Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM - a basic lens or an ace all-rounder

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens is too long or too wide for wet-eared people, while the old-school war photographer thinks it captures everything. I'm neither but I know which lens to grab if I have to choose just one. Canon EF lenses allow you to realise the images you have in mind. Each of the more than 60 lenses in the EF series is designed to enhance the performance of Canon system cameras. Capture the images you want quickly, efficiently and virtually silently.

Better than Canon's nifty fifty, the 50mm is by far the most versatile lens, according to some sources. The images speak for themselves, the colour reproduction and background softness are very spot on, not forgetting the context. The lens offers a natural perspective with a fast maximum aperture, 1.4 is really all you need in a cinema size camera in terms of luminosity and especially background softness. The lens has a Gaussian optical design, two highly transmissive elements, and these give a colour saturated and sharp image. The Super Spectra coating takes care of any problems with reflections. The optical formula is crowned by a snappy micro USM ultrasonic focus motor which, in addition to its subtlety and silence, offers full-time manual focus override.

If you're using a lens on an APS-C sensor camera, it has a focal length of 80mm. The fast f/1.4 aperture is still good for separating the subject from the background or for helping in low light situations. Background softening is very pleasing thanks to the eight rounded dimmer blades.

Features

• A cinema size 50mm lens that also works on APS-C cameras offering a focal length equivalent to 80mm
• Aperture range: f/1.4 - f/22
• Two:High Refractive Index elements
• Super Spectra coating
• Micro Ultrasonic AF motor
• Rounded 8-point dimmer
• Viewing angle: 46°
• Closest focusing distance: 45cm
• Maximum magnification: 0.15x
• Optical formula: 7 Elements in 6 groups
• Filter size: 58mm
• Dimensions: 73.8 x 50.5 mm
• Weight: 290 g