Buying a 50 1.4 tomorrow, anything to look for?

Hello,

Picking up a 50 1.4 tomorrow and wanted to ask everyone if there is anything I should look for. Meaning, what is an easy way of checking it's sharpness and performance in the store. I have been reading and some think that there are soft copies out there.

Thanks

Because of the narrow DOF it's be hard to check informally. Stick it on a tripod and get it to autofocus on something with some contrast, then in the preview check if it looks like it's in focus. You might not be able to tell if it's ok until you do a proper focus test like this one.

One thing I noticed with my 50/1.4..., I do a LOT less sharpening than before. Quite often I don't do any as they look better than with a even a minimal amount of USM. You'll like it!!!

Got mine yesterday along with EFS 60 and 580 EX flash. I will be setting up the tripod today and testing at all f stops and comparing with the 60 and my 24-70 L at 50 & 60.

I carried out my test this morning, and in my opinion my 24-70 was just a little bit sharper than 50 1.4, and this just a bit sharper than the EF S 60. I took all shots using 350D both in both JPEG and RAW, and found that the JPEGS need a little bit of sharpening, but the RAWs using RAWSHOOTER needed non at all. I have read that the 350D processing does not give a perfect sharp shot?, and I find it not as sharp as my 20D.

Thats surprises me actually, obviously both taken at 50mm same aperture ect?

Mine's sharp as hell i have to say. It left my 16-35 standing

I got it today. Super Sweet!!!

So sharp, has to be the sharpest in my collection. Will post pics soon. Forgot to buy a filter ( i know), suggestions?

I've not even got a hood for mine yet

I took all shots on tripod with remote and yes the 24-70 L was at 50 mm. They are all very close but IMHO the 24-70 L was best. The only shot with very very slight blur was the 50mm at 1.4
Took one for every f stop up to f22

Not being L-rated glass, the 50 f/1.4 and the 85 f/1.8 are absolutely great lenses. They have actually stopped me from getting L-glass in those ranges for right now. I think you will love the 50 1.4..... I have no focusing issues and images are sharp as tack!

Just another two-cents for what it's worth....
-GSL

Here's a sample (WAY WAY WAY scaled down) of a quick 85 f/1.8 shot of a contruction worker doing work on my home. It was a quick shot.... not time to do much white balancing or anything. To make matters worse, he was half in the bright sun, half in the shade. That is why I am posting this one.... inconsistent lighting, and yet, the photo to me still seems quite sharp.

Geese were shot with the 50 f/1.4..... not sure how they will show up on this forum, but the prints are awesome.
-GSL

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Here is an example of a low-light shot, hand-held, in a little bar in New York..... just to give you an idea of the scope of the 50mm f/1.4...... not the best photo, but an example of the light-grabbing power of the 50 1.4

Hope it comes out good on the forum....
-GSL

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Took these samples two minutes ago. Lighting was poor... raining. Used these to give you an example of the DOF of the 50mm f/1.4 Again, not for artistic purposes, rather, just to give you an idea of what you should expect from the images.
-GSL

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the second shot with the car is used to show how well the 50mm 1.4 will blur out the background when wide open. The car is there in the first one, however, unless you are working for the FBI crime lab, you would never know it was a car.
-GSL

You're going to love this well performing, versatile lens.
Here's an example of how it works in light as low as that provided by a campfire.

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