![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Olga_9204_5x4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Continuing on from the\u00a0review\u00a0of the bokeh of\u00a0Canon 50mm lenses,<\/a>\u00a0let’s have a look at image sharpness. Clearly, there is more to deciding on a lens than just sharpness<\/a>, and we discussed one of those aspects in that article on bokeh.\u00a0Often it comes down to a\u00a0balance between your budget, and what you expect from the lens – but usually, image sharpness is the key factor.<\/p>\n It could be argued that 50mm is a less thrilling focal length – not wide enough for scenic views, nor long enough to compress perspective. Still, a 50mm lens is often the first lens that people buy when stepping up from a kit zoom lens, wanting to explore the shallow depth-of-field that the wide aperture allows. So I do believe that a 50mm lens will find its way into your camera bag at some point. It should anyway.<\/p>\n The 50mm focal length would appear to be a design that is less complicated than ultra-wide angle lenses or zooms, so we could expect crisply sharp results from any 50mm lens.<\/p>\n With that in mind, let’s compare these 50mm lenses for Canon:<\/p>\n With such a wide range in price (and build quality), it might seem slightly ridiculous in a way to compare these lenses. Yet, it might also be a good way to see what each lens offers in each price bracket. What would the\u00a0Canon EF 50mm f\/1.2L USM lens<\/a>\u00a0(affiliate<\/em>) offer that the f\/1.8 lenses don’t? And would the f\/1.8 lenses still appear good value when compared to the more pricey lenses?<\/p>\n Hopefully, some of\u00a0these mysteries will\u00a0unfold in this review which concentrates on\u00a0sharpness<\/strong>, which follows up on the review of how the lenses’\u00a0bokeh<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0appears.<\/p>\n For those who are the kind of people who flip to the last page of a book to read the ending first, here’s the final summary …<\/p>\n Considering both the sharpness and the bokeh, for me, the\u00a0Sigma 50mm F1.4 ART\u00a0lens<\/a>\u00a0(affiliate<\/em>)\u00a0has that perfect intersection between price and quality. Next in line, the\u00a0Canon EF 50mm f\/1.4<\/a>\u00a0(affiliate<\/em>), is surprisingly good. It really holds its own, and is the best value for money for those\u00a0wanting\u00a0to buy a 50mm lens. The\u00a0Canon EF 50mm f\/1.2L<\/a>\u00a0(affiliate<\/em>), as you might expect, is a somewhat of an outlier – it gives a unique,\u00a0if sometimes\u00a0subtly different\u00a0result\u00a0than the other lenses. No real surprises there.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Keep in mind that:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Equalizing things a bit by using the same aperture – f\/2 –\u00a0the center crops are of Olga’s\u00a0face.<\/p>\n First, the typical framing of this sequence, and then the 100% crops, with only the usual amount of sharpening of the RAW files. Specifically, look at our model’s eye-lashes to distinguish the fine details these lenses render\u00a0at this aperture. When used at an aperture slightly stopped down, the f\/1.4 and f\/1.2 optics really start to shine with crisp detail.<\/p>\n Please note that with a few of these, it seems like I allowed the camera to grab focus on her left eye, instead of her right eye (closest to the camera.) So keep that in mind when comparing detail.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Perhaps unfairly equalizing things by using the same aperture – f\/1.8 – some lenses will be wide open, and others will be slightly stopped down. This does affect performance. Still, this will give you a\u00a0better\u00a0idea how the f\/1.4 and f\/1.2 optics compare.<\/p>\n First, the typical framing of this sequence, and then the 100% crops, with only the usual amount of sharpening of the RAW files. Specifically, look at our model’s eye-lashes to distinguish the fine details these lenses render when used wide open.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Perhaps unfairly equalizing things by using the same aperture – f\/1.8 – some lenses will be wide open, and others will be slightly stopped down. This does affect performance. Still, this will give you a\u00a0better\u00a0idea how the f\/1.4 and f\/1.2 optics compare.<\/p>\n I took the crop from the obvious portion of this frame – the left-hand side, midway between the center-left and the bottom-left. Not shown here – I also compared the right-hand edge of the lenses by rotating the camera 180 degrees, looking at the same sign. The results are the same between the lenses, so I didn’t show them here. Therefore, what you see here is representative of the edge on the left and on the right.<\/p>\n To my eye, the Sigma has a clear edge here (so to speak) on the other lenses. The Canon 50mm f\/1.4 holds up very well. A valid point could be made that you wouldn’t necessarily need super-sharp edges with the f\/1.2 when looking at the edges.<\/p>\n First, the typical framing of this sequence, and then the 100% crops, with only the usual amount of sharpening of the RAW files. Specifically, look at\u00a0the haziness and optical smearing of the detail in the 100% crop images.