Canon 50 1.8 vs. 1.4

Discussion in 'Canon Lens Discussion' started by Eike Alexander Boehm, Jan 18, 2023.

  1. Eike Alexander Boehm

    Eike Alexander Boehm New Member

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    I found that many pics I do with my 50 1.8 during dawn, when it quite dark already, are not sharp.

    What do you think

    1.about how much an issue it is to still use a EOS 450 D
    and
    2. would getting the 50 mm 1.4 more easy to handle in regards of focusing?

    Attached pic is done by exactly the 450D/50 1.8 combination (this is one of the ones where the subject is focused just fine, but a lot are not)
     

    Attached Files:


  2. GDN

    GDN Well-Known Member

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    Just out of curiosity, what f stop do you tend to shoot at when you are shooting images like this in these low light conditions?

    Gary
     
  3. Eike Alexander Boehm

    Eike Alexander Boehm New Member

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    f stop as low as possible to get a bright background (of course also to separate the subject :) )
     
  4. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

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    At that distance you will want to be sure your focus point is hitting the person, if your relying on the camera to focus it may not always get it right. the 450 is a bit aged, there are better focusing systems in higher end cameras, but 9 points should be sufficient... Using back button focus or center point and carefully holding focus may help you.
    upload_2023-1-18_14-40-48.png
    The 1.8 is pretty darn sharp unless you shoot around 1.8 - 2.2 mine tended to soften wide open. But you also want a few inches DOF generally portraits i shoot 4 to 5.6. I can confirm the 1.4 is nice lens and an upgrade I found worth it, but that 1.8 is a very good lens stopped down a bit.
     

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  5. Eike Alexander Boehm

    Eike Alexander Boehm New Member

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    Sorry, my fault, the issue is focusing. The lens, if focused correctly, is sharp, no issues here.

    Just focusing on the subject in low light gets difficult.

    So I thought the 1.4 might let in more light at f/1.4 and has an easier time to focus...

    I do not mind the soft result even if focused 100% accurate. Focusing is the most important thing in low light...
     
  6. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

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    In the image above I would expect auto focus to work, it does not seem dark enough to be a horrible problem. Half press to keep focus locked will help with showing what focus is doing.

    At some point the ambient light is too dark for auto focus. You either will need to manual focus the image or if your using a speedlight you will have auto focus assist beams which will help, but are not perfect. You can use a speedlight off camera like the light source in your image, i
    Again if light was low I would not be shooting a portrait wide open as the window to hit is very small. So I would tend towards 5.6 for example in low light portraits to give a little room for focus to be 95% and it still to be a usable image

    Regarding the wide open for as much light as possible.... and the question of of the 1.4 will have more light.
    When focus is actively searching the lens has blades retracted (no f stop in play) so there is no difference between the two 50mm lenses here. The f stop only matters when you press the shutter, and the lens stops down to the set aperture at the moment the image is captured.. There will be more bokeh at 1.4 than 1.8 but you have an even smaller window to nail focus.
     
  7. Eike Alexander Boehm

    Eike Alexander Boehm New Member

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    I am using a godox ad200, so no assist beams :)

    ok, so no focusing advantage using a 1.4 vs. 1.8

    5.6? no hand held possible then to catch as much ambient light as in my sample pic. So that is not an option, also the background would not be blurred which it should :)

    manually focusing in low light also not really easy, right? So probably have to live with so many % pics not focused correctly :)

    Not that a big issue, just if it would be avoidable...
     
  8. Eike Alexander Boehm

    Eike Alexander Boehm New Member

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    would be focusing with a full frame more easy for the camera or does the same principle apply as for focusing with a aps-c...
     
  9. Eike Alexander Boehm

    Eike Alexander Boehm New Member

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    Ah, and another question: during shooting in low light a I noticed the lens need some time to focus back and forth. Is the time needed for focusing reduced with e.g. the 1.4 USM drive compared to the 1.8 which is not USM?
     
  10. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

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    The focus system is hunting, and that will happen in low light, different lenses will perform better and there is something to be said about slower lenses hunting more but not exactly the way your thinking.

    A newer r6 for example will focus better in low light than you t6 but they are leaps between. A full frame is not on its own going to do better just being full frame that lens is the same lens on either camera, your apc sensor is just simply not seeing all the glass that the lens is allowing into the mirror box because it is a smaller sensor. The USM is silent.
     
  11. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

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    So the godox is a 3rd party speedlight with TTL?? I am surprised no focus assist, if the camera is wireless tied to a TTL flash. I would expect full functionality.
    I noticed it has a modeling light, why wouldn't you use that to set focus first, there are a few ways you could handle the situation if it is simply that dark it cant focus. It could be as easy as a flashlight while focusing the subject.
    The example above again doesn't look like the ambient light is completely gone (and doesn't look like it was shot wide open)

    I think you may have a bit backwards on the hand held shot issue, you would shoot at 1/60 regardless for ambient light to freeze your movement, not the scene, the faster the shutter the quicker the ambient background fall off.
    Subject exposure is simply the flash power and the aperture, so if the flash power is maxed then yes you may be limited at how far you can stop down, but 5.6 should not be an issue

    Example of shutter = ambient:
    upload_2023-1-19_13-21-27.png

    Now even in the above you will notice that f9 is not completely in focus and starts to soften a fair bit in that example, but background is going to be blurred at 4 or 5.6 noticeably depending on subject to background distance, yes it would be more pronounced at 1.8 or 2.8 . But there are factors like subject and background distance as well as length of lens. You can make say f4 /f 5.6 work for you really nice with the right subject placement and lens length.
    upload_2023-1-19_13-29-16.png

    Also I would argue that blur "should be" is a all subjective, it depends on the situation entirely, My favorite photo above in that screen capture i took off google a few min ago, is the 12mm B&W and it has the subjects close to the background so that the mid ground is sharp on purpose and it really works for that image. On the flip side the long lens close to the birds separates the birds from the background at 5.6 so you don't need to go and wider. In fact, the one on the ledge, has the ledge just the right amount of sharp behind the bird. There are no rules, just guidelines... :D you decide how to apply them.
    .
     
  12. Eike Alexander Boehm

    Eike Alexander Boehm New Member

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    Oh, thx for all the details.

    My sample shot was shot with f 1.8, ok 1/160 was to fast, with 1/80 3.2 would have been possible. Yeah, so next time :)
     
  13. Eike Alexander Boehm

    Eike Alexander Boehm New Member

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    yeah the godox is 3rd party, I set the power manually, pretty easy, often I nail the right light with the first test :)
     
  14. GDN

    GDN Well-Known Member

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    I would suggest that the weak link here is the camera that you are using. Have you thought about going with a mirrorless camera? I am thinking of something with "eye detection". I am sure this will be a big step in helping you with your problem. And if you really want to blow a hole in your wallet, what about looking at something like a Sigma Art 50mm as well. Sharper at those wide apertures if you are looking for that sort of thing.

    Gary
     
  15. Eike Alexander Boehm

    Eike Alexander Boehm New Member

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    Yes, thx so much everyone for your input. After doing some more research it is just a fact that my equipment is not really up to date, never would have thought which progress especially focusing made. Like GDN says, eye detection on a mirrorless under low light conditions seems to be the solution, so much better than what I use now.
    So, I found the problem/answer to my initial question. I am still very happy with the output of my 14 year old equipment, if want to improve, yeah, I have to go with the time and upgrade...
     

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