Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens

Pros: Buttery soft bokeh, fast performance in low light conditions, ultra sonic motor
Cons: Spendier than the 1.8, a little slow to focus in low light

One year ago my husband surprised me with a Canon digital Rebel XT, which completely changed the way I took photos. This past fall I upgraded to a Canon 30d, and took to heart the theory that an excellent photo has less to do with the actual camera and ...

Pros: Fast, light, great bokeh, reasonable price, lovely color, low chromatic aberration, decent build, excellent glass
Cons: Not as good quality build as L lenses, some don't like the focusing ring.

The 50mm is a 'prime lens' so it has no zoom functionality. That means that it won't be a choice that every photographer feels comfortable with. For those on a low budget it might seem like a false economy to buy a lens which won't fill gaps in your ...

Pros: Huge light-gathering capabilities, much better build quality than the 50/1.8, crystal-clear images when stopped down.
Cons: Fuzzy in bright light when shooting wide open.

We purchased a Digital Rebel back in early 2004 to try and stave off our desires to get back into a darkroom and spend lots of money on film and chemicals. It did the trick for the most part, but I couldn't help missing my old 50/1.8 lens that I used ...

Pros: Excellent sharpness, whisper-quiet USM motor, and actually a good value.
Cons: Manual focus ring feels plasticy, loose, and cheap.

The optical quality of this lens is amazing. It was one of the principal reasons I chose the Canon EF system. The USM function is beautifully quiet and INCREDIBLY fast on auto-focus. However, I usually use MF, which is the only drawback to this lens. The...

Pros: 1. Sharpness 2. Accurate Focus 3. Build quality 4. Price (considering clarity)
Cons: 1. Softness wide open (1.4-2.0)

Before purchasing this lens, I did a great deal of reading about the best options for a sharp and fast (large aperture) reasonably priced lens. Everywhere I looked, people were raving about this Canon 50mm 1.4 USM lens so I decided to take the plunge. ...

Pros: Fast and sharp, full time manual focusing
Cons: Expensive for a 50mm lens, micromotor drive

This lens is awesome, and is money well spent. This should have been the first lens I bought, but being the SLR beginner I wound up with a zoom like most people. Ever since I got this lens, it stays on the body more than 75% of the time and I leave the...

Pros: Fast 1.4 aperture which means excellent low light performance
Cons: Shallow DoF means hard to focus at times. Plastic body

This is probably one of the most popular primes ever sold. It is inexpensive, light and quite a sharp when stepped down a little. This lens is also about a quarter the price of the f/1.2.I have owned a copy of this lens since May of last year and it has ...

Pros: Very Sharp. Very Fast. Sturdy Enough. Excellent Brokeh. Versatile. Unlikely to outgrow as you upgrade.
Cons: Costly - I may not take it on certain adventures. Barrel-distortion in fullframe cams.

Excellent sharpness at f2.8 . Fast and quiet autofocus. Sturdy feel. Excellent brokeh wide open. A great buy for Canon 300D / 10D / 20D owners as it will remain one of your best lenses even if you eventually upgrade to a 1D. The complaints regarding the manual focus ring are partly warranted. When you first move the ring it does not have a solid feel to it...it seems to move too easily for a very short duration....then it feels more like a typical MF ring. I think the first apparent wobble of the MF ring is the "full time autofocus" function of this lens detecting the first movement of the ring and disabling the autofocus - otherwise you would be potentially rotating manually counter to the autofocus mechanism and wreck it. Hence the MF ring "feels" like there could be wobbly flaky cheap lens construction inside..but really it is very solid.

Pros: excellent quality, with a digital SLR (at 75mm) it's perfect as a portrait lens.
Cons: It's not a zoom lens.

Yes, this is an excellent lens! I have six other Canon lenses and this one is by far the best quality lens I have. (Granted I don't have tens of thousands invested in their top lenses.) It's amazingly sharp and very fast. Because I use the Canon 10D SLR this lens is effectively a 75mm which makes it perfect for the portrait work I do. I also use Canon's 24-85, but whenever I am able-- when I don't need the added wide or zoom angels-- I put this lens on the camera. It's sharper.

Pros: Fast silent focus, F/1.4, Compact, good value
Cons: Needs better weather proofing

If you want a sharp, small quiet and fast lens for candid work or street photography then look no further. This lens is a gem. The background blur is excellent and the sharpness is almost on a par with an L lens. It's also really contrasty at higher apertures making it ideal for B&W portraits.
In my opinion an essential addition to the camera bag!

Pros: FAST, FAST, FAST. Autofocus and F/1.4. Great build too.
Cons: not a zoom...can't hold that against it though!

This lens is fast, light, and sharp as a tack. It is perfect for low light situations. I use it for portraits with my digital camera and as an general low light lens with film. I grew up with a 50mm lens so I've always loved the natural feel of this focal length. I wouldn't think twice about buying this. It is built a lot better than the 1.8 versions and it has the ultra-fast and quiet USM autofocus!