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I am pretty new to photography. I have an APS-C camera, Canon 77D with a EF-S 18-135mm kit lens. I want a prime lens for shooting nice bokeh portraits along with street and day to day life photography in day and night. I have looked at tons of video references for the:

  • Canon 50mm f1.4 (Really attracted to it because of the big apperture 1.4)
  • Canon 35mm f2 (It has IS and relatively new model when compared with the 50mm)

But could not decide which one should I go for. I have heard that over the years I would get AF problems with the Canon 50mm as it is an older model. Is it true for all the Canon 50mm f1.4 (older model) lens and unavoidable? Could you guys please help me choose one along with the pros and cons of one with the other for the type of photography which I mentioned?

Thanks a lot in advance! :)

KALHIM
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  • I would recommend the 50 mm because it gives an extra stop of light in the dark. It has worked very well for me for portraits and general day and night photography outside. There is almost always enough space to take a few steps back so I never had much problems with the field of view being too narrow. It does not work very well inside, there the 35 would be much better. – Orbit Mar 02 '20 at 13:27
  • @Orbit ok thanks. I will go with the 50mm then. what about the image quality? is it sharp enough at f1.4? – KALHIM Mar 02 '20 at 18:33
  • No, the image quality is not great at f/1.4. You may find it reasonable for a given situation, but the lens will sharpen up well by f/2 and dramatically better at f/2.8.Don't worry, you still get great bokeh at f/2.8 and minimal DoF. – OnBreak. Mar 02 '20 at 20:25
  • @Hueco thanks a lot. Ordered and will get it today evening. thank you for all the help :) – KALHIM Mar 03 '20 at 13:01
  • Hello. My 50mm f1.4 lens arrived. But the box was not sealed. Is it common for lens boxes? – KALHIM Mar 03 '20 at 21:29
  • Where did you order from? I don't think I've ever had the box be sealed on a lens before...it's been a long time since I bought one new though. – OnBreak. Mar 03 '20 at 21:33
  • Run through this question and you're good: https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/12215/how-can-i-test-a-new-lens-to-make-sure-it-is-operating-correctly – OnBreak. Mar 03 '20 at 21:33
  • I ordered from Amazon Italy since I am in Rome and the seller is Amazon itself not any other vendor. – KALHIM Mar 03 '20 at 21:34
  • I wouldn't worry about it as long as everything is packed in tight as if from the factory (not repacked by a return). Should have a warranty card, instruction book, lens caps. I'd recommend you also get the lens hood for it (https://www.amazon.com/Canon-ES71II-Lens-Hood-50mm/dp/B00013MSUQ) – OnBreak. Mar 03 '20 at 21:38
  • Went through the answer. Thanks a lot. Nowadays this lens is manufactured in Malaysia. Not Japan. Tested with pics under light and in the apartment. Pretty sharp with good brightness. I guess I am happy. Will test tomorrow for the center to corner sharpness at different apertures. – KALHIM Mar 03 '20 at 21:46
  • Already bought a hood with hoya uv filter just for the lens protection. Thank you – KALHIM Mar 03 '20 at 21:47
  • @KALHIM Canon does not seal anything at the factory. They say they do this because they want their authorized dealers to be able to show items to potential customers as well as to be able to check the contents of each box before presenting it to customers. If you receive a CAnon retail box with a seal on it, that seal was placed there by a dealer or other entity after it left Canon's regional distribution center and was shipped to an authorized retailer. – Michael C Mar 03 '20 at 23:44
  • @MichaelC thank you. I did not know that.. – KALHIM Mar 03 '20 at 23:46
  • I've had an EF 50mm f/1.4 for years. If I needed to replace it I would strongly consider the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM. The STM corrects almost all of the issues that made the "nifty-fifty" EF 50mm f/1.8 II much less desirable than the f/1.4. – Michael C Mar 03 '20 at 23:49
  • Ok. Thank you. I already bought the 50mm f1.4. seemed a bit vintage which also helped me to my decision. I guess I will use it till it gives a decent performance. I saw many of reveiws that 1.4 works great under light which also pushed me towards it. – KALHIM Mar 04 '20 at 00:00
  • Scrap the UV filter "for protection" unless you are at the beach or in a dust storm (blowing sand). It doesn't actually protect anything otherwise. The 50mm has a recessed front element, which is further recessed with the hood on...nothing is going to touch the lens. In 99.99% of cases, that UV isn't protecting anything and is robbing you of image quality. If you want a good filter, get a polarizer. – OnBreak. Mar 04 '20 at 00:39
  • You might find the info regarding the EF 50mm f/1.4 in this answer as well as this one useful. I'd also advise you to consider this answer before deciding to put a UV filter on your lens full time. – Michael C Mar 04 '20 at 04:34
  • related: Would the 40mm pancake or 50mm prime be better for street photography with a Canon APS-C camera? and What would be a better lens, 40 or 50mm prime, for walk around? and Is 35mm or 50mm better on a cropped DSLR for street photography? – Michael C Mar 06 '20 at 10:26

2 Answers2

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Your camera has a 1.6x crop factor. On APS-C, 50mm gives you the field of view of a classic portrait lens on full frame (80mm). While 35mm will give you the FOV of a "normal" lens (56mm).

