50mm 1.4 First Impressions

[Laurie]

I used the 50mm 1.4 properly for the first time last weekend. i didnt have any practice using this before hand and the event was a significant event for my family (grandparents 60th wedding anniversary)

the lowlight performance was excellent.
i was using my SB800 with LightSphere JPII and was using manual setting.
the only problem i had was using an f stop of 1.4 too much especially for large group shoots. and when the group was spread over a 1-2m distance from the front to the back, so the people at the front were infocus and the once at the back werent though the bokeh was nice and creamy .

anyways my niece was asleep in my mums lap and i said i would take a photo but refrained from using the flash so she didnt way wake up. the result was:


granted i should have used a higher (?) f stop to get more infocus.
just thought i would post my impressions, no one has to read/reply just impressed with the glass. btw many thanks to Poon for it. Legend.

_Laurie

[Glen]

Nice result for a nice lens

[Nogshale]

I hoping to pick one of these babies up second hand soon, cant wait.

Congrats on your new lens

[Manta]

Lovely shot Laurie. I've got the 1.4 as well and it's just glorious. There are few people in my family that look much better as soft creamy bokeh so this lens is just perfect for them!!

[gstark]

Laurie,

This is an image that you need to print, and put in your family album. You have captured something so precious, and this needs to be preserved for evermore.

This image just shouts "love" at me, and in its inherent beauty and softness, it demonstrates that there is nothing more important in this world than the love, and the absolute trust, that it displays.

[Kyle]

Have to agree with gary, well done

POTW contender for sure!

[shutterbug]

Great capture....the 50mm F1.4 is a gem
I use it all the time, it pretty much stays on my D200.

[Oscar]

A lovely shot Laurie. Hope you enjoy your new lens. Take some more shots and show us some more in this calibre. Cheers, Mick

[Yi-P]

Congrats on your new 50/1.4 you gonna love it more and more each day

[Rick]

It sure is a great lens, I have had mine for 8 months, when I first put it on the D70 and looked through the view finder it just felt right. It is the lens I keep on the camera most times now.

This may be because I learnt what little I know of photography using a Pentax Spotmatic with a SMC Takumar 50 1.4 over 35 years ago, a camera lens combination that I keep loaded with b&w film and still carry with me most times.


Cheers Rick.

[Laurie]

Thanks so much for all your comments guys.
when people say "the 50mm 1.4 is hard to use" i fully understand now. getting everything in focus is a tough job, framing is more movement of the feet and not just finger tips. it was funny when i gave the camera to my girlfriend to take a photo of the family with me in it, she said "how do i zoom out???" i yelled you cant and she ended up on the other end of the room!
same with my aunty.
a wider lens (28mm?) might be better for group shots but the 50mm is fantastic for portraits.
and even when it comes to portraits im not your typical up and down guy. i like to go outside the square and shot landscape portraits. not sure why. maybe its just habbit. the other problem i found which isnt related to the 50mm but the LS JPII is that when shooting people with glasses i get lots of reflections!

_Laurie

[spaz]

when people say "the 50mm 1.4 is hard to use" i fully understand now. getting everything in focus is a tough job, framing is more movement of the feet and not just finger tips. it was funny when i gave the camera to my girlfriend to take a photo of the family with me in it, she said "how do i zoom out???"

Haha, I had the exact same thing happen with my girlfriend the other day. It's also amusing when tech nerds ask you how much 'optical zoom' your extremely expensive "'hi-tech' camera has and you bluntly reply "none".

Regarding focus, at very wide apertures I often found I have to just use AF, the focus ring is VERY sensitive and not particularly suited to manual sometimes.