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achromatic
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Registered: Sep 16, 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Sep 28, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $395.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Beautiful crispness at the right depths of field, very fast focus.
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Cons:
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A little soft at 1.8 and below
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I like this lens a lot. I want to get an 85mm, but for now this is my primary portrait lens. It's nice and crisp, very little aberration. A good midrange prime.
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 Sep 28, 2006
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ilind
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Registered: Aug 11, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Sep 24, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, good color, nice build.
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Cons:
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I do love this lens and feel like I should use it more.
Today, with a bit of time available, I put it on my Digital Rebel XT and tracked several of our cats. Here's an assortment of shots that resulted. I'm pleased, as usual, with the results.
http://ilind.net/gallery_2006/cats092406/
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Sep 24, 2006
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Maliketh
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Registered: Nov 7, 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 67
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Review Date: Sep 21, 2006
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $540.00
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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Awesome background blur, nice build quality. good colour and contrast. Feels nice and solid compared to the f1.8
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Cons:
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Far too soft to use seriously on a 5d
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I was quite excited when I opened the box, and was impressed with how solid and heavy this lens felt.
My joy was short lived though, as every photo I took at f1.4 up to about f8 had serious softness issues. I imagine this would not be a problem on a smaller sensor camera, but it seems to me that the resolving power of this lens is not suited to anything from the 5d up.
That said, I am still impressed with the background blur of this lens, along with excellent colour and contrast.
I cannot though, tolerate the softness when shooting wide open and even at apertures up to f8.
I also notice a touch of CA.
I am currently trying to exchange this lens, as I believe I have a bad copy, given all the rave reviews of this lens here.
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Sep 21, 2006
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Lasse Eriksson
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Registered: Sep 13, 2006
Location: Sweden
Posts: 2399
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Review Date: Sep 17, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Image quality, Fast lens
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Cons:
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Soft wide open, build quality, AF
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A nice lens but soft wide open. The build isn't the best either
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Sep 17, 2006
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versiani
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Registered: Jul 7, 2006
Location: Brazil
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Sep 12, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $400.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharpness, brightness, focusing, build, price for quality.
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Cons:
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Has it lost its kingdom for the new 50mm f/1.2 L ?
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On my camera, it becomes a 85mm. I use it a lot, because of its great sharpness after f/3.2, and still quite acceptable sharpness for many objectives (e.g. publishing at the web) even at f/1.4. Combining f/1.4 with iso 800 and some post-processing we can make some dreams come true.
It is the first "85mm" I've had, and before that I often used a "135mm" for portraits. The "135mm" has never seen a face again.
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Sep 12, 2006
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irabkin
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Registered: Jul 10, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Sep 1, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $295.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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sharp, usm, fast
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Cons:
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none
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Pretty everyhting to be said about this lens has been said already. I'll just add that if you're on a relative budget, you owe it to yourself to have this baby in your bag. It's on my camera most of the time, and on a crop body, this is an amazing portrait lens.
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Sep 1, 2006
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eneref
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Registered: Feb 26, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 178
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Review Date: Aug 31, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $250.00
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Incredible bokeh, fantastic colour, excellent contrast.
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Cons:
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Purple fringing like you wouldn't believe, not very sharp until about 2.0
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I got this lens to replace my 50mm F/1.8 mkII as I really didn't like the bokeh of the 1.8 very much. Its pentagonal highlight shape and strong edges created a somewhat displeasing background blur. The colour from this lens is superb, with rich, lifelike colours and a nice, sharp contrast.
I LOVE the extra bit of light I get from 1.8 to 1.4, and the lens seems reasonably as sharp as my 1.8 (although the 1.8 was perhaps sharper at 1.8 than the 1.4 is at 1.8).
The big problem I have with this lens that I did NOT have with the 1.8, however, is the purple fringing. Against a light background, the fringing is so bad as to make a shot unusable unless stopped down to about F/4 to minimise it. In comparison, the 1.8 had almost NO purple fringing at all (perhaps because it had fewer elements to break up the light).
If the 1.2L fares better, it will be worth the price to upgrade. For now, I have to ensure that my backgrounds aren't too bright when I use this lens, or I have to resolve to make the photo monochromatic.
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Aug 31, 2006
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riversen
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Registered: Apr 7, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Aug 30, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $341.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very nice and clean images. The glass and focus are supurb. This is as close to L quality as possible in my book.
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Cons:
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A bit costly, but worth it.
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This is simply a joy to use. I bought it because I am expecting twin boys very soon and wanted a good lens in low light. I think this will work quite nicely. Get it and enjoy!
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Aug 30, 2006
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nicktphoto
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Registered: Jan 18, 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Aug 26, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Cheap
Light
Unobtrusive.
Very Sharp after f2.8
Nice smooth Bokeh, still good at f2.8.
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Cons:
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Barrel distortion...is shocking...
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I have been waiting for a high quality fast 50mm lens from canon for years and finally I hear that the cavalry is coming...the 50 1.2L is about to be released. The 1.4 has been the only canon lens in its class i.e. fast and standard for years and so I had no choice but to use it and its done fine. However I have been using it a lot recently for photojournalistic work and have decided that the barrel distortion is just too too much. Only decently sharp after 2.8 and very sharp by 5.6. certainly sharper than my 28-70 f2.8L at the same apertures.
I have also had some dodgy versions of this lens. On one version the optics had a strange yellow cast on another the USM broke almost instantly. My current version has done well however
The big big problem with this lens is barrel distortion. I am surprised not more people have noticed this. Its pretty awful and has ruined some decent photos where there are straight lines near the edge of the frame...this is no where near an L optic. I'll be trading up to the 1.2L because of this fatal flaw...
