Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM

Canon’s 50mm f/1.4 USM lens is a well built piece of glass and the very large maximum aperture of f/1.4 means you can both shoot in dim conditions and get some pleasingly shallow depth-of-field effects in your pictures.

Though predominantly plastic, the construction of the Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM lens feels solid and the lens mount is metal so it should be durable enough to take a lot of use. The manual focus ring is nicely weighted with a grooved design meaning it won’t slip from your grasp, and though the front element does rack out during focus, it’s only by 1cm or so and doesn’t rotate. On the barrel, there’s a Manual/AF switch and a range window for shooting using hyperfocal distancing and it also features Canon’s USM motor for quieter (though not silent) AF. Focusing itself is extremely fast and reliable.

Specifications:
Street price (body only): £295
Construction: 7 elements in 6 groups
Max aperture: f/1.4
Min aperture: f/22
Aperture blades: 8
Aperture ring: No
AF/Manual focus switch: Yes
Autofocus monitor: Yes
Minimum focus distance: 45cm
Distance window: Yes
Filter size: 58mm
Dimensions (length x width): 74x51mm
Weight: 290g
Lens mount construction: Metal
Lens mount: Canon EF & EF-S
Website: www.canon.co.uk