Photographer Christopher Frost published an interesting video comparison of no less than 10 different 50mm fast prime lenses from different manufacturers and different price ranges – all tested on 3 different Canon bodies. Who came out first and why – check it out in the video.
50mm was for many years the classic focal length for 35mm cameras. Although these days APS-C cameras are much more common than they used to be and the 50mm focal length does not have the same angle of view (it is now closer to 75mm on a full frame body), it is still a very popular focal length and because of its price/value it is still one of the most used (and purchased) focal lengths around.
So if you are a Canon shooter and want to know which 50mm to get, there is a huge selection of both modern lenses and some very good (and in some cases not that expensive) old lenses around. Of course there isn’t a review that can really cover every option around (there have been hundreds over the years) but this comparison is a very good place to start with 10 pretty popular choices – ranging from the very cheap Yongnuo (basically an inexpensive Chinese copy of the old Canon 50mm f/1.8 design) and up to the very expensive Canon 50mm f/1.2. There is an even more expensive 50~ for Canon users which at least when it comes to performance tops all of the lenses in this review and that is the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 (which we have reviewed – on Nikon mind you – a few months back).
At the end of the day the conclusions (although not necessary surprising) are pretty interesting:
- If you are super short on money, you can go for the Yongnuo however for not too much more you can get the much better Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM).
- If you are O.K. with manual focusing you can get the very sharp Samyang 50mm f/1.4 (don’t get the Zeiss ZE 50mm f/1.4 though).
- If you want the best value for money for an f/1.4 lens (with AF) go for the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX (the older – non ART version).
- The best all around is the new Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART (the Otus 55mm f/1.4 is sharper but has no AF and is much more expensive).
This isn’t the first time that we have been looking at different 50mm lenses – you can check out “lens comparison: Canon 50mm f/1.2L vs Canon 50mm 1.4” video by Matthew Gore and “Canon vs. Yongnuo: 50mm f/1.8 – Which is The Better Lens?” by  Tony Northrup for more specific hands on.
More guides and comparisons of photographic gear can be found on our photography gear guides – here on LensVid.
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Why should you trust us?
I have canon 50 f1.8 recently bought samyang 50 f1.4 very disappointment both are same even samyang is costly. Not recommended samyang its wate of money..
What was the problem with your samyang?
Its not a sharp lens just a little bit ahead of canon nifty fifty and 3 times more costly..
strange – maybe you got a lemon…