  • If you want the lens mainly for portraits, go for the 50/1.4. If you're on a budget, consider 50/1.8.

  • If you want the lens for general photography, get the 35/2. You might even consider EF 28/1.8 USM (which has the FOV of a 45mm lens on full frame – also, "normal").

Other options:

  • Consider other primes, like the EF-S 24/2.8 STM. It's inexpensive and very sharp, though it won't give you the amount of background blur you appear to be seeking.
  • Maximize the background blur that the 18-135/3.5-5.6 zoom delivers by using the long end of its range (135mm).
  • Experiment with the focal lengths on your zoom to see what FOV you need or prefer. You can tape the zoom to preset focal lengths to simulate the experience of working with a prime.
xiota
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  • Thank you. I took on the suggestions and tested on the 18-135mm. I found the 45-75mm, more suitable to me. But what about the longevity between the two lenses as I asked before in my question, and 50mm f1.4 model is an older model. Could you please help in this query? – KALHIM Mar 02 '20 at 10:11
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    I actually read it here. Also I found it in many youtube videos where they point out the problems regarding the AF. But nonetheless, thank you so much for clearing that up. I guess all depends upon usage and the maintenance of the 50mm :) – KALHIM Mar 02 '20 at 11:22
  • Seems more like some type of damage than aging. Any lens can break if dropped. You can avoid lenses with the listed serial numbers, since they may be more prone to damage. – xiota Mar 02 '20 at 14:11
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    I have one of the very first 35mm lenses for the EOS system, and it still works like a charm. On the other hand, I had to exchange my 50mm/1.4 already twice … there are no guarantees … – tquadrat Mar 02 '20 at 23:50
  • Maybe try 50/1.8 if the 50/1.4 is problematic? – xiota Mar 03 '20 at 02:20
  • ok I will try the 50mm since it has been around for so long.. its kind of a vintage lens and bad not to have it :) if it breaks down will move to other lenses. I have to try it myself since there are so many opinions. – KALHIM Mar 03 '20 at 13:04
  • "I have to try it myself since there are so many opinions." – That's usually what ends up happening. Have fun. – xiota Mar 03 '20 at 20:18
  • Haha. Thanks. I hope it lasts long. Fingers crossed. Just received it though. But the box was not sealed. Is it common? – KALHIM Mar 03 '20 at 21:32
  • @KALHIM The EF 50mm f/1.4 has a design weakness that makes it particularly susceptible to damage from relatively minor bumps to the extended part of the lens barrel. Always storing the lens in the recessed position, i.e. focused all the way to infinity, will go a long way to reduce the risk of damage while the lens is not being used. – Michael C Mar 04 '20 at 00:06
  • ok thank you for informing. I am gonna do that. – KALHIM Mar 04 '20 at 16:25
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Thank you for the help. These past few days I had tested both 50mmf1.4 and 35mmf2.. and at the end I decided to stick with 35mmf2. The reasons are as follows:

  1. The 50mm is really soft at f1.4 and starts to give sharp performance from f2.5. From f2.8 it is really sharp. The 35mm is really sharp from f2. If I buy a lens I would like to use it from the widest aperture which was not the case for me in 50mm. Again it is an old lens and next best 50mm costs 1300 EUR. Personally I found it too soft for me. Other photographers might like it. Someone in this question's answer suggested me not to buy the 50mm for this reason as I remember. Thank you and sorry not to trust you before.

  2. Image stabilization is a big plus in 35mm. Its good and gives stabilised images till 1/10 of a sec handheld. After that depends on luck actually or might need tripod

  3. The crop factor makes the 50mm - 85mm and 35mm - 56mm on my Canon 77D APS-C camera. After 2 days of street, daily life and portrait photography, with each lenses, I found 35mm to suit more, my style of photography. Really, spending time did wonders in making the decision.

  4. The bokeh is acceptable in 35mm though it is f2. You could see the background a bit more than 50mm at f1.4 but then sharpness is a bit less and without IS in 50mm. With 35mm I can be sure that images will have blurry background and sharp focus at f2. In 50mm I cannot be sure for every image at f1.4. It was kind of gamble so again, I went with 35mm with decent bokeh and blurry background.

  5. Build quality is better in 35mm than in 50mm. Currently the 50mm lens is made in Malaysia and 35mm is made in Japan. That doesn't mean that Malaysia products are bad. This is just an information I think I should include as previously 50mmf1.4 lenses were manufactured in Japan.

Overall I got my answer. The price is a bit higher for 35mmf2, but was ok for me. Thank you again all for your knowledge sharing as I gained a lot from the answers and comments. Please do feel free to correct me somewhere if I am wrong. We will talk again on some future discussion for sure namaste

KALHIM
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