Canon 50mm LTM : 1.8 vs 1.4

memetph · Joined: 01 Dec 2013 Posts: 942 Location: Poland

Does anybody have some experience with both lenses ?
Are there some differences in term of quality and rendition ?

Lightshow · Joined: 04 Nov 2011 Posts: 3669 Location: Calgary

I only have the older silver 1.8, which I find just ok, the black 1.4 has a very good reputation.
In general I think most RF lenses have very good build quality, and their sharpness seems to come from a more of a personal hands on manufacturing and QC.
I have a number of RF lenses and they are all great, the silver Canon 50/1.8 being the weakest performer, and my Topcor-S 50/2 being the best.

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

I have all 3: 1.8, 1.4 and 1.2

Each has its own rending, and I can't leave any of them.

All photos, click to enlarge.
My 1.8 has fungus etched visible on the element, cracked rear element which had been rotated a bit to hide from the corner.
Theoretically it should be the worst of 3. Here you can see how it performs at f1.8:

and here is how 1.4 wide open:

memetph · Joined: 01 Dec 2013 Posts: 942 Location: Poland

Thank you for your feedback.
i can't find any Topcor here ,even SLR ones.
Actually I have a silver 1.8 which is in good condition. I could buy a 1.4 which looks ok too.
The question is does it make sens ?
hoanpham , your pictures made with the 1.4 are very nice with good colour nuances and contrast.
The back ground on the first one is strange. Difficult to build an opinion from these one.
You said that you want keep both. Does it mean that in certain circumstances you prefer the 1.8?

hoanpham · Expire: 2015-01-18

The first one is taken with 1.8, at 1.8. As I mentioned, my copy is in bad shape. Strong back lit will reveal the imperfect of the lens, and it is still good. The 1.8 is tiny on my a7r, which I prefer. I might 'upgrade' it to a better copy at the later time.

In my opinion, the f1.4 can cover the most shooting condition I ever encountered: contrast, bokeh, low light. Size and weight also match with my preferences. It was the sharpest 50/1.4 I ever tested, until I got borrowed the Summilux 50/1.4 Asph...

I can tell for sure that, in some light condition, both lenses can out resolve the sensor of A7r at wide open.
The more I use the 1.8 the more I like it.

Here is another taken by the 1.8 at 1.8:

Nordentro · Expire: 2015-01-29

Nice Hoan! Very Happy

I see similarities with the Pen F 38mm 1.8, 40mm 1.4 and the 42mm 1.2 which I also had Wink

padam · Joined: 09 Oct 2012 Posts: 175 Location: Hungary

The 50/1.4 LTM (v2) is probably the sharpest most contrasty 50 from the Canon LTM stable. But for rendering the 50/1.5 is the real gem (but the 1.4 is much easier to find in good shape).

uhoh7 · Joined: 24 Nov 2010 Posts: 1300 Location: Idaho, USA

I have both, but my 1.8 has a bit of haze, as is very common with Canon LTM, but you need LED to see it.

The 1.8 is so nice and compact, and seems very crisp at 5.6. I paid about 125USD.

1.4 is quite a lens, bigger, and runs around 275 for a good one.

I think their values are a good meter of relative strengths.

L1001696 by unoh7, 50/1.4 on M9 about f/4

L1001683 by unoh7, wide open 50/1.4

as you can see the M9 really likes this lens, but don't expect quite so good from other bodies.

here it is wide open on A7r:

DSC03961 by unoh7, on Flickr

and around f/8:

DSC03960 by unoh7, on Flickr

memetph · Joined: 01 Dec 2013 Posts: 942 Location: Poland

Thanks everybody . I shall try the 1.4 and see if I keep both of them.

kuuan · Expire: 2014-12-26

the 1.8 is considered to be very good, but I have had to buy 3 copies before I got one that only got 'little' haze, still I'd say that the 1.4 is sharper. Or in other words, the 1.8 seems to be more often effected by an irreparable inner haze and that makes the 1.4 a saver bet. Have the 1.5 since a few days, from initial few shots I'd say it doesn't look very sharp wide open but it has a lovely Sonnar rendering that makes it a very desirable lens.

memetph · Joined: 01 Dec 2013 Posts: 942 Location: Poland

My 1.8 copy is a first version ( similar to the Serenar , very heavy and silver) and it has no haze. I think that the problems with haze affect later versions with black finish.

kuuan · Expire: 2014-12-26

right! my Serenar 1.8/50 has no haze and performs flawlessly, really good lens! It is heavy though, according to Canon Cameramuseum the Serenar f1.8 weighs 295 grms, the later black version 188 grms while the f1.4 246 grms, that is the f1.4 is noticably lighter than the 1.8 Serenar