# Making the most out of a 50 1.2?



## LukieLauXD (Dec 24, 2012)

Our family finally entered the world of L primes for Christmas and I was wondering how we can make the most out of a 50mm 1.2? 

I used it on my Dad's 1Ds3 yesterday and took a picture of the darkest part of our house and when we saw it, tears were shed at its awesomeness.


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## bdunbar79 (Dec 24, 2012)

It's a great lens on a great body like the 1Ds 3. If you want to take full advantage, do an AFMA adjustment and use it primarily between f/1.2 and f/2 or f/2.8. That's it's absolute sharpest range. If you go narrower, there are other sharper lenses. Good luck! Glad you got a great Xmas present!


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## Zlatko (Dec 24, 2012)

+1. Do what bdunbar79 wrote. Enjoy!


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## EOBeav (Dec 24, 2012)

Zlatko said:


> +1. Do what bdunbar79 wrote. Enjoy!



Yeah, if you've got a 50L, take full advantage of it at wide apertures. And thank the Lord in Heaven that you have such awesome glass.


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## jp121 (Dec 24, 2012)

Bought one yesterday. Loving it already.


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## Viggo (Dec 24, 2012)

To really make it useful, forget about every bad thing you've heard and shoot like any other lens. Yes it is pretty soft if you use it closer than 1 meter from subject, but I don't care, because the look and feel of closeup portraits for example is simply fantastic. Enjoy and congrats!


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## drjlo (Dec 24, 2012)

The more I use the 50L for portraits, the more I am appreciating its slightly more "human" rendering of sharpness. Most of us non-models without full make-up are shown in a more glowing and forgiving light IMO compared to other bitingly sharp lenses.


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## Albi86 (Dec 25, 2012)

LukieLauXD said:


> Our family finally entered the world of L primes for Christmas and I was wondering how we can make the most out of a 50mm 1.2?
> 
> I used it on my Dad's 1Ds3 yesterday and took a picture of the darkest part of our house and when we saw it, tears were shed at its awesomeness.



Use it at f/1.2, this is what you bought it for


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## Dylan777 (Dec 28, 2012)

AFMA is almost *required* for this lens. I tried 4 brand new copies from Crutchfield. All 4 copies have back focus issue. I ran all 4 copies through FoCal at f1.2. Out of 4, there is only one lens has sharpness above 800 with FoCal. Others 3 just around 760-780ish. I ended up keeping the sharpest lens and returned the remaining.

I also ran this lens @ f1.4, 1.8, 2, 2.8, 3.2 and f4. I wrote down the AFMA values on small a note and taped it to the lens hood. I'm not sure if I ever need to stop down to f4 on f1.2 lens, but the datas are there if I ever need it. 

Below is my 1st shot after AFMA @ f1.2


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## Dylan777 (Dec 28, 2012)

bdunbar79 said:


> It's a great lens on a great body like the 1Ds 3. If you want to take full advantage, do an AFMA adjustment and use it primarily between f/1.2 and f/2 or f/2.8. That's it's absolute sharpest range. If you go narrower, there are other sharper lenses. Good luck! Glad you got a great Xmas present!



@ f2.8 the new 24-70 f2.8 II is sharper than 50L at 50mm. I'm based on my copies (24-70 II and 50L)


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## Viggo (Dec 28, 2012)

Yes, but how sharp 'p your [email protected] 1.2? ;D

And actually, the sharpest aperture of the 50 L is around 5.0-5.6.


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## Dylan777 (Dec 28, 2012)

Viggo said:


> Yes, but how sharp 'p your [email protected] 1.2? ;D
> 
> And actually, the sharpest aperture of the 50 L is around 5.0-5.6.



You right. However, my 50L showed no sharpness from 24 to 70mm, except @ 50mm


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## bdunbar79 (Dec 28, 2012)

Viggo said:


> Yes, but how sharp 'p your [email protected] 1.2? ;D
> 
> And actually, the sharpest aperture of the 50 L is around 5.0-5.6.



If that's true, then that's really disappointing _considering the cost._


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## Zlatko (Jan 4, 2013)

bdunbar79 said:


> Viggo said:
> 
> 
> > Yes, but how sharp 'p your [email protected] 1.2? ;D
> ...



