Using a 50mm 1.4 lens - newbie question
 

I just rec'd a 50mm 1.4 lens for my Canon T1i.

I saw a lot of ppl mentioning how this lens is great for low light situations and for portraits. I mainly purchased this lens to take pics of my little one and after seeing so many other images from other ppl on the net, I thought it would be a great lens to purchase.

I have taken this lens out a few times and find that my DOF isnt accurate in terms of what Im trying to capture. For instance, last night my little one was playing with her favorite toy and I found that I couldnt blur out the background and have just her and her toy in focus. I realize you have to spend time getting to know the equipment and practice makes perfect, but I thought I would post here and get some pointers in terms of how to use this lens to its maximum capabilities.

With my kit lens I was always shooting in portrait mode as I liked how the images were turning out. Id like to learn how to use the AV or M features on my camera, not sure if this is the right way to use the 50mm lens or not.

Also, I was shooting in ISO 200 at F1.4 with my little one. Does placing the lens in AF or MF mode make a difference?

Again, I apologize for the newbie questions but I have been trying to read online on how to use this lens but thought it would be good to ask here and ask ppl that have this lens on how to properly use it.

It'd be great if you could post the picture you had trouble with. That would help us visualize what you mean ("a picture is worth a thousand words" :)).

F1.4 is definitely something really nice to have - if you understand how "shallow" your plane of focus is. The range of where things are in focus is so narrow that it's hard to nail down what you want to be in focus or not. It might help to shoot in Av mode, and lock it down to f2.8 so that you still get the nice bokeh but also gives you a bit more room to work with your little one (since she moves around quite a bit).

it would also depend how far your subject is from the background. if your little one is surrounded by her other toys while you are shooting, then your bokeh will not appear to pop because the camera is trying to get everything in focus.

Ill take a few more pictures with test subjects (her stuffed toys) as I prefer not to put pics of my little one on the net, to give a better idea as I totally agree that a picture is worth a thousand words.

I was taking pictures anywhere from 4ft or less from her as shes only 6 months now and isnt always able to sit for long periods of time. Ill play around with it more and try the AV mode at f2.8 to see if that makes a difference on the images I take and will post a few on here to get suggestions/comments.

I purchased the 50mm 1.4 for the bokeh it produces but there is definitely a lot to learn as its more about the knowledge than a simple point and shoot click.

Again, thanks for the replies as its definitely appreciated.

When i use my 50mm 1.8 i have it in MF. AF usually doesn't give me what i want, try giving MF a try.

newb here as well.

How are you liking the 50mm? I have a 85mm 1.2 to play with, however, I can never get used to it. I know it's good for portraits as well, but for 85mm I have to shoot from quite far... I was having dinner with my friend's baby who was sitting across the table (4 person table) and I could NOT take a pic from there, even leaned back lol. Maybe I'm just too used to zoom-lenses.

For cameras with 1.6x on the sensor, 50mm is definitely more "everyday" than an 85mm.

I liked results from other ppl that posted pics using the 50mm on crop body and full body cameras and decided after reading reviews its a good lens to get. I do find that Im too used to zoom lens but figured Id take the plunge and try it out. i love the brokeh it causes when the picture is taken properly and at the same time it causes frustration when its not done right...but overall im very happy with it.

just have to take more pics and learn how to use it more effectively.

like Levitron mentioned, at f1.4, the plane of focus is very shallow. ie: there's a very distinct distance between you and the subject where the subject will be in focus. a greater f-stop will give you more wiggle room. i have a 35mm f1.8 for my Nikon and i find that i try to be too smart and go to f1.8 too often. :(

as for AF vs MF, i find that i sometimes take a bit too long to get things in focus manually if i'm taking pictures of people. in AF mode, i half-press the shutter while focused on my subject, then move the camera a bit to compose the picture just like any regular camera.

On my 50mm 1.8:
aperture mode + fstop 1.8 to 2.8 + ISO100 + AF

I'm too slow to shoot in MF. 2 year old son moves a mile a minute now. By the time I'd get the setting I want, I'll have missed it already.

PS. you don't need to shoot at the widest possible aperture for good bokeh

Exactly. There seems to be a common assumption that you must shoot "full-manual-everything" to get effects of bokeh to show up.

I always tell people that it's more important to get the shot in that moment than to have missed the shot entirely because you were fiddling with the settings.

There are problems with the focus and recompose method which is why you might not be getting the focus bang on. Read this article for more info.

The Problem With The Focus-Recompose Method

Leave the camera in AF, but instead of focus and recompose, try moving the AF point. I'm guessing you probably want your kid's face in focus, so try moving the AF pointing to her face.

Also, while you can shoot at f1.4, it isn't the sharpest at this f-stop. Read more below.

How to Select the Sharpest Aperture

Are you shooting on a crop sensor or full frame? (not that it matters I guess, but harder on a full frame)

Yea, no need to shoot at f1.4, hard to even get two eyes in focus. Try 2.8 or higher.

While I agree with the technical aspects of that article, most often than not you will not shoot full wide (as multiple posts above have mentioned). It's only when you shoot full wide at f1.4 that this effect gets worse. How often do you pixel peep like that too?

Also, NOT using the multipoint focus on your camera would be just plain dumb. If it's there, use it and reduce the "travel distance" incurred through the movement of your recomposition. Plain and simple! :)

Its not only an issue when you shoot full wide. According to this depth of field calculator: Online Depth of Field Calculator

On a crop sensor, even at f4.0 at distance of lets say 1 metre, your depth of field is only 6.09 cm deep. It doesn't give you THAT much room to play around with. and depth of field only decreases with shorter distances.

Yes - I have mentioned that technically speaking, it is totally bang on. I do not doubt the technical aspects of it at all.

However, what is technically correct may not translate well in all situations (and in real life situations for that matter). With the above case you are talking about a kid who's running around, moving around non-stop. Even if you did set it up all correctly, you will undoubtedly have unfocused shots.

What's important here now is actually getting the shot. I've found that to switch AF points is often just a tad slower than focus-recompose. So it's really up to you to make that snap decision of what to do. For me, I'd choose the route of focus-recompose; not necessarily the centre AF point, but whatever I can get quickly to be the closest AF point to the subject.

Your kid is 2 years old only once and only going to put that pink stress ball in mom's cup only once. What's important here is to get that shot, that moment right then and there. This, is what is important.

Sorry OP for hijacking :)

which 1.2 do you have :fullofwin: