Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
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The EF 50mm f/1.4 USM is Canon’s mid-priced 50mm fast prime, sitting between the inexpensive F1.8 and high-end F1.2 lenses. It offers excellent optical quality, especially when stopped down a bit, and offers a generally more-refined experience than the cheaper lens. It performs very well as both a ‘normal’ lens on full frame cameras, and a short portrait telephoto on APS-C.
| Lens type | Prime lens |
| Focal length | 50 mm |
| Image stab. | No |
| Lens mount | Canon EF |
| Max aperture | F1.4 |
| Min aperture | F22 |
| Min focus | 0.45 m (17.72″) |
| Max magnification | 0.15× |
| Weight | 290 g (0.64 lb) |
| Length | 51 mm (1.99″) |
This is a lens which has its own distinct strengths; it's ideal for users looking to buy a relatively small, lightweight prime, in order to gain image quality simply unavailable on a zoom for the same price. It's an excellent companion to full-frame DSLRs, and also doubles pretty well as a portrait lens on APS-C cameras.
Good for: Lightweight, sharp and versatile. This inexpensive prime lens is a great traveling companion for full-frame and APS-C DSLRs.
Not so good for: Shooting 'wide open'. The dreamy softness at F1.4 won't appeal to everyone, and corner sharpness isn't great at the widest apertures (not that it matters much).
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