50mm 1.2 vs 50mm 1.4

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Julia

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Julia
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upgrading from a Canon 50mm 1.8 (boyfriend broke it - see other thread!) and considering a 50mm 1.4.

i tried out a Nikkor 50mm 1.2 manual which i loved but a little out of my price range right now and not very many on ebay. was wondering how the Canon or Nikon 1.4 fared in comparison to a Nikon 50mm 1.2 - obvs the Canon 1.2 is not an option due to price. or should i stretch to the Nikkor 1.2?

any thoughts much appreciated!
 
I have the 1.4 cracking lens( if you'll excuse the pun). Such a small unassuming looking lens but in low light conditions or for tiny depth of field it's excellent. I also have the 1.8, which is great for the price but the 1.4 is a step above.
 
What about the 35mm f2 lens? That is a little cracker
 
thanks - yes, a friend was singing the praises of the 35mm f2. and good to hear that about the 1.4, maybe that's a good next step..
 
50/1.4 is quite good, just be very careful with it. The 1.2 would be manual focus, and will be extremely difficult if not impossible to focus accurately with a tiny viewfinder of 400d
 
daugirdas said:
50/1.4 is quite good, just be very careful with it. The 1.2 would be manual focus, and will be extremely difficult if not impossible to focus accurately with a tiny viewfinder of 400d
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thankyou, that's really helpful, and has actually made my mind up - 1.4 it is! and yes, will keep it well out of harm's way!
 
Julia said:
thankyou, that's really helpful, and has actually made my mind up - 1.4 it is! and yes, will keep it well out of harm's way!
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Good choice .. the 50mm 1.4 is my favorite lens .... I cant fault it. I am using it on a 450d, the quality and DOF is great .... I was going to buy a Flash next, but since having the 1.4, I havent even as much touched the onboard flash, this lens is so fast.
 
Id also look at the 50 1.8g, supposedly sharper at the same aperture than the 1.4g, as well as sharper into the corners...

Edit:

Bokeh isn't bad either.

Hound3.jpg
 
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FWIW, I tested the Siggy 50f1.4, belonging to a friend, against my Canon 50f1.2 which was a super copy and ended up purchasing the Siggy and letting the Canon go. The Sigma 50 with the new matt finish is a gem of a lens and a steal for the money. You should consider it at least.

Oh yes, I had the Canon 50f1.4 for a couple of years and although it gave great images it always felt a bit flimsy so I did not use it nearly as much as I use the Siggy 50 nowadays.

Good luck with your selection.
 
I purchased a Canon 50mm f1.4 a few weeks ago and have just shot a triple 30th Wedding Anniversary with it - nearly 1000 images taken at f1.4 over a long weekend and I'm absolutely blown away by the results.
I looked at the f1.2 and there's now way I could justify the cost, they make the f1.4 look like a bargain.
I do have an f1.8, but it's IQ used wide open is dismal; the f1.4 is in a different league and well worth the money.

My 2p - try before you buy - not all Canon 50mm f1.4s are same...
Have a read of SLRGear's test notes. Most review sites don't mention this and I'm suspicious of their results.
Before I got my f1.4 I borrowed one, had a play and loved the results. The IQ was pretty much in-line with the SLRGear findings; i.e. wide open is a little soft, but not a problem for a typical f1.4 style shot.
However, I was lucky and when visiting LCE had my arm twisted to play with a new f1.4 mated to a new 5DII; results were bitingly sharp; way better than anything I managed with the borrowed lens I'd been playing with. The results on my own 5DII are exactly the same. I'd summarise its wide-open performance as exceptionally sharp in the centre degrading to similar IQ to my 24-105 near the edges.
I've been lucky!
 
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