The Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM for Canon Mount is the best 50mm for a photographer on a budget.
The 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM came out in 2008 by Sigma. Huge step for a company other then Canon and Nikon to put some serious competition on the market. In my opinion this lens blows the Nikon 50mm and Canon 50mm F1.4 out of the water. This is a prime lens, equivalent to 50mm on a full frame sensor camera and 80mm on a crop sensor 1.6. If your looking for a sharp walk around or portrait lens this is the go to lens. The build quality for a 400 dollar lens is very solid. The autofocus is quite fast but a little loud. The noise does not bother me. Compared to the Canon 50mm F1.4 this lens makes it look that look cheap. The fast wide aperture of this lens makes it very appealing to any bokeh enthusiasts. It has a very clean look to the bokeh balls, show in this photo below.
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The focus ring on the lens is very smooth for doing manual focus shooting photos or video. The HSM, Hyper Sonic Motor, which compares to Canons Ultra Sonic Motor, makes the autofocus in the lens very fast and reliable. The outer body of the lens is some type of hard plastic that has a metal feel to it.
In the video below there is a quick video I made in Mt. Pleasant Michigan using a Canon EOS Rebel T3i, Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM, and a Manfrotto 500AH Fluid Video Head.
