Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
  A steal for the price. December 3, 2008
I'm buying mine after Christmas to compliment my 24-105L and 5D. Maybe the build isn't as good as the 1.2 or Sigma's new 1.4, but it is lighter and more discreet for street work than the larger, heavier variety. If used properly, i.e. at 2 stops up from max - f2, and even f4 and 5.6, you will be working at optimum apertures and this lens becomes a cracker for the price. If you expect too much fully open at f1.4 then you will be kidding yourself. But who in their right mind works with lenses fully open anyway?
 great for concert photography November 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have recently bought this lens being a recent convert to Canon, and is already one of my favourites! I specialise in music photography, which means high ISO, no flash and low light conditions.
This lens comes up trumps in all departments and for small / midsize venues, Crisp, fast and solid, this really is the only lens you will need.
Fantastic Prime Lens October 11, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is the first prime lens I have bought and I didn't know whether to go for the f1.8 or this one. After much research I went for the f1.4, the build quality is much better, the focussing is improved and that extra stop counts for a lot.
The simplicity of this lens is such an eye opener, you have to work for your shots now instead of standing still and zooming in on everything. Your legs become your zoom and because of this you are much more likely to raise or lower your normal eye-level view of the world to find a more interesting angle on a subject.
This lens is purely about quality of image, there are no gimmicks, no image stablisation or anything you don't need, you have a focussing ring and an AF/MF switch. That's it.
Like every lens the sharpness is improved by stopping down from maximum, at f1.8 the 50mm is like a razor, even wide open at f1.4 the pictures are still pretty usable. But its the image, the colours are beautifully captured, the contrast is excellent, sharpness outstanding and the bokeh (out of focus areas) are so soft and creamy its like gazing into a pan of melted butter.
This is the lens you've been looking for, it frees you creatively, lets you make those images you could only dream about before. Sure, it takes a bit of work to get the most from this lens, but the effort will repaid tenfold when you see the results possible with this little cracker.
Sure, the f1.8 is a step in the right direction but the f1.4 is the grownup version, built to last and deliver the results time after time.
I am not exagerrating when I say that this lens has reinvigorated my photography.
If you own a Canon DSLR, you need this, its that simple.
A Lens That Makes Me Smile! September 1, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I just bought this lens a few days ago to compliment my 24-105L and Ef 100 f2.8 Macro.
The focusing speed is slower than the 24-105L which is expected, but I'm surprised that it beats the EF 100 2.8 Macro which has a ring USM.
F1.4 is very handy, and on this lens, results are very useable/acceptable. As reviews/forum discussions suggest, you will see halos and purple fringing at f1.4. This occasionally happens to me depending on subject. It gradually decreases as you step down a bit and at F2, the halo is gone.
Image sharpness wise, I can say that this lens is very sharp!
Build quality is good, better than the kit lens. Its comparable to my EF 100 f2.8 Macro. The scary bit about this lens is the extending front element (but it doesn't rotate) when it focuses, It looks like this is a weak spot of the 50 1.4, I bought a lens hood to protect it.
Sucks in the light! September 17, 2007
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
This lens is great, as you'd expect. It has such a wide aperture, it can take really good pictures indoors with no flash. If you want to take advantage of the short depth of field, make sure to focus on the subject you want; it can be so short (if you want) that even nearby items are out of focus.
I use it with a half-frame image sensor DSLR so the effective focal length is more. Sometimes you have to stand quite far away from a person to take a portrait.
The lens allows manual focus at the same time as automatic focus, but I find that the focus ring is a little loose. (these may be related). People tell me that doesn't matter, but I wish it was tight.
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