The sharpness of the Nikon 50 / 1.4G...
KLO82 wrote:
Canon 50mm 1.4 is an old lens and needs o be updated according to many users. It is an older design where the lenses are somewhat hazy at the largest aperture (due to spherical aberration) and gain contrast by stopping down to f2 and beyond. Other lenses of similar design are Zeiss Planar T* 1.4/50 and Nikon 50mm f1.4G, they show similar characteristics. But the advantage of these lenses are, they have fewer optical elements and so they are light and small, and are relatively cheap.
On the other hand there are modern 50mm lenses from Sigma and Zeiss, which are better performer at wider apertures. These lenses have more optical elements to correct spherical aberrations and so they are heavier and larger, and pricier and much better performer at wide apertures.
Here is a comparison between these lenses:
Lens - No. of optical elements/ groups - weight
Nikon 50mm 1.4G - 8/7 - 280 grams
Canon 50mm f1.4 - 7/6 - 268 grams
Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4 - 7/6 - 380 grams
Zeiss Otus 55mm f1.4 - 12/10 - 1020 grams
Zeiss Milvus 50mm f1.4 - 10/8 - 922 grams
Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art - 13/8 - 815 grams
One example of older design lens vs newer heavier better performer replacement is Zeiss Planar 50mm 1.4 vs Milvus 50mm f1.4.
So what type of new 50mm f1.4 lens you want from Canon? Older design, moderately priced, light lens (though of course comparatively better performer with better focusing than the current lens, because otherwise there would be no point of releasing a new version). Or a newer design, larger and heavier and much better performer at a higher price point?
...with better bokeh, less CA, and IS at 400g and $699 would be the ticket. But, that's not gonna happen, of course. I'm hoping the 50 / 1.2L II will be just as good, if not better than, the 35 / 1.4L II.