The Canon EF 50mm f/1.4
I often get asked whether I think it’s worth it or not to spend the extra $200 or so dollars to buy the 50 1.4 over the 50 1.8. I thought bang for the buck wise that you just can’t beat the 50 1.8 and I still agree with that. It’s the mightiest little lens you will ever find for that price. But after seeing the shots of my new Flickr friend Daniel, I was convinced that there is a big difference. I love shooting people shots and his were amazing. They were so sharp and the colors so vivid. I thought he must have done some post-processing. But alas he was just shooting with the 50 1.4 and the 5D (okay, I know, it’s the 5D!). For the longest time I have been debating what my next lens acquisition would be and I almost pulled the trigger on the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. After realizing how much I enjoy the depth of field on my 1.8, I decided that I would have a field day with the 1.4 (with full manual!). He had me convinced and within minutes I had ordered a copy of the lens myself. Here’s the helpful email he sent:
Hi Dave!
Thanks for the kind words. The 50mm f/1.4 is currently my only lens, so yes, wherever you see that focal length in the EXIF, it’s the 1.4. I used to own a Sigma 28-70 f/2.8 EX that was supposed to be very sharp, but it just didn’t stand up to the 50mm so after a while of not feeling like mounting it on the camera, I got rid of it.
I don’t do much post-processing. I used to do WB corrections, level corrections and sharpening in Photoshop, but after I got the 5D almost none of the shots need WB corrections or sharpening. I can’t really explain it but any kind of sharpening on the photo just… feels oversharpened. So now I truly love the 50mm - I don’t even mind that small amount of vignetting it’s causing on the FF camera.
Some people tend to say the 1.4 is softer than the 1.8. I’m not so sure about that, but the nice bokeh of the 1.4, the metal vs plastic casing and the USM really do make a difference.
I’d say go for it, simply because its the kind of lens you will just love. But be aware, it WILL turn you in a wide aperture shooter, and a wide aperture elitist 
At the moment I consider f2.8 lenses *slow* and am looking into other primes… (the shopping list order is 35mm f/1.4, 135mm f/2, 85mm f/1.2).
Daniel
Thanks Daniel! Maybe your pics and email will convince more to buy the 50 1.4!