better built. However, there's a certain something to the 1.8 that I like a lot.
I use the 1.4 the most though - pretty much all the time to be honest.

[rebeccajones]

Hi Guys,

thanks for the responce. tho it did'nt make things any more clear :)

I went into a store at the weekend and asked for some advice, apart from trying to upsell me into buying a 5D (nice) they did let me try both lens..

And they are nice, but I think I need something lower (wider?) for what I'm aiming at, so I'm now looking at a 30mm Prime... argh, things are never simple.. :)

[driver8]

yes, the 'old' film cameras would often come with a standard 50mm prime lens, so the equivalent on a crop sensor would be 30mm (x 1.6 = 48mm)

[RobDickinson]

Unfortunatly canon needs a new crop only prime like the 35f1.8 afs

They have a 28/1.8 and a 35/2.0, sigma has a 30f1.4 thats OK for certain uses ( centered images fast aperture).

Fingers crossed there will be a 35/1.8 afs equivelant soon because thats one lens I'd love on canon.

[Sprout Crumble]

Nice focal length. 35/1.4L is one of my favourites. Of the others, the Sigma 30/1.4 would be my choice. The Canons are well past their best and ripe for updating.
Of course, Canon would rather update lenses that don't need it for a hefty wedge....

[JohnMid1098]

I love my Sigma 30mm, though I guess not everyone appreciates them.

[Boink!]

Mine's damn fine (even if the paintwork is peeling)

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spookygonk/345505513/" title="Sunbathers by Spookygonk, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/166/345505513_293faff40f.jpg" width="500" height="357" alt="Sunbathers" /></a>

[Vulcan101]

To be honest I tend to keep either the Sigma 30mm f1.4 or Mk1 50mm f1.8 on my 350D most of the time. On my Eos 5 film SLR, it's either the 50mm or a 24mm f2.8.