Many people will think that it is a waste of money to invest in a DSLR body. Mirroless cameras are getting better and better and popular day by day. Some people will claim that they still prefer an optical view finder. But there are three main reasons in my opinion that make DSLR's today a good buy. The first reason is the price. There are thousands of professional DSLR's bodies that you can buy at a good price. The second reason is that DSLR's will teach you many things about photography. They are probably the best educational tools for students to learn the basics about photography and even video. The third reason is that they are a mature technology and they still have a better lens line up. The price to performance ratio is excellent and there are way more lens options for DSLR's that mirrorless cameras. Did i say lenses? Lets see one of the best lenses you can buy for your Canon 5D series for general shooting and a great portrait lens for cropped bodies. It is the Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 USM lens.
Canon 5D ii and Canon EF 50 mm F/1.4 sample image
Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 lens specs
- Mount: Canon EF
- Focal length 50 mm - APS-C equivalent 80mm (50 x 1.6)
- Maximum aperture 1.4 - Steps down to F/22
- Optical formula: Seven elements in three groups
- Minimum focusing distance: 0.45 m - 1.5 ft
- Filter thread 58 mm
- Number of aperture blades : 8
- Weight: 290 g
- Dimensions: 73.8mm diameter X 50.5mm length (2.9 X 2.0 in)
- Image stabilization: None
Build Quality and Operation
The Canon EF 50 mm is a mid range Canon lens. It does not have the build quality of an L lens but for the price it is excellent. It has a metal mount and a plastic barrel but it feels solid. Its autofocus motor is called Ultrasonic. Actually USM means UltraSonic motor and it is supposed to autofocus silently. The truth is that sometimes it is a bit noisy. EF means electronic focus but it also has a dedicated button to switch to manual focus. The manual focus ring is smooth and accurate. It is a light and a compact design for a full frame lens and you can easily fit it in your bag. Keep in mind that the lens is not weather sealed.
Odeon of Herodes Atticus - Canon 5D ii and EF 50 mm F 1.4 USM lens
Image quality - Character
The Canon EF 50 mm F 1.4 USM is a fast lens. An aperture of 1.4 means that the lens can gather enough light even under low light conditions. At such wide aperture the depth of field is razor thin... That makes the lens good for portraits. Just focus on the eye of the subject and Canon colors will do the rest.
The Bokeh is good enough in most cases but it is not impressive. Sometimes it can be harsh and distract you from the main subject. Just avoid a background with a lot of light when you are shooting portraits or when you shoot wide open.
The lens can also be used for general shooting, street photography and in some cases for landscapes. If you use an aps-c camera then it is perfect for portraits and close-up shots. It can be used for video (actually its really good) but you will definitely need a tripod or a gimbal. Of course you will have to deal with Canon's huge .mov files but if you feel brave enough you can install the Magic Lantern firmware.
At F/1.4 it is sharp in the center but soft in the corners. It becomes a bit sharper at F/2.0 and at F/2.8 it is overall much better (colors, sharpness and contrast). It seems that the sweet spot of this lens is at F 5.6. Generally i like to shoot between F/2.8 - F/11 with this lens. Keep in mind that if you shoot against a light source the pictures are less contrasty, The lens is also prone to flares.
Wide open you may notice chromatic aberrations, barrel distortion etc but you can fix it in post processing with Adobe Lightroom.
Final Thoughts
The Canon EF 50 mm F/1.4 is a must have lens. It is sharp, lightweight, compact, fast and affordable, especially if you buy it from the second hand market. If you decide to enter the DLSR world then it is probably one of the first lenses (if not the first) that you should buy. Overall it is probably the best value for money Canon EF lens for general shooting and portraits.
Links - Affiliate code: if you purchase products using my links I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you! You can buy the Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 USM lens eBay: https://ebay.us/E1nEO2
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