Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 Lens – Part 2

Canon Did Not Reinvent the Wheel

Canon, like most manufacturers, did not reinvent the wheel when designing the optical formula for the EF 50mm f/1.4 lens. The Canon lens contains 7 optical elements in six groups. This common design is referred to as a “Double Gaussian” design. The Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 lens was released in 1993 but the original design dates back over 100 years!

Paul Rudolph designed the original Double Gaussian camera lens in 1896. The lens was designed for Carl Zeiss and was named the “Planar”. The official Planar lens has been featured on dozens of cameras over the years. Variations and copies of this design, such as the Canon EF 50mm F/1.4, are to numerous to count.

Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 Lens Specifications

Suggested Retail Price: 520.00
Typical Street Price: 349.00
Focal Length: 50mm
Maximum Aperture: F/1.4
Minimum Aperture: F/22
Aperture Control Method: Electronically controlled on camera, no aperture ring
Closest Focusing Distance: 1.5 ft
Distance Scale: Yes, calibrated for 35mm or digital full frame
Filter Size: 58mm
Lens Weight: 10.2 oz
Accessories Included: Lens caps

Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 Lens Handling and Features

The Canon EF 50mm lens handles about as good as any other standard lens that I have used. The lens has no aperture ring, which I miss, and aperture is controlled electronically via the camera body. The USM motor focuses the EF 50mm very fast but not as quickly as some top tier lenses. I have not found myself wishing the USM motor was faster however I do not shoot many fast moving objects. The lens can be focused manually. The user can select the focus mode via a small switch on the lens however manual focus is still available in auto focus mode.

The Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 is a light weight lens that weighs 10.2 oz. The construction feels good but I wouldn’t want to drop it. A friend of mine has reported issues with the lens failing after extended use. I am not sure what failed on his particular lens.

The Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 USM lens has been known to develop a focusing issue over time. This is due to wear of an internal component of the lens. I have read that some users are repairing the lens themselves. I will try to dig up some more info and post the info at a later time

The threaded ring on the front of the lens allows a 58mm filter to be attached. When a filter is attached it does not interfere with the optional bayonet mounted hood. The front of the lens does not rotate during focusing. This is especially useful when a polarized filter is attached to the lens.

Before I go onto the next part of this blog entry I want to mention a particular nit pick.

Canon EF lenses do not include a case or hood !

While I don’t mind the omission of a case the omission of a hood is inexcusable. I am sure this is driven purely by profit and I find it highly irritating that Canon wants 35.00 for the ES-71II plastic lens hood. Even third party lens maker’s include hoods with their lenses.

What about the Canon 50mm’s Bokeh?

The double Gaussian design is known for smooth out of focus rendition. The quality of OOF (out of focus) rendering is also known as bokeh. The Canon EF 50mm F/1.4 does a fantastic job of rendering OOF elements in a smooth way that is not distracting.  For example, the background in the photograph below is very busy. The Canon EF 50mm does a fantastic job of rendering the numerous OOF elements in this frame.

Below is a crop taken from the above frame that demonstrates the rendering of point light sources. Point light sources are not always lights. In this example they are actually reflections from other sources of light.

Canon EF 50mm Bokeh: Point Light Sources

The Canon EF 50mm’s eight aperture blades maintain a very smooth circular shape throughout the aperture range. This circular shape is what allows the Canon lens to handle point light sources so well. Other lenses that have fewer blades often render light sources in a much busier fashion.