Help: What is the best 50mm to buy?!?

I saw that most of the people own the canon 50mm f/1.8 II. All thoughts are considered gold!

The reason that many people own it is because, bang for buck, its the best 50 out there. Notice I said bang for buck.

The 50L among other 50mms will provide phenomenal IQ and will be better than the cheap, plastic, little canister that is the 1.8 II. Its just a question of how much money do you want to spend. If you are just venturing into primes... just buy the damn 1.8 and see if you like the direction. Worst case scenario you sell it on here, as basically brand new, and lose 20 bucks. You really can't lose.

LiberationFrequency wrote in post #10946985
The reason that many people own it is because, bang for buck, its the best 50 out there. Notice I said bang for buck.

The 50L among other 50mms will provide phenomenal IQ and will be better than the cheap, plastic, little canister that is the 1.8 II. Its just a question of how much money do you want to spend. If you are just venturing into primes... just buy the damn 1.8 and see if you like the direction. Worst case scenario you sell it on here, as basically brand new, and lose 20 bucks. You really can't lose.

how bout the Canon Lens - 50 mm - F/1.4, its like $250.00 more, is it worth the extra payment?

litratista wrote in post #10947115
how bout the Canon Lens - 50 mm - F/1.4, its like $250.00 more, is it worth the extra payment?

Now that's the route I went. I went to a camera store and looked at the 1.8. I couldn't believe how flimsy & light it felt. I didn't want to go the L route yet, so I sprang for the 1.4. Great choice, in my opinion. I really haven't had a chance to see what I can do with it yet. Maybe when the weather drops below 110 or so.

litratista wrote in post #10947115
how bout the Canon Lens - 50 mm - F/1.4, its like $250.00 more, is it worth the extra payment?

I have the 1.4 and I love it. Beautiful background blur and bokeh. I've used this lens very very often. If it is in your budget I highly recommend it. If you're not sure about the focal length or think that you might only use the lens on occasion then the 1.8 is a great value for the cost. Unfortunately I have never owned or tested the 1.8 so I can't give you specific comparisons but I did find that physically the 1.8 did feel flimsy as the above poster stated.

Best?
What are your criteria?

Whelp I have owned the 50mm 1.8 MK I (In bag now,) the 50mm 1.8 MKII (Sold,) and the 50mm 1.4 (In bag now.)

The MKII was my first 50mm (or prime at that) lens and I really loved it for the aperture, natural focal length and IQ (Pretty good, even better stopped down.)
The MKI was my next (Just recently) and though I find it softer I like the build of it much better.

The Pièce de résistance is the 50mm 1.4 that I just bought this weekend.
Its bigger, has a distance scale, has a metal mount, is heavier, more robust, sharper, quicker, has smoother bokeh (8 aperture blades,) has full time manual focus and USM.

Its a much better lens all around. The only thing I would worry about it is the USM, it has a bit of a bad rep of dieing.

The Mark I is seen as indestructible and the Mark II is seen as an explosion waiting to happen (If dropped.)

If your looking for the cheapest, the MKII is the way to go.
If you want a little better build and dont mind age or a louder AF motor then the Mark I is for you.
And of course if you still want more then the 50mm 1.4 is for you.

NeoTokyo wrote in post #10947334
The Mark I is seen as indestructible and the Mark II is seen as an explosion waiting to happen (If dropped.)

I dropped mine earlier this week. Roughly a five foot drop onto a soft carpet. Split into five different pieces. I loved the images it produced, but the OOF areas were always a bit odd (with the five bladed aperture), the AF was slow and noisy, and the build/manual focus was terrible. But the images were still really awesome, especially for a lens at that price point.

I'm looking to replace it and I'm leaning towards the Canon 1.4.

Depends on your budget.

f1.8 - cheaper IMHO flimsy but a hell of a lot of happy owners here.

f1.4 - my personal favorite - great balance of price, IQ and better build quality - but still light.

f1.2 - great solid L lens - if money is no object or you are going to earn a living from this lens - Heavy, and expensive.

As I am not a professional photographer the f1.4 was a choice I have been extremely happy with (although had to have USM fixed under warranty - no problems there though)

Good exchange rates with the US when I brought a couple of years ago, meant half the price of purchasing in USA than in Australia.

All the Canon 50's are perfectly capable and as sharp as you'll ever need by f/2.8, it all comes down to budgetary concerns and if you're willing to spend more for build quality and larger apertures.

I personally went with a Zeiss 50/1.7

I think they all have dealbreaker issues and so I am just using a $10 Yashica ML 50mm f2 with an adapter.

It's actually pretty good!

Best?

I'd say the 50L or Zeiss 50mm Makro-Planar. I tested both yesterday and ended up going for the Zeiss.

If you're just venturing into primes, though, I'd personally go for the nifty fifty 50mm f/1.8. I had a lot of fun using that lens when I just started. Another good option is the 50mm f/2.8 Compact Macro, which is still a bit less expensive than the 50mm f/1.4.

I have had few 50's in the past. Maybe not as many as Blue above but here's my experience.

The Canon 50mm mk I - excellent lens but soft till f4 on a full frame

Sigma 50mm 1.4 - I have had two of these and it is by far the nicest 50mm 1.4 out there (to me) sharp to focus slightly soft till f2.5, outstanding built, fast focusing and most importantly mine has no AF issues and no focus shift.

50L - I went a bit crazy on this and needless to say i'm a happy guy. Slight headache with focus shift but I'm still learning to shoot with it.

Super takumar 55mm 1.8 - which I got for 26 euros. Outstanding value + (MF though)

Canon 50mm 1.4 SSC FD - Don't get this unless you have an infinity adapter. It's a paperweight. Great if you have old SLR.

I'd love to own the Zeiss 50mm 1.7 ( I hear it's very sharp)

But the best 50mm out there has to be the Zeiss 50mm makro planar.

Go on try out the nifty fifty (50mm mk II) I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do.

Yup, the Mark II's are ticking time bombs.
I do my best to keep my gear low or tethered around me, so far thats worked well.

I know you will enjoy the 1.4 when you get it.

TheBurningCrown wrote in post #10947350
I dropped mine earlier this week. Roughly a five foot drop onto a soft carpet. Split into five different pieces. I loved the images it produced, but the OOF areas were always a bit odd (with the five bladed aperture), the AF was slow and noisy, and the build/manual focus was terrible. But the images were still really awesome, especially for a lens at that price point.

I'm looking to replace it and I'm leaning towards the Canon 1.4.

Jam.radonc wrote in post #10947543
But the best 50mm out there has to be the Zeiss 50mm makro planar.

How about that 50MP Jam.radonc? I know you were considering getting one a while back. I picked mine up yesterday, are you still going to buy it?