Camera Labs

Hello all,

I am hoping someone can help me with an issue I am having with my new Canon 5D Mark iii and my Canon EF 50mm 1:14 lens.

It seems after taking a few shots with Auto focus, the lense will lose it's ability to complete auto focus and stay stuck at 0.45m. When I turn the dial manually to attempt to get the lense off of 0.45m, the focus ring that you would turn to get the lens to 3m or infinity does nothing for numerous turns at a time.

Eventually it will turn the lens but it usually takes 5 to 6 turns before the lens starts to react to the focal attempt manually to get it unstuck from the .045m position.

Also, when I am trying to use the AF and the lens is stuck in the 0.45m position, I hear a clicking that seems to be coming from the lens.

I have used a couple of other lenses with the camera since acquiring it, and these focusing issues do not seem to happen with those lenses, only the static 50mm lense.

Also, this is happening whether the camera is in Auto+ or am trying to set the camera settings manually.

Can anyone give me any pointers on what might be wrong, has the lense gone defective or is thier a possibility that the camera may have a problem.

Thank you for any and all help anyone may be able to provide.

Joe Morales

The AF mechanism in the 50/1.4 is notoriously fragile... did you drop/ding/shake the lens a little too vigorously? Or did it do this out of the box? If it's still under warranty, I'd definitely send it in... it's definitely a mechanical failure and NOT your 5D3.

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

My Flickr

Hello there,

Thank you for your reply.

I have had this lense for 3 years now. Never been dropped, when in storage, it is in a protected padded bag and usually mounted to camera while in camera bag.

When I was using it with my 60D, I did not have this problem, it just started when I hooked it up to the 5D Mark iii.

So if replacing the lense seems like the logical option, which model of the 50mm fixed lense would you or one of the other professionals recommend?

Another 50mm either with the same 1.4 or a different aperture?

Is there another static lens that might be a better choice considering the lenses I have for the Canon 5D Mark iii, here is a run down of those lenses:

Canon EF-100-400
Canon EF-70-200
Canon EF-28-135
Sigma EF-12-24? Not sure of second distance number.

I also have other EFs lenses that include:

Canon EFS-18-200
Canon EFs-10-22

I know I cannot use these on the 5D but they were awesome lenses for my 60D. I am not sure what to do with the 60D and the EFs lenses, I just want to get the right static lens for my new 5D.

Thank you for your suggestions.

So would another EF-50mm static with a different aperature be the way to go, or can you suggest a different static that might be a better choice.

Thank you again for your help and suggestions you may provide.

Joe

Did you put the 50mm on your 60D after the problem has come up? If yes: Does it work on it or not?

Personally I do have the Sigma 12-24mm EX DG HSM and the Canon EF 100-400mm and I'm very happy with those. Between those I want to add the Canon EF 24-105mm f4L but I considered the 28-135mm, too.

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

Actually no I di not put it back on the 60D.

I was so focused on the issue with the lens after I put it on the 5D, I did nt even think of putting it back on the 60D to see if the same thing happens.

I am out of town until Friday so I cannot do it until then, I will put it on then and see what results I get.

Should of thought of it on my own, but I guess tunnel vision took over and I did not try to rule out the obvious by putting it back on the camera I have used it on for quite a while.

Thanks for the input and I will let you know what results I have on Friday.

Hello all who have replied and who may read this reply.

I did put the 50mm lense back on the 60D and the same issue with the lense happended as it did with the 5D.

When the lense focal was between 0.45. and 0.60, the focus mechanism would get stuck and as I pressed the shutter button half way down I just hear a slight clicking sound and the lense will not move off of the point in which it is stuck.

When I turn the focus ring manually, the lense stays stuck in the position it is in for numerous turns before the lense seems to catch and the lense will try to acheive a focus point.

So it looks like it is the lense as was pointed out by Plymer. I am glad he was right and it is not the new camera I just got. So now I have to decide which 50mm to replace it with, another 1:1.4 or a different aperature lense.

Again, any suggestions and direction would be greatly appreciated.

Glad that it's not your camera, but bummed that your lens is on the fritz.

If you looking to replace your lens, you could take a chance and get another Canon 1.4, save some cash and get a 1.8, OR look into the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM. I'm definitely not a huge proponent of 3rd-party lenses but I've heard amazing things about the Sigma version of this lens. It's likely better-built (ironically) than the Canon...

Or you could drop the big money on a 50/1.2 from Canon

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Canon EOS 5D MkII | Canon EOS 7D | Canon Digital Rebel XSi | EF 35mm f/1.4L | EF 50mm f/1.8 II | EF 85mm f/1.8 | EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM | EF 135mm f/2L | EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS | 580EX II | LumoPro LP-120

My Flickr

It could be worth calling Canon up and asking them if it's fixable and how much it would be.

If you're forced to buy a new one, the recent tests of the 50mm f/1.8 seem to show the image quality of the 1.8 is actually a bit better than the 1.4 and 1.2, although the build quality and autofocus capabilities are quite a different issue.

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Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T2i, Canon S90
Lenses: Tamron: SP70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III, and EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Retired camera: Fujifilm Finepix s700