Canon 50mm 1.4 focus accuracy

Seems good to me... never had any issues. You have been quite vague though so maybe you could give us a little more info... i.e. are you finding that sometimes it hits and sometimes misses?

Bare in mind that at f/1.4 if you centre and recompose you will quite often miss focus as you are working with a paper thin DOF. Maybe this is the issue you're experiencing?
 
When I had one I found it to be very accurate at closer distances (minimum distance to 3 meters) & slightly less at long distance (10-15 meters).
 
Sorry, my original post was a little vague.

Erm in short, I have recently swapped a Sigma lens for Canon and have been massively impressed in terms of focus accuracy.
My Sigma 50 has typically performed well to date, and I really like it, but it does miss focus occasionally. So far, since getting my Canon 85mm 1.8 I have been blown away by it and it hasn't missed focus, even at medium to long focus distances at f1.8

Im just thinking that the 50mm 1.4 is in the same family of lenses as the Canon 85 1.8 so it might share certain features such as focus motors etc?
 
futureal33 said:
Sorry, my original post was a little vague.

Erm in short, I have recently swapped a Sigma lens for Canon and have been massively impressed in terms of focus accuracy.
My Sigma 50 has typically performed well to date, and I really like it, but it does miss focus occasionally. So far, since getting my Canon 85mm 1.8 I have been blown away by it and it hasn't missed focus, even at medium to long focus distances at f1.8

Im just thinking that the 50mm 1.4 is in the same family of lenses as the Canon 85 1.8 so it might share certain features such as focus motors etc?
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Ahh right I get you now :thumbs:

Not sure tbh, the 50mm I think it quite dated tech wise and quite clunky when focussing... seems to be very accurate though from my experiences
 
IIRC the 85mm is ring USM & the 50mm is micro USM. The 85mm is a better performer.
 
CSB said:
IIRC the 85mm is ring USM & the 50mm is micro USM. The 85mm is a better performer.
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This is correct and matches with my own experience. It is also a bit dreamy/soft wide open so I tend to avoid shooting that way if there is no chance to double check and retake the shot before moving on - e.g. at a wedding.

It makes a very credible f/2-2.8 lens though. :)
 
My f/1.4 only becomes sharp at f/2.8, and really sharp at around f/5.6. At f/1.4 to 1.8 it is pretty soft at pixel level, but perfectly fine for printing up to 12x8". My opinion is that the 85mm f/1.8 is a better lens optically, and the 85 also focuses faster. The 50mm focuses accuratley, but can be pretty slow to lock.
 
I have both.

The 85 1.8 has better AF accuracy and it's very sharp at 1.8. At 2.0 contrast is better and it's even sharper.

My 50 1.4 is considerabely sharp at 1.4, sharp at 2.0 and even better at 2.8. From 2.8 on it's extremelly sharp!
Focus accuracy is very good, but not so good like the 85. Since it was calibrated with my 5D, I couldn't be better satisfied. :)
Some say a good Sigma 50 1.4 copy is sharper wide open in the center, but I think it looses in the rest of the frame and it's less sharp when closed a bit.
 
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So, seems mixed reviews on the 50mm 1.4 from Canon! My main concern is focus accuracy and reliability. If its a little dreamy wide open, but ok by f2.0 but has great focus tracking ability (im thinking Bride walking down/up the aisle type tracking) in dark-ish conditions then thats great!

Thank you for the helpful replies
 
futureal33 said:
Sorry, my original post was a little vague.

Erm in short, I have recently swapped a Sigma lens for Canon and have been massively impressed in terms of focus accuracy.
My Sigma 50 has typically performed well to date, and I really like it, but it does miss focus occasionally. So far, since getting my Canon 85mm 1.8 I have been blown away by it and it hasn't missed focus, even at medium to long focus distances at f1.8

Im just thinking that the 50mm 1.4 is in the same family of lenses as the Canon 85 1.8 so it might share certain features such as focus motors etc?
Click to expand...
The Sigma 50mm f/1.4 focusses at least as well as the Canon 50mm f/1.4, probably a bit more accurately in fact. I currently own both. Soon I'll just own the Sigma.
 
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