Not worth it.

+
Fast and precise autofoccus

-
Expensive, too much distortions, flares and aberrations at f/1.4~f1/.8.
The 50mm f/1.8 STM is better in f/1.8 and all apertures after this.
Not worth it.

I had this lens before I jumped to nikon and back, and it was quite good, even wide open on crop body. Now I'm thinking if I should get it again, buy some Sigma/Samyang or wait for Canon native EF-M lens...

It is slow, imprecise and not repeatable focus. Focus mechanism is fragile. Over priced.

I have two of these and one has been repaired by Canon 5 times.

irm wrote:

It is slow, imprecise and not repeatable focus. Focus mechanism is fragile. Over priced.

I have two of these and one has been repaired by Canon 5 times.

It can't be stored with weight on its front moving element.  A lens hood attaches to the body and protects the focusing part.

I am surprised the OP thought it focused great.  To me, it needs ideal lighting to provide the contrast my low end camera body uses to focus.  Poor lighting and low contrasting objects will leave it focusing short.  A furry horse head (focus point on his eye area) will fail while a close in shot of a blue eyed cat's eye (iris parts discernible) will be sharp.

Totally agree. I tried this lens on my 6d and it's very mediocre, inconsistent AF, busy bokeh, sharness is not impressive. I found 50m STM is better in every regard including low light AF and closeup ability not to mention better build quality for 1/3 price.

Here is one for ya:

1:1, slightly croped.

As DPR does something to the image, I recommend you to see the image in this direct link:

https://postimg.org/image/7h0cf5kp5/

much better...

Would question the reliability of this lens. We purchased three from the same shop and just under 2 years old all three had AF problems and had to be repaired at our cost by Canon.

Image quality is good but reliability is a definite issue on some. Perhaps current one's have had the problem(s) fixed, the one's we had repaired see to be ok though because of the problems they don't get as much use as they normally would.

I also managed to break mine twice. The second time it was just a tap on that protruding metal around the lens and it no longer focused. Canon fixed it for free both times but I can't rely on a lens that is that prone to failure, so it sits at home.

...One day, I opened a can of tuna, and my lens in another room broke down....

That is lik taking a photo and the lens not working anymore. Contrast below f2.2 is very poor, lots of CA and blue and purple fringing.

From f2.4 and beyond very good, but focus is not reliable.

But if shooting under very lowlight and a reasonable distance from the stage matters change.

To each his own, mine focuses great, everything looks fine from 1.8, bokeh is nice, one day I might get some use out of the funky results at 1.4, which i expected when I got it; and it has never failed, but I do treat it with care. The price is reasonable, particularly when compared to other options. It was my first lens and offered the huge advantage of telling me this was a hobby for me from the get go, which might not have happened with a safer route like the 18-55.

The one thing I would suggest for anyone starting out is to try other focal lengths first on APS-C: 24mm, 35mm, 40mm, 85mm; and then see if the 50mm does something for you.

Jura S wrote:

It completely depends how you use it.

Couldn't any lens do that at f8?  Say my kit lens 18-55mm STM stopped down to f/8?  I only pull out my 50 f1.4 when I need something more wide open than f5.6 (I think that is the kit lens at 50mm).

Yes.

Had 1.4, then Jumped to Nikon with all gear, and now When I´m back, I bought 1.8 STM, and I´m quite pleased. It´s definitely at least on par with 1.4 at 1.8, which is awesome. I might add Rokinon 1.2 to it though, if I decide to go crop all the way. 1.8 is not enough fun. It´s a cheap workhorse.

Jura S wrote:

ZX11 wrote:

Jura S wrote:

It completely depends how you use it.

Couldn't any lens do that at f8? Say my kit lens 18-55mm STM stopped down to f/8? I only pull out my 50 f1.4 when I need something more wide open than f5.6 (I think that is the kit lens at 50mm).

Don't think that 18-55 is sharp enough even stopped down.

50/1.4 wide open has issues with bright lights and contrasty transitions.

50/1.4 at 1.4.

I like it.  Not sure how the background is in focus and the subjects.  My 50mm 1.4 seems to have poor contrast in the times there is a lack of light.  I figure that is why L glass has the pricier LD elements instead of regular glass.

I wanted the 1.4 as a solution to low light but it turned out to be more of a DOF effect.  Now I mostly use it for items photographed in a lightbox for ebay.  I will have to keep it in mind to stop it down for contrast.

Testing flash or no flash in bright sunlight.  This might be a car's sunshade bouncing light up to her.

After too much time being the subject.