The Canon EF 50mm F/1.2L USM Lens In-Depth Review

[@BelowZero]

This lens wasn't designed to be super sharp....if you want that, go mirrorless and buy RF glass. 50L has more character than the entire RF lineup. Mentioned weaknesses and imperfections made this lens legendary...few will understand this.

[@mikede2464]

Fortunately, I must be one of the few who understand that the EF 50mm 1.2 has more character than the entire RF lineup (which seemingly has become obsessed with sharpness and measured performance).

[@Hector_Malot]

This lens has been misunderstood like the Nikon 135mm f/2 DC (Defocus Control) in its time.

[@Diostillrocks]

@@mikede2464 which is what most younger people are now seeing as most important.

[@villegas24]

With fast primes no one thinks about corner sharpness wide open. I am a Nikon and Sony shooter but this canon lens is legendary.

[@PhotoFeaver]

Corner sharpness is really important if you're taking landscape photos for example, just looking at the centre is great but what makes a lens legendary is how sharp is in the corners. Is lens is really one-of-a-kind thanks to its amazing Aperture.

[@4Kandlez]

@@PhotoFeaver How many landscape photos do you take at f1.2 - f2.8 ?

[@mikede2464]

Landscapes at 1.2 ? Don't think I've ever done that or can see a desire/need to do that.

[@scotthills9927]

Agree with most of what you said, however I have over a dozen fast 50mm lenses and I have to say I've never worried about corner sharpness in any of them. I struggle to think what I would be photographing (at wide apertures) that I would need sharp corners for

[@georginiuss]

This lens is simply awesome, it delivers stunning and beautiful images!!!

[@ricardosantosmx]

There will never exist other lens like this, most of the imperfections that you said made this lens magical, with character and pretty artistic results.

[@AnthonyTadle]

I got the 85mm 1.2L II and I love it... I rock the sigmas art for my 35 1.4 and 50 1.4 ...

[@shademanirvanipour6870]

I got the canon 50mm F1.2L lens and is works well for video recordings and for portraits photography if you want SHARP photos use Shutter settings

[@marckydasaint8730]

On your recommendation, I purchased the Tokina 50mm f1.4 Opera. Beautiful lens. It has the sharpness of the RF 1.2 or the Sigma, but the vivid colors, pop and character of a Vintage Lens. Thank you so much!

[@headbang3r519]

The 50 1.2 RF is my new favourite lens. Love using it. It is a little bit sharper and faster but this EF version is brilliant also. I have moved to mirrorless so the RF version is more suitable for me. But, I still have the EF version. I won’t sell it

[@captaincarl1603]

This lens was updated in 2016. The newer version has upgraded optic coatings with less chromatic aberration and slightly more sharpness.

[@The_Algorithm_]

I haven't been able to find any information on this. Do you know where Canon mentioned this update?

[@captaincarl1603]

Sorry I can't remember? @@The_Algorithm_

[@86309]

can you confirm this?

[@captaincarl1603]

No, It's not my own knowledge. Just saw it on KZbin, but cant remember which channel?

[@terabytefoto]

I love your video. Concise & consistent. One thing that I've been wondering is why people don't talk about the rich latitude in the mid-tone. Another thing is that you definitely need to adjust the autofocus point on your camera, if you use it on a DSLR. Keep up with your good work. Looking forwards to more videos from your channel.

[@peterkin1010]

Used to own one of these before I had to sell it to service my car. It was easily the best 50mm lens I ever owned .Ans it's key attribute is something you didn't mention ie colour rendition. It produced beautifully soft colours and was a dream for portraiture. It wasn't the sharpest I ever owned but it was acceptably sharp at wider apertures and very sharp c f5.6 to f8.0.

[@86309]

I have access to buy one in very good condition for my MKIII, I want it for modeling portrait mainly. did you ever notice the 'ugly" bokeh he mentioned?

[@cornlourd]

Not sure why you compared the lens against the RF regarding size and weight when you didn't include the adapter. Otherwise everything on that section of the video is a moot point. Adding the adapter adds 110g and quite a bit more length. It's the reason why the heavy sigma lenses are really bad to adapt.

