Canon 50mm 1.8 v 1.4

[MiKe Webster]

Hi,

I just bought the cheap 1.8 and used it over the weekend, low light stuff in a railway station and pictures in a fish house of filliting of fish.

The results were better than pleasing and very sharp at f/2.8

I really wanted the f/1.4 and would still look to get it but is so much more expensive.

What are the benefits of the f/1.4 and would it give me better results?

I am using the lens on a Canon 7D

Appreciate your comments and would also like to here what you think of the 7D

Best wishes,

Mike

[Wirefox]

Mike

I am no expert but I believe the 1.8 is all plastic construction (not that it is not an excellent performer for the price). The 1.4 apart from letting a tad more light in is much of better construction and optical quality. I have heard a couple of horror stories on other forums about getting the 1.8 stuck on the camera due to the plastic mount so be careful with that 7D. If you apply the same reasoning to why you selected a £1000 plus camera body and apply it to lenses you wont go far wrong. The 1.8 is the bottom end of the canon lens line up but it does not mean that it will not do a fine job (as you discovered)

Steve

[Jim B.]

Hi Mike,
I've owned both the 1.8 and the 1.4.
The differences:
1.4-Better build,USM.Full Time Manual Focus.Little better low light performance.Better IQ wide open.
Jim

[pwnage101]

just as a note, f1.4 is a whole 0.72514 stops brighter than 1.8. but it probably isn't even fair to compare 1.4 to 1.8 if the 1.8 doesn't even get sharp until 2.8, so that brightness gap is probably larger.

(f1.4 is 2.0 stops brighter than f2.8)

[oleak]

My experience is that the 1.4 is both sharper and has alot better bokeh than the 1.8. The overall quality of the 1.4 is just incomparable with the 1.8. The 1.4 used to be my favorite lens but this has now changed due to the purchase of 200mm f2.8.

The Canon 7D is a fantastic camera for the person who knows how to use it properly