Considering the cost (~ $1,300), it is a fabulous lens. It is plenty sharp around f/2 and draws very, very beautifully -- which is its main selling point. There is no need to stop it down, except for more depth of field. Canon could have included a floating element to address a slight focus shift when stopping down, but then people would freak out even more about the price.

If you want a better fast 50mm, you have to spend $4,000 for a Leica 50/1.4 or $11,000 for a Leica 50/0.95, and at least $5,450 for a camera body on which to mount it.


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## Kamakalele (Jan 6, 2013)

LukieLauXD said:


> Our family finally entered the world of L primes for Christmas and I was wondering how we can make the most out of a 50mm 1.2?
> 
> I used it on my Dad's 1Ds3 yesterday and took a picture of the darkest part of our house and when we saw it, tears were shed at its awesomeness.



Iv'e used it on my 5D Mk II and love it. I do not know much about photography but I know that the pictures I take with it make my friends say "WOW". I love the lens but miss it as I have been lending it to a young teen of a friend, who is interested in photography. The pictures I've taken with it blow me away. I don't know crap about IS or CA but the pictures I take of my daughter with this lens, I LOVE!!!! Have fun with this lens. This lens and my EF 135 f2L are my go to lenses that I keep on my 5D MkIII now, 99% of the time. Go BIG or go home....in f stop anyway.


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## RLPhoto (Jan 6, 2013)

http://ramonlperez.tumblr.com/post/34906285033/fast-prime-shoot-out-pt-2-50mm-1-2l-review


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## BrettS (Jan 6, 2013)

Beautiful lens. I'm very happy with mine. 

If I could be so bold as to quote neuro:

_Excellent bokeh was a priority for Canon with the 50L. They stated, "With the increasing popularity of digital SLR cameras, calls for large aperture single-focal length lenses with excellent image quality and pleasing bokeh (blur effects) for portraits have increased," (Tech Report, 11/2006). Spherical aberration results in a loss of sharpness, but completely correcting for spherical aberration results in a harsh, jittery bokeh. In the 50L design, the spherical aberration was left deliberately undercorrected to produce the creamy bokeh for which the lens is known._

Also, this thread is quite interesting. http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=10798.0


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## AudioGlenn (Jan 6, 2013)

man, i want one. especially after selling my 50mm f/1.4...


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## Mike2000 (Jan 14, 2013)

Agree. Fantastic lens. On my site there are many shots taken with it. You can easily recognize them.


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## Dylan777 (Jan 14, 2013)

AudioGlenn said:


> man, i want one. especially after selling my 50mm f/1.4...



SOLD my 1.4 and went with 50L. It feels much better on 5D III.


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## AudioGlenn (Jan 15, 2013)

Dylan777 said:


> AudioGlenn said:
> 
> 
> > man, i want one. especially after selling my 50mm f/1.4...
> ...



maybe I should rent one. renting the 100mm macro L cured my gear lust for it. I realized I could do what I needed with extension tubes and that $900 could go towards something I'd use more often. (That's when I bought the 70-200!)

My fear is that I'll like it so much more than my 35L that I'll just have to have one. I really do love my 35L. I found it more useful FL for me compared to my 50 1.4. But maybe I was just not liking the IQ I was getting on the 50 1.4....here's to hoping I don't fall in love at first sight with the rented copy.


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## SteenerMe (Jan 22, 2013)

Just recieved mine last friday. Took about 3 shots to fall in love with it. Shot a wedding on sat. Wanted to use it a lot but was worried about the focus I was getting at 1.2. And I have glass to use for 50mm so inbetween locations I did some test shots and manually adjusted the amfa by using the compare screen on the 5d3. At full zoom I decided -6 looked best. After that and a few test shot I felt comfortable using itfor the rest of the night . I did take 3 shots each time at 1.2 to maximise the turnout potential. Sure many of them were soft but the ones that locked on look fabulous. I haven't taken it off since. The balance on a gripped 5d3 is perfect. I agree the shapness is not there esp compared to the new mk2 zooms but the look of the pictures is unlike any lens I have. The 1.4, to me had no special qualities. The 50L is just bada$$. But now im sure ill wake up in a day or 2 to see the announcement of the mk2....


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