Canon EF 50 mm f/1.4 USM review - Distortion

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Canon EF 50 mm f/1.4 USM

15 December 2009

Arkadiusz Olech

6. Distortion

Let’s start with the full frame performance. Just a cursory look at the picture below is enough to say that we deal here with a noticeable barrel distortion.

Our measurements prove it too. The aberration’s level was measured as – 1.98%. This result is basically identical to that of the Nikkor AF-S 50 mm f/1.4, which had the distortion at the level of –2.01%.

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When we work on a smaller APS-C sensor and we cut out the middle part of the Canon EF 50 mm f/1.4 vision field, the distortion decreases significantly and becomes in fact unobtrusive. Its value amounts to – 0.49%. It’s less than in the case of the aforementioned Nikkor but you must remember that the DX Nikkor sensor is a bit bigger than the Canon’s APS-C so the Canon has it easier to overcome that problem.