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Aug 26, 2006
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DonSnyder
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Registered: Jun 16, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 28
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Review Date: Aug 26, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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significant improvement over f1.8.. good value for quality..
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Cons:
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Aug 26, 2006
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Pollux
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Registered: Jan 23, 2006
Location: France
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Aug 23, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Bokeh - USM - f/1.4
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Cons:
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None
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I use this lens with my Canon EOS 5D.
I love shooting portraits with it.
It's a bit soft at f/1.4 but the bokeh is quite magic.
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Aug 23, 2006
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capitalK
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Registered: Apr 25, 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 1024
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Review Date: Aug 1, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $275.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Big improvement over the 50mm f/1.8 II in almost every way, Focus ring is much better, phenomenal low-light performer
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Cons:
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Like most Canon lenses I accidentally flip the AF/MF switch all the time, could be built a little tougher but it's built well for the price and much tougher than the cheaper 50.
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I bought this lens to replace my lost 50mm f/1.8 which I misplaced in a move. It's probably still in a box somewhere, but in the meantime I needed to replace it. I thought about replacing it with another f/1.8 but decided to make the plunge and get the f/1.4
Boy am I glad I did. It's a great focal length on both my Rebel XT and 1D at different crops. I usually find it a little long on the Rebel XT and use it much more on the 1D.
The plastic f/1.8 just never felt right on the 1D body, but the 50mm f/1.4 feels great.
I'm able to handhold in very low light, and my copy seems very sharp wide open WHEN I HIT THE FOCUS, which is difficult.
The 50mm f/1.8 is great for the price, but I have no regrets about upgrading to the f/1.4.
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Aug 1, 2006
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svx94
Offline
[ X ]
Registered: Mar 25, 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 657
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Review Date: Jul 30, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Nice build quality IMHO; Quick and quiet focus (way better than the F1.8); Very sharp; Very good color and contrast; A perfect shoulder to head portrait lens on 20D, and all purpose on 5D; Very compact design.
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Cons:
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Can't think of anything in my experience.
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I first got myself an used 50mm/1.8 Mark I on the 20D. I quickly found out that was one of my favorite purchase, but the focusing is a bit slow and noisy, so I upgrade to the F1.4 USM version. On my 20D, it is a perfect shoulder to head portrait lens, and that is what I have been using it for. I recently use it in a relative's wedding, and this fast lens did great inside the church. I rearly use larger than F2.8, because the DOF won't be large enough to cover both eyes, and that could be the reason I won't complaint the "softness of F1.4" like many do.
I recently got a 5D and this lens finally acts as a real 50mm, and it seems very pleasent to use as well. Again, since I am not using F1.4 much, I have not yet notice vignette problem on FF 5D.
I have the 24-105L/F4 and still want to keep this lens for low light. I will certainly recommend it to anyone, regardless he/she is using APS-C or FF body.
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Jul 30, 2006
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I Simonius
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Registered: Apr 22, 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 50
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Review Date: Jul 27, 2006
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Recommend? |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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Small, Cheap, Light, Sharp, Fast, good colour rendition
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Cons:
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Bit flimsy. Would be nice if the USM was updated.
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Excellent walk around lens on a FF camera, small unobtrusive.
Needs the hood though to stop the cap getting flipped off at every touch, if it's being carried much.
Excellent resolution but not as good as my copy of the 85mf1.8.
@f1.4 is a bit soft so Needs stopping down a little to get the best resolution - Very best resolution possible is at f5.6 on my copy.
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Jul 27, 2006
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zenzi
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Registered: Jul 7, 2006
Location: France
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jul 26, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $300.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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picture quality, aperture, dof, price
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Cons:
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50mm is a bit long for a digital camera
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I bought this lens after reading the critics on this website and as a matter of fact, I was really not disappointed. I just love the quality of the pictures and the sharpness.
Its depth of field with the maximum aperture is definitely amazing. Within a few centimeters, it goes from sharp to blurry. The effect is quite amazing !
Here are some pictures to show you the impressive quality of this lens (taken with a EOS 300D):
http://www.zenzi.org/bigphoto.php?photo=808
http://www.zenzi.org/bigphoto.php?photo=806
http://www.zenzi.org/bigphoto.php?photo=824
However, I find the 50mm a bit long on a digital camera. It's definitely not a walkaround lens. I still prefer my 18-55mm for this. But when you know you wanna take good pictures or in the evening with low light, it's definitely making a good job.
So, in my point of view, it's definitely a must buy !
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Jul 26, 2006
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my58vw
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Registered: Jun 4, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 174
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Review Date: Jul 21, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $339.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Normal Lens, very nice all around focal length on FF (1Ds). Nice and sharp stopped down (f/2.0 - 2.8+), Lightweight, Bayonette Hood nice compared to clip on on EF 85 f/1.8 USM, OK build quality for price, USM.
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Cons:
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Soft at f/1.4 - f/2.0, Needs serious USM to fix, Nowhere near L quality compared to 24 or 35 f/1.4L's. Will buy 50 f/1.2L or like in a heartbeat, but this is the best 50mm in town.
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If you own canon this is the best 50mm that you can buy new in town. The only better is the discontinued 50 f/1.0L, but the price at over 3k is way too high, the 85 f/1.2L II is a better value to the 50 f/1.0L. For a walkaround lens on FF this focal length is the best, wide, full body shots, automotive, PJ, even landscapes are within range on this lens. For low light performance I go for the 35 f.1.4L, but for most uses the 50 f/1.4 and 85 f/1.8 are with me. Until a 50mm L is introduced this will be on my camera 90% of the time.
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Jul 21, 2006
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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380
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1139108
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May 8, 2013
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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92% of reviewers
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$319.59
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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7.94
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8.72
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8.9
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