50mm Prime... Issues?

I was intending to get an AF Canon 50mm 1.8. Then I looked into the 1.4 USM, and the USM sounds very appealing to me, I love the USM . However I read the AF system in the 50 1.4 has issues and some people have the system die on them.

Can somebody tell me for certain if getting the Canon 1.4 USM will be a risky decision?
I don't want to replace it anytime soon, I'd like at least 24 months out of it.

Similar question i want to buy a 50mm f/1.8 please guide me that
CANON EF 50mm LENS f/1.8 MK I
or
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
is good is there any big difference in these lenses?

fubarhouse: get the 1.4. In the unlikely event you get a dud, get it fixed under warranty. There are many many happy 1.4 owners out there.

opz: get the Mk I if you can find a decent one: better build, including metal mount, with distance scale; similar (identical?) optics.

i think its Mark l not available in new

I've had my 1.4 for two years now without any issues. I use it for alot of my indoor around the house use and find it to be a very good little lens.

opz wrote in post #7643238
i think its Mark l not available in new

Correct. They do come on the used market fairly often though.

My EF 50 f/1.4 which I purchased about 6 years ago has worked well with all my crop bodies from 10D thru 50D except that on my 20D is close focuses when used near its minimum focus distance.

The focus speed is slow compared to that of my EF 85 /f.18. Images are crisp at f/1.4 but most often I stop down to get sufficient DOF.


Since getting an EF 35, my EF 50 gets a lot less usage on my crop bodies. Is that a risk?

fubarhouse wrote in post #7643134
I was intending to get an AF Canon 50mm 1.8. Then I looked into the 1.4 USM, and the USM sounds very appealing to me, I love the USM . However I read the AF system in the 50 1.4 has issues and some people have the system die on them.

Can somebody tell me for certain if getting the Canon 1.4 USM will be a risky decision?
I don't want to replace it anytime soon, I'd like at least 24 months out of it.

You may want to check out this recent thread on the Canon 50mm 1.4 vs Sigma 50mm 1.4. https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=670053

There is much conversation about the Canon in that thread.

fubarhouse wrote in post #7643134
I was intending to get an AF Canon 50mm 1.8. Then I looked into the 1.4 USM, and the USM sounds very appealing to me, I love the USM . However I read the AF system in the 50 1.4 has issues and some people have the system die on them.

If you love USM, you may be disappointed with the USM in the EF 50mm 1.4 USM.

It does not have Ring Type USM like the lenses in your SIG. It has the cheaper Micro USM which is slower and slightly noisier. It also has a very unique clutch system that allows Full Time Manual focus. No other Micro USM Canon lens has this feature and it is thought to be the source of AF failure with this lens.

The Canon 50 f/1.4 has a slightly nicer bokeh than the f/1.8.

As of lately I choose f/2 to f/2.5 simply to get more dof with my 50f/1.4. At f/1.4 wideopen i am quite pleased with the sharpness.

The 50 f/1.8 was noisier but since I typically use f/2 to f/2.5 I actually liked it. For the price its a nice lens to "test" to see if you like the focal length.

Got my 50 1.4 in Dec and no problems.

I borrowed a friend's f/1.8 to try the focal length before I purchased my f/1.4. The f/1.4's focusing may be slower and slightly noisier than any other USM lens', but it beats the f/1.8 all hollow in everything except price.

However, if you don't want to spring for the f/1.4, then try to find a f/1.8 mk I instead of the mk II. It is by no means expensive, and everyone swears that it's a better lens than the mk II.

No problems with the Canon 50mm f/1.4 here. Great lens and I use it for quite a variety of things.

PKSmith wrote in post #7656165
I borrowed a friend's f/1.8 to try the focal length before I purchased my f/1.4. The f/1.4's focusing may be slower and slightly noisier than any other USM lens', but it beats the f/1.8 all hollow in everything except price.

However, if you don't want to spring for the f/1.4, then try to find a f/1.8 mk I instead of the mk II. It is by no means expensive, and everyone swears that it's a better lens than the mk II.

They swear it's a better lens because it's built better.

I'd quickly take a MkI vs. the plastic nifty, but the optics are the same.

Someone somewhere on POTN posted the lens design specs. It's the same lens in a much crappier body.

I just can't appreciate the price that the 50mm mk1 is selling for these days. I could literally buy 2 second hand Mk2s for less than the cheapest mk1 I've seen on POTN this year. Most seem to be asking over $150 for a lens that performs the same as the mk2. I'm rather save my cash by buying an mk2 or spend a bit more and get the f1.4. I just have no care for spending an extra $100 for a metal mount and distance window when talking about a lens that is under $100 new.