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Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM lens
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM lensCanon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM lens
 

Full frame sized image

Lenses that create APS-C sized image are designed for digital only. They cannot be used on cameras that have image sensor larger than the APS-C format. These lenses are not suitable for film cameras either.

 

Ultrasonic AF

Lenses with ultrasonic focusing mechanism tend to be quiter and faster than traditionally focusing lenses.

 

No Low Dispersion lens element is used

Low Dispersion lens elements help to reduce chromatic aberration.

 

Not stabilized

Image stabilization helps to reduce blur caused by hand shake, especially at high focal length or in low light situations. Image stabilization can give 1 to 3 stop advantage over none stabilized lens, based on the reciprocal rule.

 

Metal mount

Cheaper lenses are usually equipped with plastic mount, while more expensive, professional lenses have metal mount. In general, metal mounts are more durable, and a good thing to have when lenses are changed a lot. When a camera is used mainly with one lens, the material of the lens mount is not that important.

 

Internal Focusing

Internally focusing lenses don't change their size while setting focus.

 

Weather Sealed

Weather sealed lenses are protected from dust and water. While they are not water proof, these lenses can be used in rain and other humid environments. Some sealings only provide protection against dust or water, not both. Sealing is only available when the lens is used on a similarly weather sealed camera body.

 

No drop-in filter support

Drop-in filters are used in those lenses where either the front lens is too large, or the field of view doesn't permit the use of traditional filters at the front of the lens. Usually bright tele and ultra-wide angle lenses support this filter type.
The EF 50mm f/1.2L USM is a peerless new standard lens featuring an ultra-large aperture for a narrow depth of field and soft background blur so loved by photographers everywhere. The EF 50mm f/1.2L USM is suitable for any shooting situation; its lens coating and construction are optimized to minimize the ghosting and flare that frequently occurs when lenses are used with digital cameras. This high-performance, weather-resistant lens delivers all the superb image resolution and contrast you expect in a Canon L Series Lens.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Specification

Available mount(s) Canon EF
Application(s) Portrait, Landscape, Architecture, Special effects
Category(s) Standard prime
Multiplier 1×
Stabilizer no
Focal length 50 mm (prime)
Lens construction 8 elements in 6 groups
Angle of view 35mm: 46°
digital: N/A
Number of blades N/A
Maximum aperture f/1.2
Minimum aperture N/A
Minimum focusing distance 45 cm
Magnification 0.12×
Filter size 72 mm
Size ∅ 85.4 × 65.5 mm
Weight 545 g
Notes Mechanical full-time manual focusing built-in.
AF speed N/A
AF sound
Internal focusing yes
Internal zoom N/A
Fix front lens N/A
Mount type metal
Weather sealed yes
Drop in filter no
Ultrasonic AF yes
APS-C sized circle no
Low dispersion lens element no
Hard case N/A
Soft case N/A
Lens hood N/A
Tripod adapter N/A
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Specification

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Reviews

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM in the news

Other reviews

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Owner Reviews

Most useful owner reviews from Amazon

Don't believe the reviews!

Aug 29, 2007

The reviews of the 50mm f/1.2L are useless. All you hear is "Spend your money on the 35L or 85L instead" or "the focusing issues make this lens unuseable". But something makes me think that people are just writing reviews based on what other people have said without actually ever using the product.

If you ever want to shoot snapshots of downtown without a flash at midnight WHILE walking, this is the lens to have. I'm so in love with this lens.

Pros:
* It's completely silent. Quieter than the f/1.4
* It has no problems focusing in the dark
* It's highly useable at f1.2
* It's sharper than the f/1.4
* Colors are more saturated than the f/1.4
* Images taken with this lens have higher contrast than the f/1.4
* It makes the f/1.4 feel like a hunk of plastic
* It comes with a hood

Cons:
* It costs 4 times more than the f/1.4
* It costs 18 times more than the f/1.8

Pros:
* You can comfortably shoot under conditions that would make the f/1.4 nervous.
* Produces a much higher yield of useable photos
* Aesthetically, it's the coolest looking lens I own!

For those who are concerned about the "back focusing" issue, I will let you know that I haven't experienced any backfocusing at all. I've let others shoot with it, wide open, within low-light environments and even the non-photographers were able to focus/shoot accurately.

This is my review from my non-scientific, real-world, situational testing.

Don't be scared. It is good lens.

Oct 19, 2007

I am not a professional photographer, or make living with taking pictures. I am just a person who loves to take pictures & enjoys good pictures. And, I know how expensive this lens is, and YES, I am very aware of "Back Focusing" issue with this lens that others worry. I have been using this lens for 3 weeks now, and have been experiencing good & bad about this lens. (I believe "back focusing" issue was way too much inflated.) I have EOS 5D, and wanted to take full advantage of FF factor, and this was why I took a plunge instead of getting acclaimed 35MM or 85MM.

Good:
Picture quality - from f1.2 thru f2.8, the lens works superbly. AF is fast & faster compared to 50mm 1.4. Above f2.8, the pictures become a touch soft, but it exceeded my expectation. In low light condition, this lens is virtually unbeatable.
Weight & Feel - Anoth factor that sold me to this lens is its overall feel. Very balanced & well weighted. And, its build quality is good.

Bad:
Back Focus - Yes, it does back focus in very (very) close distance. Within 20 inches, you may experience back focusing more than half of the time. (Others say within 30 inches or so, but I never experienced more than 20 inches far.) I asked myself how many times (in reality), I would try taking pictures within such distance.
Cost - Yes, this is expensive lens. 4 times more than very good 50mm 1.4.

I love to take portraits (especially for my new born baby) , and this was my main reason that I upgraded from 50mm 1.4 to 50mm 1.2. I would recommend this lens if you are into portraits. If you want more than what I am into, you may be disappointed. Did I make a good investment? Yes, I believe I did.

