battle of the 50mm

Simon Beer · November 27th, 2009, 01:21 AM

I have a Canon 50mm f1.8II which I used with my D30 back in the day, for photos it's reasonable considering the price - for video on the 7D it's far from ideal.

My main gripe is the focus ring which is incredibly tiny and not at all positive - feels like it has some play in it.

I'm using the novoflex adapter to mount my ZF primes from my D90 on the 7D. The Zeiss 50mm is just a whole world away from the canon 50mm f1.8II. It really comes down to getting what you pay for.

Dan Chung · November 30th, 2009, 11:45 AM

Spent a lot of time playing around with 50mm lenses this week with my friend Van who was setting up a 7D kit.

I personally have the Canon 50mm f1.2L, Contax/Zeiss 50mm f1.4, Leica 50mm f1.4, Voigtlander 58mm f1.4 and Nikkor 55mm f2.8 micro at the moment.

I have also owned the Nikon AF 50mm f1.4 and 50mm f1.2 and Canon 50mm f1.4 and f1.8.

This week we looked at the older Nikon manual focus 55mm f1.2 and 50mm f1.4 as well as another Contax/Zeiss 50mm f1.4 and a Nikon 55mm f3.5 macro.

It proving very hard to tell which is best which should come as no surprise. The Canon 50mm f1.2L is my workhorse and it is as sharp as people say, but I think the Contax bests it for colour and the Leica for sharpness. The micro Nikkors have the lowest CA and an old Nikon manual 50mm f1.4 also faired surprisingly well in this. I would take any of these over the Canon 50mm f1.4 or 1.8.

The Voigtlander and the Leica have the best manual focus action, both are so smooth.

Will try and do a more scientific test at some point.

Dan

Jon Fairhurst · November 30th, 2009, 12:02 PM

Dan, you should pick up a Nikon AI 50mm f/1.8 for completeness.

And, if you get a chance, check each for breathing. Few photo lens reviews check breathing, as it doesn't matter for stills.

BTW, aside from the 100mm f/2.8 Macro, which has insane breathing (not surprising when it gets into the macro range), my lowly EF 28/1.8 breathes little, while the vaunted EF 85/1.8 breathes quite a bit. The 200/2.8L II is quite good. The EF 50/1.4 falls in the middle.

Brian Luce · November 30th, 2009, 01:58 PM

The 50mm is considered the standard because it resembles the human in in FOV. However, with the crop factor of APS-C, shouldn't the standard be the 1.6 equivalent? a 50mm is equivalent to 80mm, So the one prime to rule them all for APS-C should be what, 30mm?

November 30th, 2009, 12:02 PM	#18
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	Dan, you should pick up a Nikon AI 50mm f/1.8 for completeness. And, if you get a chance, check each for breathing. Few photo lens reviews check breathing, as it doesn't matter for stills. BTW, aside from the 100mm f/2.8 Macro, which has insane breathing (not surprising when it gets into the macro range), my lowly EF 28/1.8 breathes little, while the vaunted EF 85/1.8 breathes quite a bit. The 200/2.8L II is quite good. The EF 50/1.4 falls in the middle. __________________ Jon Fairhurst

November 27th, 2009, 01:21 AM	#16
Simon Beer Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 48	I have a Canon 50mm f1.8II which I used with my D30 back in the day, for photos it's reasonable considering the price - for video on the 7D it's far from ideal. My main gripe is the focus ring which is incredibly tiny and not at all positive - feels like it has some play in it. I'm using the novoflex adapter to mount my ZF primes from my D90 on the 7D. The Zeiss 50mm is just a whole world away from the canon 50mm f1.8II. It really comes down to getting what you pay for.

November 30th, 2009, 11:45 AM	#17
Dan Chung Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Beijing Posts: 665	Spent a lot of time playing around with 50mm lenses this week with my friend Van who was setting up a 7D kit. I personally have the Canon 50mm f1.2L, Contax/Zeiss 50mm f1.4, Leica 50mm f1.4, Voigtlander 58mm f1.4 and Nikkor 55mm f2.8 micro at the moment. I have also owned the Nikon AF 50mm f1.4 and 50mm f1.2 and Canon 50mm f1.4 and f1.8. This week we looked at the older Nikon manual focus 55mm f1.2 and 50mm f1.4 as well as another Contax/Zeiss 50mm f1.4 and a Nikon 55mm f3.5 macro. It proving very hard to tell which is best which should come as no surprise. The Canon 50mm f1.2L is my workhorse and it is as sharp as people say, but I think the Contax bests it for colour and the Leica for sharpness. The micro Nikkors have the lowest CA and an old Nikon manual 50mm f1.4 also faired surprisingly well in this. I would take any of these over the Canon 50mm f1.4 or 1.8. The Voigtlander and the Leica have the best manual focus action, both are so smooth. Will try and do a more scientific test at some point. Dan

November 30th, 2009, 01:58 PM	#19
Brian Luce Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,290	The 50mm is considered the standard because it resembles the human in in FOV. However, with the crop factor of APS-C, shouldn't the standard be the 1.6 equivalent? a 50mm is equivalent to 80mm, So the one prime to rule them all for APS-C should be what, 30mm?