David G Kugler
I have been pretty good about not buying things lately, but last week I broke down and bought something kind of big… a new camera toy tool: the Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM lens. At 545 gm, it’s beefy and twice the weight of my older 50, the Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM!
Life at 1.2 is incredible!! Arzhang was kind enough to pose on our deck; click the picture and check out a larger resolution version. The OOF (out of focus) areas are amazingly well-rendered — this is bokeh, and it’s great bokeh! To note, it is quite difficult to shoot at such a wide aperture as your depth of field is razor thin. Look how his eyes / eyebrows are in focus, but not his ears (which are ever so slightly on a different plane).
There have been a number of posts on Fred Miranda and other photo forums / review sites (and great ones) questioning the quality of the new 50. I took a few shots to compare the new lens to my old lens. DISCLAIMER: these were photographed on a tripod, by remote with mirror lockup, in a controlled light environment, and at a fixed shutter speed (1/250). I had the lenses on center-weighted auto focus with the cross-hairs on an “M”. They are for illustrative purposes only, and I will let you draw your own conclusion. I am happy with the results. Now to more important things — like getting outside and taking photos. =]
Share this article!
Very cool post thanks for the comparison!
dave, what’s up! it’s kristin back in colorado. i just looked up your site for a friend of mine who might need a photographer. anyway, i’m jealous of your 50/1.2 and it was interesting to see the comparison. my equipment isn’t canon (i’m a nikon whore..), but i love my 50/1.4 nikkor lens more than anything right now! although i’ve heard great things about this newer VR lens (80-200mm, i think), so i want to check that out too.
anyway..hope all is well! i’m probably headed back to seattle this summer now that things are getting to be under control. yay!