Hit or miss

May 31, 2008

First off, in a previous life I worked as a portrait photographer. Nowadays it's more of a hobby, but I spend a significant amount of time involved in it, and have travelled to many countries specifically to take pictures. I know my way around a camera, but don't consider myself a pro.

I learned photography 'old school' in the film days; pick up a camera, put a 50mm lens on it, and shoot about 10000 pictures, then you can change lenses. Like a lot of photographers, the 50mm lens has a special place in my heart.

This still applies on the full frame 5D which I shoot with. I don't find the 50mm length useful on crop sensor bodies.

So in looking to fill this 50mm gap, over the last few years I have used the 50 1.8, the 1.4, and the 1.2. The 50 1.8 is actually pretty fantastic for the price. The focusing and build quality, along with the kinda crummy bokeh later led me to the 50 1.4 which I have been pretty happy with. The 1.4 has good bokeh, decent build quality.

What led me to try the 50 1.2 was that the 1.4 seemed to miss focus often enough (maybe 2/10 shots) that I ended up throwing away some photos that would have been quite good had it hit properly. Though the price is quite a bit steeper, I figured the 1.2 was probably going to be worth it, as I have been extremely impressed by most of the L lenses from canon.

I hate to say it, but I am pretty disappointed. I have tried 2 different copies now. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad lens. But I ended up returning both copies soon after getting them for a few reasons. First, there's the well-known backfocus issue that I will not go into except to say, both of my copies backfocused a bit, but not so much I couldn't live with it. It was about 2-4 mm.

The second reason I returned them is that it misses focus nearly as often as the 50 1.4. And don't mistake this for operator error in a very shallow depth-of-field. My real-world shots along with tripod test shots often were out of focus for no apparent reason. Taking 3 shots without moving the camera or subject would only yield 1/3 in focus shots. (and none of my other lenses have this issue so it can't be blamed on the camera: 17-40, 24-105, 85 1.8, 70-200/2.8, 135, 100-400).

Third, and worst of all, aside from a small improvement in bokeh at 1.2, there is very little difference in most comparison shots between the 1.4 and the 1.2. I suspect that the 1.2 would hold up better in flare situations and other times, but in my real-world shooting, my 1.4 is sharper and has the same color and contrast rendition. I'm not a photojournalist in Somalia so while the build quality is nice, I don't forsee breaking my 1.4 anytime soon and if it does I can pick up 3 more backup copies for the same price as the 1.2.

I really hope Canon comes out with a 50mm that befits the L standard someday. I'll be the first to buy it and try to hide the receipt from my wife. But for now, in my opinion, it's just not in this lens.

Fantastic lens if you aren't in the "Danger Zone"...

Oct 15, 2008

I have owned/tested several copies of this lens from 2006-2008, the most recent one having a date code of UW07xx and have found that all have the infamous focus shifting issue.

Focus Shift Issue:
When shooting from within 4-5ft from the subject and closer all the way to MFD, at an angle (say 45 degrees), and between the apertures of f2-f4, even f5.6, as you stop the lens down, the focus plane shifts towards the back. For the lack of a better description the lens progressively back-focus as you stop the lens down from f1.2 to f5.6 so what was in focus at f1.2 is OOF by the time the lens is stopped down to f2-f5.6. At f8 the shift is hidden due to widening DoF. What this means is that focusing on the left eye will result in an OOF left eye and the left ear being in focus. Completely unacceptable.

Again, I stress the point that this is situation specific. When you are further away from the subject, the problem is still there, but is "hidden" by DoF limits.

But the problem is very real. Canon have known at least since May of 2007, promised to "take a look into it". Over a year later, nothing.

Good luck sending in the lens to Canon for calibration. They don't have the medicine for this illness! Granted my copy came back a little better than before (used to backfocus very badly and not even the Micro Adjust feature of my 1DMKIII could compensate for it). I sent mine in 3 times and grew tired of this exercise.

On the seldom occasion that the lens nails the AF, it can be as sweet as the 85L, which makes it even more frustration. So much potential...

I would recommend purchasing this lens from a place you can easily return it. If you are lucky enough to find a copy that's acceptable (again, the shift problem is inherent in the design of the lens, so you cannot completely avoid it) then hang on to it for dear life.

You need to buy this lens...

Dec 27, 2007

The build quality is outstanding. The lens ends up being a bit heavier than you'd expect, as a result. The DoF is razor thin at f/1.2. The bokeh is liquid smooth, and with my 40D I can't even hear the USM focusing in AF. I included a few pics for this product.

The 72mm filter/lens size is expectedly a big step up from the 50mm f/1.4's 58mm, and matches my other lens' threading. If you are a casual photographer taking pics of your kids, the f/1.4 will do fine. You probably won't see the difference. But if you blow up and print your shots, or have occasion to sell your photos, then you will most definitely see the difference. The f/1.8 has 5 blades, the f/1.4 has 8,and the f/1.2 has 8-but those blades are curved to produce silky smooth background/foregrounds when the lens is wide open.

The damped rubber focus ring lets me change focus (even in AF) predictably as it has a good "feel" to it compared to a ring with no resistance. I have heard all the comments about back focus, but honestly I haven't seen it. I've even setup a few tests, and it looks crisp down to a subject being 13" from the lens (which is the closest the AF will work). Maybe it's the new 40D (v1.0.5) I'm using?

And the biggest surprise was how dark it can be while this thing still functions. It's now really easy to be discrete in dark rooms, now!

Anyway... find a way to buy this lens.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Sample Photos

Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Accessories

Lens hoods for Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM

72 mm Filters

72 mm Polarizer Filters

72 mm UV Filters

72 mm Skylight Filters

72 mm Lens Caps

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