Wow. Its a great piece of glass

[umphotography]

Dont know why i fought it so long. Sold my 50MM 1.4 and bought a 50L. took it out last night for a test drive. Its is a really nice lens. I think its going to be glued to the 5D2. I love the 35L but man, this one really fits my style. The soft background blur is awesome. Im tickled

[Red Tie Photography]

Arent you glad you finally ignored all the bad things said about it and just bought it?

[nicksan]

Originally Posted by Red Tie Photography

Arent you glad you finally ignored all the bad things said about it and just bought it?

Well, to be fair, some of negative things that are said about the lens are true. That said, I love mine and it is one of my most used lenses.

[jclaveria]

It's all about the copy you get. I was not lucky enough after three tries, and I gave up. I have a SigmaLux. The reason why I said depends on the copy because my friend has one and I don't have to adjust for BF/FF.

I will still want to buy one sometime.

[PeaceFire]

I want one, I won't deny it. Have fun with it!

[nathancarter]

I don't need to read threads like this. :/


Don't worry, my precious 1.4, I love you and will never ever leave you
Not even if I get that bonus check in June.

(fingers crossed behind my back)

[umphotography]

Originally Posted by nathancarter

I don't need to read threads like this. :/


Don't worry, my precious 1.4, I love you and will never ever leave you
Not even if I get that bonus check in June.

(fingers crossed behind my back)

I said the same thing for 2 yrs

The lens is killer at F1.6. Took some test shots in the studio todal with modeling lamps only plus christmas lights in front of an aluminum backdrop...OMG

[Chad R.]

Originally Posted by nathancarter

I don't need to read threads like this. :/


Don't worry, my precious 1.4, I love you and will never ever leave you
Not even if I get that bonus check in June.

(fingers crossed behind my back)

lol

[avangardphoto]

How is the focus/sharpness on yours. I had two different copies but I they were soft at 1.2. I bought 85 1.2 and I'm happy

[umphotography]

Originally Posted by avangardphoto

How is the focus/sharpness on yours. I had two different copies but I they were soft at 1.2. I bought 85 1.2 and I'm happy

Right now from what i can tell..have not used it enough.. but its the sharpest lens in my bag. I have had my 35L for 3 yrs, love it but in getting a bit bored with it,,,loved my 50mm 1.4 and the new 1.2 is much much better.


My top 3 lens for sharpness and ability to soften the background are

1- 50L
2- sigma 85
3. 35L

In the shade the,, 70-200 with an ND cant be beat

[avangardphoto]

I traded my canon 85 1.2 I for Sigma 85 1.4 but it had strange misfocus problems. After six month I went back to canon 85 1.2 II. I'm happy now

[picturecrazy]

50L is just not a lens you buy for sharpness. It's definitely not one of it's strengths. But it does have a wonderful character.

[jclaveria]

Can you please elaborate further on the "character" ?

I bought this lens a couple of times as I mentioned and none of them were straight sharp at 1.2, but maybe I am just unlucky. I finally settled with the Sigma 50 1.4.

My reason for buying a lens of a wider aperture even at an expensive cost is to get the sharpest possible at the widest, which is true for my 85 1.2II. That never seems to be the same with the 50L from my experience.

When you say character, are you talking the same line as why you still want the creamy bokeh of a 135L rather than get a 70-200II?

Originally Posted by picturecrazy

50L is just not a lens you buy for sharpness. It's definitely not one of it's strengths. But it does have a wonderful character.

[picturecrazy]

Originally Posted by jclaveria

Can you please elaborate further on the "character" ?

I bought this lens a couple of times as I mentioned and none of them were straight sharp at 1.2, but maybe I am just unlucky. I finally settled with the Sigma 50 1.4.

My reason for buying a lens of a wider aperture even at an expensive cost is to get the sharpest possible at the widest, which is true for my 85 1.2II. That never seems to be the same with the 50L from my experience.

When you say character, are you talking the same line as why you still want the creamy bokeh of a 135L rather than get a 70-200II?

There are many characteristics of a lens that determine how a person subjectively experiences it's images. For the 50L, what got me was the decent control of halation wide open (that dreamy look), the smoothness of the bokeh for jagged random edges (makes OOF trees look much nicer), the softness of the flare artifacts, and despite the fact that it isn't tack sharp wide open, the softness it renders is actually somewhat pleasing for romantic portraiture. Some lenses are just plain soft, but the 50L is soft that looks pretty. Which is why it is my most used lens for boudoir and baby photography, and of course, I still use it like crazy for general portraiture. I actually prefer it on a crop rather than FF. DOF is too shallow on FF, the crop gives me just enough. Stopping down loses that beautiful wide open character of the lens, which is one reason why I prefer crop much of the time.

40D+ 50L @ 1.2


40D+ 50L @ 1.2


1Dsmk3 + 50L @ 1.2


40D + 50L @ 1.2


40D + 50L @ 1.2


40D + 50L @ 1.2


40D + 50L @ 1.2


40D + 50L @ 1.2

[adamg5]

Is there a date code to look for like UW and newer etc or just look for a guaranteed good copy used? or of course buy new, but used is nice to save the money and let them do the "testing."