EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

[Mills]

Happy Holidays Everyone :D

A little Elf told me that this would be in my stocking on Christmas Day. For those of you here that call this lens your own, I would love any advice or comments about it. Also, what is your favorite subject matter when shooting with it? Interestingly, this will be my first prime lens. Thanks in advance!

[defordphoto]

It's the top in its class. That will probably be the next lens purchase for my bag, but I don't have a huge use for it at this time.

[maderito]

The 50mm f/1.4 is great for many things - from fast paced courtside basketball shots to babies in the delivery room - all with available light.

Suggestion: try some available light, close-in, informal portrait-type shots of family/friends at wide apertures ( f/1.4 to 2.8 ), selectively focusing on one part of the face (e.g. the eye closest to the lens). The overall image appears soft, but the in-focus portion draws the viewer's eye into the shot. Hard to explain - but it's a unique effect achieved with soft lighting and fast lenses opened to wide apertures.

Don't forget to do the obligatory ruler test to judge the sharpness of your 50/1.4 copy. I believe Santa has a good return policy. :D

[Tom W]

Like Woody says - get used to the shallow depth-of-field when shooting wide apertures and you'll love the lens.

[Deckyon]

I have it and love it. I use it the most when just walking around town. I stick it on my 1DMkII and take a walk. I also use it on my 20D when I only want to take the camera and use the built-in flash. It does not give any flash shadow, like my 16-35 f/2.8L or the 24-70 f/2.8L, allowing me to have a light, fast camera/lens combination. and with f/1.4, I can use less available light with lower ISO's. I find it very sharp and clear, yielding awesome color "like butta."

[eosster]

My next choice for my camera..

Cheers,

Charles,