[@drstew1]

It’s an older RR. Or the new one ? Made for those who love quality.What’s the difference ? Speed for me is not quality ,It’s impatience .If you’re not in a hurry, then the 2006 Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L is fabulous… And thank you, for your video, because it really does explore all around such a delightful lens a bespoke tailor made suit in my opinion, the kind of fine Glass that doesn’t age. but focuses on what you’re looking at…

[@rayb3000]

Just compared ef 1.8 and 1.2 at those apertures, the L lens kills it.

[@malayneum]

do u mean if both the lens stopped down at f1.8, the 1.2L is brighter?

[@jeremiahyoung5931]

Well detailed video. Thank you

[@lorettadestefano6955]

Excellent video. Thank you very much.

[@bushbeatnik4480]

Lol my fav lens is one I have owed for 33 years (v4 35 Cron). I am actually buying this over the clinical rf 50 that is a great lens for soul-less clinical images IMO but good new is Canon let’s you chose old school or new school. Cheers

[@anthonyrock5039]

Agreed. All new lenses and many new photography enthusiasts who like to photograph graphs and zoom in to see how sharp the edge of the pictures are really make me wonder.. I suppose the industry was always moving in this direction. The coatings used to slightly polarise and push contrast to create perception of sharpness have been cheaper and cheaper. You will actually notice that the cheaper lenses are even sharper than some of the most high priced lenses. This is great for product or architecture but horrible for people/portraits etc. The harsh sterility of modern lens design ends up needing to be softened and effected with filters and colour grading as character has been manufactured out of them.

[@Twobarpsi]

Excellent review!!

[@Kamil_Konrad_Kowalczyk]

4:30 wired 🤨 for me is one of the best bokeh ever mede

[@PhotoFeaver]

I wouldn’t say it is bad bokeh anymore, looking back I would say it’s more unique. This lens unlike modern lenses has more of a personality, which is why it has more of a cult following versus other more modern lenses.

[@jasonchang87115]

I bought this lens in China's second-hand market about 98% new, and the price is 664 euros

[@tigranharutyunyan7674]

Bokeh is ugly? Oh no way. 😂 it draws some crazy out of focus images. Yes it may be not sharp at 1.2. Noone talkes about very short min focus distance. Thats a plus.

[@farid1406]

Great point about the min focus distance. For comparison, I have the Canon Dream Lens f/0.95 and this lens creates backgrounds that are more out of focus than the Dream Lens purely because of that min focus distance. It really is amazing, especially at f/1.2. And this isn't even getting into the beautiful, dynamic rendition of color that makes it a wonderful art lens.

[@wanneske1969]

Sigma doesn't make a 50 mm f1.2. Their 50 mm art lens is f1.4.

[@Tzunami07]

You used IT 2 weeks and give a verdict? Others used this Lens professionally Firma decade or more and still using IT. Buy IT used

[@Azntrutek2012]

20 minutes of Blah blah blah.

[@blizzbee]

lol

[@four-kings]

This L means legacy!

[@natt73]

Ugly bokeh? are you joking me right now??

[@jensb3490]

Save your money - and buy the 50mm 1.4 or 1.8.... The 1.2 is not worth it, unless you goal is to show off a red ring :-) ....

[@DriveCancelDC]

A good used price on the EF 1.2L is worth it, especially on the mirrorless bodies which don't have focus issues like the DSLRs do with this lens. It does a good job on my R5.

[@jensb3490]

Hi Luke - thx for the reply. Glad to read that the lens is worth the money for you. I used it on the Canon 90d, and borrowed the lens for a few weeks - and it didn't justify the price compared to the f/1.4 & the f/1.8. The difference in the quality of the photos was - in my eyes - to small for me to consider buying it. In all fairness, I didn't have any focus issues with the 90d..

[@RollingShutter]

Try it on a full frame body. I bought a 2018 version for 600€ and it is totally worth it. ( even for a little more money)

[@TomislavMoze]

I had all three of those and you are so wrong. Especially the 50/1.4 form canon that is crap. Sigma is ok but 50 1.2 renders nicer tones and more natural image. I had mine since the release and with 35/1.4 the only lens I will never sell.

[@jensb3490]

@@TomislavMoze glad that you are happy with it. You have your opinion, I have mine - we don't agree. All good... Happy shooting..