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As you might expect, stopping down a bit, the\u00a0f\/4 center sharpness between the lenses looked about the same. But to my eye, the Canon f\/1.2 and f\/1.4 and Sigma f\/1.4 ART pulled ahead of the Canon f\/1.8 STM lens. If we take everything else into account as well, the Canon f\/1.8 STM falls behind the 3 more expensive lenses\u00a0in every regard.<\/p>\n The crops were taken from the nearly central portion – the face of our model, Olga.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This review on the lenses’ sharpness, has<\/strong> to be read in context as well with the article on the bokeh<\/a> that these lenses provide.<\/p>\n If we take everything into account except the price, the Yongnuo 50mm f\/1.8<\/a> and the Canon EF 50mm f\/1.8 STM<\/a>\u00a0lenses clearly fall behind the three more expensive lenses.<\/p>\n Value for money<\/strong> has to go the the Canon EF 50mm f\/1.4 USM<\/a> lens. It is sharp, the bokeh isn’t terrible, and the lens is affordable too.<\/p>\n The Canon EF 50mm f\/1.2L USM<\/a>\u00a0 is in a league of its own<\/strong>. That wide aperture either appeals to you in a big way and would justify the price for this beautiful lens … or it doesn’t. I think this lens would be a personal decision if you like the quality and the look that this lens gives you.<\/p>\n My vote for the best of the bunch<\/strong> would be for the Sigma 50mm F1.4 ART<\/a> lens – this optic\u00a0is a beauty. Crisply sharp, even wide open, with great contrast.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" review: Best Canon 50mm lenses – lens sharpness Continuing on from the\u00a0review\u00a0of the bokeh of\u00a0Canon 50mm lenses,\u00a0let’s have a look at image sharpness. Clearly, there is more to deciding on a lens than just sharpness, and we discussed one of those aspects in that article on bokeh.\u00a0Often it comes down to a\u00a0balance between your budget, Read more inside…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,13,700,972],"tags":[915,255],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-32060","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-canon","8":"category-equipment-review","9":"category-equipment-reviews-canon","10":"category-equipment-reviews-sigma","11":"tag-canon-50mm-lens","12":"tag-canon-lens-review","13":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32060"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32060"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35849,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32060\/revisions\/35849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32060"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=32060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Olga_9226.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA closer look at these lenses<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Olga_9138.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCenter\u00a0sharpness at f\/2<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Sigma_IMG_9114_F2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Yongnuo_IMG_9131_F2_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Canon-50mm-f18_IMG_9097_F2_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Canon-50mm-f14_IMG_9093_F2_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Canon-50mm-f12_IMG_9105_F2_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Sigma_IMG_9114_F2_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCenter\u00a0sharpness at f\/1.2 and f\/1.4<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Sigma_IMG_9051_F14.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Canon-50mm-f12_IMG_9041_F12_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Canon-50mm-f14_IMG_9031_F14_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Sigma_IMG_9051_F14_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\nEdge\u00a0sharpness at f\/1.8<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Sigma_IMG_9383.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Yongnuo_IMG_9395_f18_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Canon-50mm-f18_IMG_9352_f18_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Canon-50mm-f14_IMG_9360_f18_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Canon-50mm-f12_IMG_9372_f18_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Sigma_IMG_9383_f18_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCenter sharpness at f\/4<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Sigma_IMG_8958.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Canon-50mm-f18_IMG_8920_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Canon-50mm-f14_IMG_8932_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Canon-50mm-f12_IMG_8944_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/review\/canon-50mm\/Sigma_IMG_8958_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSummary<\/h2>\n
Related links<\/h2>\n
\n
You can purchase any of these lenses through these affiliate links<\/h2>\n
\n