canon 50/1.4 vs 50/1.5

back alley

back alley

IMAGES
Local time
7:40 AM
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Messages
41,288
Location
true north strong & free
View My Gallery
rover has planted strong lust in my heart for the canon 50/1.5 lens as have some others to a lesser degree.
it got me thinking about these 2 lenses and so i have been reading what i could find on them both and looking at pics wherever possible.

i understand they are seperate & distinct in several ways, size and signature being the obvious two differences.

can those of you who have used both of these lenses please add to my confusion?

at first i was thinking i would buy the 1.5 and have both but now i'm thinking i might try for a trade or just sell the 1.4 and buy the 1.5.
my reasoning is this...
*i don't much use a 50mm lens in the first place. (2 might be overkill, FOR ME)
*i don't care for the feel of the 1.4 in that it is too big to comfortably use the
infinity stop as a handle for focussing. i like to do that.
*and speaking of size, i prefer the smaller sized lenses i have (comfort wise)

i would appreciate any comments to sway me in any direction - i'm feeling at odds with myself over this one.

joe
 
Glad to hear I am causing you angst 🙂().

Let's see what others have to say. You know I like them both though my preference is for the 1.5.
 
Im doubt about re buy again other Nokton 1.5 or buy one of the Canons. I prefer the 1.5, but I see that there are more people that point better the 1.4. I like the photos of Rover with it. I know that is Sonnar clone, but what are the characteristic of these design. Is better than the 50 mm Sonnar 1.5 T* of the Contax II/III?

😉
 
The f/1.4 is a later design and is "technically" better (in terms of sharpness and contrast) but I guess some people feel that the f/1.5 produces a prettier image.

Another way of looking at it: The 1.4 is a more modern design that produces results that look like those from current lenses. The 1.5 is a Sonnar formula that produces images with a more "vintage" look.

I'm not sure how I'd quantify the differences beyond that. The 1.4 is the one I own, and I'm very pleased with it, but I've seen plenty of good-looking images from the 1.5 as well. It may be that the differences are a bit hair-splitting and that casual viewers wouldn't notice any difference in the pictures -- but one of the advantages of being enthusiasts is that we get to care about subtle distinctions that most people don't notice!
 
I'm guessing also that differences would only be evident with a direct print beside print comparison, the difference being what jlw described.
 
the signature that i mentioned above is what jlw is talking about, i assume.

my preference is for the older look and that's one reason i like those older lenses.
a side by side print comparison would be nice.

joe
 
The F1.4 is a classic 6 element Xenon made with newer glass, allowing it to "get-away" with so few elements. But we are still talking about an 80+ year old design. The Xenon has many more air-glass surfaces than the Sonnar. In uncoated lenses this gave the Sonnar a huge advantage. With lens coatings, the Xenon gained favor.

I like the Canon 50mm F1.5 and the Canon 50mm F1.4. The latter feels right at home on a VI-T or a Canon 7. The F1.5 feels at home on the Leica CL and Canon IIf.

The lens that surprised me was the Jupiter-3 after its reshimming. Very sharp and high contrast. That does not mean I'm selling any Canon's.
 
Joe, keep the 1.4 and buy a less expensive Jupiter-3 f1.5 Sonnar clone from Brian. After using both lenses for a while, you'll know yourself which one to keep if you're only going to keep one.
 
Thankyou Frank.

I am not sure that Joe could bring himself to use a non-Canon lens on his Canon P's. I'm back to having another 2/3rds of a Canon 50mm F1.5. I fixed the "broken" mount that I picked up on Ebay. Some filing, screws out of an Olympus RD, and some luck. Now I just need a rear module...
 
Maybe I'll take my 7 Sonnars for a walk when the leaves hit their peak in the park. Canon 50 F1.5, Nikkor 5cm f1.4, Nikkor 5cm F2, Jupiter-3, Jupiter-8, Sonnar 5cm f1.5, and Sonnar 5cm F2.
 
So Brian, my J3 arrived and the focus really needs relubing.

1. Set focus to infinity

2. Remove 3 set screws on focus ring

3. Remove 3 just-expsoed set screws on lens barrel

4. Unscrew fron section of lens

5. Mark point at which unit releases

Is that it?
 
Brian Sweeney said:
Thankyou Frank.

I am not sure that Joe could bring himself to use a non-Canon lens on his Canon P's. I'm back to having another 2/3rds of a Canon 50mm F1.5. I fixed the "broken" mount that I picked up on Ebay. Some filing, screws out of an Olympus RD, and some luck. Now I just need a rear module...
Click to expand...


so very true...
 
Mackinaw said:
For what it's worth, I sold my Canon 50/1.5 and kept my Canon 50/f1.4.

Though, truth be told, 100% of my 50mm shooting this past summer has been with the Canon 50/1.2, which I like much better than the other two.

Jim Bielecki
Click to expand...


i know i asked to be confused but this is rediculous...😉

joe
 
FrankS said:
So Brian, my J3 arrived and the focus really needs relubing.

1. Set focus to infinity

2. Remove 3 set screws on focus ring

3. Remove 3 just-expsoed set screws on lens barrel

4. Unscrew fron section of lens

5. Mark point at which unit releases

Is that it?
Click to expand...


are ya trying to hijack my thread here frank?

😉joe
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

p.giannakis
The "50-58mm f/1.4" club
5 6 7
Replies
122
Views
6K
p.giannakis
p.giannakis
ped
Lens carrying system
Replies
10
Views
586
ped
ped
Timmyjoe
Canon A-1 vs Canon AE-1Program
Replies
17
Views
2K
Bob Michaels
Bob Michaels
bucs
S3 2000 vs. S3 Olympic
2
Replies
30
Views
1K
NIKON KIU
NIKON KIU
sooner
Battery Adapter for Konica T3
Replies
5
Views
294
rfaspen
rfaspen
Back
Top Bottom