It's like there's no perfect Canon 50. all have some sort of flaw/problem/issue:50 1.8 Mk.1 - out of production. Kinda pricey on the used market for what it is.50 1.8 Mk. II - way cheap build quailty. Not rugged. missing functionality like focusing scale.50 1.4 - Micro USM. (ugh). Also not long-lived due to that fact, apparently.50 1.2L - focus issues at close distances stopped down. Expen$ive!50 1.0L - Out of production, expensive. reportedly soft wide open.No great choices there, all are a compromise in one way or another. If they would just eliminate all the extraneous issues and build one nice, ring-USM L-quality 50 1.4 or 1.2 w/ floating element so no focus issues, and price it under $1k, I think everyone would be happy.-Ed

Chez Wimpywrote:chowywrote:I don't see it happening anytime soon. The 50/1.4 is probably one of their best selling lenses. Why spend money on R&D when there is very little competition!I checked and it is #15 overall on the (kakaku.com) Japanese Canon lens sales list. In primes second only behind the 50/1.8mk2 in overall sales.Sorry, I meant top selling prime lens

Chez Wimpywrote:chowywrote:I don't see it happening anytime soon. The 50/1.4 is probably one of their best selling lenses. Why spend money on R&D when there is very little competition!I checked and it is #15 overall on the (kakaku.com) Japanese Canon lens sales list. In primes second only behind the 50/1.8mk2 in overall sales. #16 is the 35/2 and #17 is the 28/1.8 (at nearly $500 no less), #18 the 135L, #19 the 50L and #20 the 35L. Considering how many of the top 14 lenses are the high price tag (apparently high volume) L zooms, I doubt Canon sees much reason to redesign such a cheap prime in this day and age (so don't hold your breath on the 28/2.8 WAY down at the bottom). This of course doesn't even add 3rd party lenses into the mix, so I am sure, in terms of EF mount lens sales, the overall rank of the Canon primes are much lower.If I interpreted the kakaku.com website correctly, then the new EF-S18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS is at #8. Perhaps the sales figures are for only this month, or even week.

No great choices there, all are a compromise in one way or another. If they would just eliminate all the extraneous issues and build one nice, ring-USM L-quality 50 1.4 or 1.2 w/ floating element so no focus issues, and price it under $1k, I think everyone would be happy.-EdSeriously, is that too much to ask forOh, and Kjeld... don't forget a metal lens mount. Plastic should be outlawed!