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Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM - Review / Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
Canon EOS (APS-C)
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Page 1 of 3
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published August 2005
Special thanks to Markus Stamm and Jaroslaw Komasinski for providing this lens!
Introduction
The Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM was introduced back in June 1993 sitting as an affordable alternative
in-between the extremely expensive (and now discontinued) EF 50mm f/1.0 USM L and the cheapo
EF 50mm f/1.8. On an APS-C DSLR the field-of-view resembles
a 80mm full-frame equivalent. Regarding the ultra-large aperture the lens can be
considered as a portrait lens on APS-C but naturally the scope is not limited to that.
The lens is a little unusual in the global Canon lens context - it features a micro-USM AF drive
including full-time manual (FTM) override in one-shot AF mode. This is, I think, a quite
unique combination. FTM is usually possible with a ring-type USM drives only.
The AF operation is fast and silent but a little worse than ring-type USM lenses (such as
e.g. the 85mm f/1.8 USM). Manual focusing feels pretty smooth and the broad, rubberized control ring
adds to the positive impression here. The overall build quality is very decent with a metal mount
and an outer barrel made of good quality plastics.
The optical construction is made of 7 elements in 6 groups without any special elements.
The lens features 8 aperture blades. The filter size is 58mm. It is a very compact and
light-weight lens at 290g and dimensions of 74x51mm.
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