50mm Mk.I vs. 50mm Mk.II

I have both of them.

I did some test shooting today and I believe the optics are exactly the same. I can't tell the difference in the photos, so much that I don't know which one shot which on my test photos. They have the same color saturation, but I think the Mk.I is brighter in the corners, I will check this again later. with a proper test using a tripod. I think the only difference between the two is metal amount and superior build quality of the Mk.I, as well as it's distance scale. And the AF on the Mk.I feels a little quieter.

All testing was done on a Canon 5d full-frame.

good for you! any new info?

Thanks for info. Would be nice to see some pictures.

I had both for a time, I came to believe that they were the same optically, but the MKI is just so much more solidly built.

My mk1 is a bit sharper than the 3 mkII's I had. Better built, but the big thing is the focus accuracy is much better and more consistent compared to the mkII.

GregoryF wrote in post #12835341
My mk1 is a bit sharper than the 3 mkII's I had. Better built, but the big thing is the focus accuracy is much better and more consistent compared to the mkII.

I have both 5D and 5DII. 5DII has focus and sharpness much better, 21Mp and HiDef movie capture.

Uhh.... seahawk... WHAT? Greg was talking about the 50mm f/1.8 mk.I and the 50mm f/1.8 mk.II hahaha. Not the 5Ds.

Pretty sure that the 5D mk.II is better in every way compared to the mk.I.

seahawkgo wrote in post #12835813
I have both 5D and 5DII. 5DII has focus and sharpness much better, 21Mp and HiDef movie capture.

THIS STUDENT WENT TO THE WRONG CLASS ! ... ;D

hhuy888 wrote in post #12835933
THIS STUDENT WENT TO THE WRONG CLASS ! ... ;D

haha sorry. i have 85 1.2 only

I'll do a proper test to dispel all of the rumors associated with this lens but I'm about 99% certain they are optically identical. The images I shot are so similar i can't tell them apart but one does look a tad brighter than the other . I should have used manual mode, whoops.

Will re-do probably tomorrow morning or something. But I prefer the Mk.I. The Mk.III should be a Mk.I with USM, or with better optics, but overall I am impressed at late-80's Canon glass. My particular copy is from March 1988.

hhuy888 wrote in post #12835933
THIS STUDENT WENT TO THE WRONG CLASS ! ... ;D

nah he reminds me of the guy who asked the cab driver to take him to a gentleman's club but the cab driver dropped him off at the German club instead

j-dogg wrote in post #12836040
I'll do a proper test to dispel all of the rumors associated with this lens but I'm about 99% certain they are optically identical. The images I shot are so similar i can't tell them apart but one does look a tad brighter than the other . I should have used manual mode, whoops.

Will re-do probably tomorrow morning or something. But I prefer the Mk.I. The Mk.III should be a Mk.I with USM, or with better optics, but overall I am impressed at late-80's Canon glass. My particular copy is from March 1988.

Dont hold your breath about a mkIII being a mkI with USM. They couldn't offer that at the current price point, and they need a cheap prime in the lineup. Especially when the mkIII you imagine would cost nearly the same as the 50 1.4, who would buy it?

Why do you think MkIII will be better? Judging from what happened going from MkI to MkII, MkIII will be made of recycled paper, with plastic lenses...

I have the MKI, and honesty, it sucks.

Flares like crazy, AF is horrendous, AI Severo mode is essentially unusable, it's loud.

It's actually pretty sharp when you stop it down, but if you're going to do that then what's the point?

ZachOly wrote in post #12837150
I have the MKI, and honesty, it sucks.

Flares like crazy, AF is horrendous, AI Severo mode is essentially unusable, it's loud.

It's actually pretty sharp when you stop it down, but if you're going to do that then what's the point?

And it costs 1/3 of any other prime in the canon lineup. Its a starter lens for new users, the first cheap hit of crack that promises what primes could be. You dont expect your happy meal to include prime rib.