Abysmal 50 1.2L Performance?

I have rented many lenses:

35L (several times)
85 1.2L II (once)
135L (several times)
24-70L (several times)

and last night finally the 50 1.2L. It was my first time using this lens with my 5DII.

It could be a simple matter of the lens needing adjustment but the copy I used for an event last night exhibited abysmal focus performance, even when stopped to 2.8 with flash with 1/200 shutter speed. Maybe 1 shot in 10 was able to focus? In fact, I ended up using my own trusty 85 1.8 to get the job done, and it yielded far superior results.

But after having used the 50L, I can see why I continue to feel that a 50 is not needed in my own lineup. The FL does not appeal to me and the 35L, 85 1.8, and 135L are all much better lenses IMO.

PS: I rented locally. This was not a lensrentals.com rental.

I agree with you on 35/85/135, but you may have had a bad 50L.. I've had the 50L and it wasn't anything like that. Of course the focal plane is minute at 1.2 but that's to be expected.. I never really had too much problem with the lens hunting in low light, and that was with a 5D Mk I.

It may of been a dud... I rented a 300mm f/2.8 IS from CPS once and was extremely dissapointed with it. I could barley use it wide open without it looking like I was shooting through haze in every shot. My 300mm f/4 IS did much better.

Could just be a dud.

Once you MA the lens correctly, the 50L is an excellent lens. I like the focal length on the FF alot.

Most likely it just needed some MA. I agree that 35mm and 85mm are more fun to shoot with though.

I would imagine that rental lenses get used hard and usually have a rough life. They probably only calibrate them when someone complains or on days of rentals or something like that. I am not surprised that it is possible to get a rental that is not perform in spec. I am pretty sure the rental company wants you to be satisfied so you should let them know they might comp you some time with one that is in spec.

Many people report good results with that lens, I expect you got damaged goods.

Do you mean abysmal focus ACCURACY??

Or overall speed? Because that 5D sure is not going to drive focus quickly.... Even the 1D cameras drive that lens slowly..

FWIW - I hated to the point of selling off my 50L when using it with my 5D Mark II. Way too many missed shots.

Now that I have the 1Ds Mark III, my keeper rate is just about 100%.

I believe the lousy outer AF points on the 5D don't mix well with the 50L especially.

SchnellerGT wrote in post #13508168
I have rented many lenses:

35L (several times)
85 1.2L II (once)
135L (several times)
24-70L (several times)

and last night finally the 50 1.2L. It was my first time using this lens with my 5DII.

It could be a simple matter of the lens needing adjustment but the copy I used for an event last night exhibited abysmal focus performance, even when stopped to 2.8 with flash with 1/200 shutter speed. Maybe 1 shot in 10 was able to focus? In fact, I ended up using my own trusty 85 1.8 to get the job done, and it yielded far superior results.

But after having used the 50L, I can see why I continue to feel that a 50 is not needed in my own lineup. The FL does not appeal to me and the 35L, 85 1.8, and 135L are all much better lenses IMO.

PS: I rented locally. This was not a lensrentals.com rental.

I think most people that use 35 & 85 don't use a 50. I have 2, and I almost never use my 35mm. My search for the perfect 50mm ended up at needing 2 lenses, one for 1.2 and another for beyond. My first 50L was hard to focus, and it got sold with the plethora of other 50's. Date codes are immensely important on this one. After I sold my 58 1.2 Rokkor, I bought another 50L and couldn't be happier. It's not an easy lens to use, but it does things no other lens can do. The design of the lens that makes it dreamy is the same design that makes it focus shift. A good copy will minimize this -- and I haven't even micro adjusted mine yet. And, oh, I also only ever use center point focusing.

m.shalaby wrote in post #13509107
FWIW - I hated to the point of selling off my 50L when using it with my 5D Mark II. Way too many missed shots.

Now that I have the 1Ds Mark III, my keeper rate is just about 100%.

I believe the lousy outer AF points on the 5D don't mix well with the 50L especially.

This is very interesting and it was something that I just recently noticed with a 50L coupled with back focus / focus shift. It is nice to know that there is a fix for that issue. It is weird to see this erratic behavior when my other lenses do well on the 5DII. I have really never had any focus issues with my 5DII at all I guess there needs to be some kind of body and lens compatibility. I was eager to try out another 50L but I am in no hurry so maybe I will wait until I the 5DIII and try again. It seems to be the norm to blame the photographer for these misses but I have a pretty good idea on how many missed shots are due to me. I rarely have to delete a shot due to missed focus so when I was missing shots where the DOF was not really that thin I knew something was wrong. Thanks you might have saved me from 2 more days of misery.

I found 50L to be one odd lens FOR ME, the bokeh is alright and certainly not as creamy as the 85L nor is it wide enough to be use as general purpose and environmental stuff, some people love it and some don't.

I found my 50 1.4 to work so much better than the 501.2L's i have used in the past, in terms of (1.2) focus accuracy between the 50 and 85 i found the 85 to be so much better...i don't think i will get rid of my 50 1.4 anytime soon

charld wrote in post #13518820
I found my 50 1.4 to work so much better than the 501.2L's i have used in the past, in terms of (1.2) focus accuracy between the 50 and 85 i found the 85 to be so much better...i don't think i will get rid of my 50 1.4 anytime soon

You will if you have to manual focus. It feels like a sandbox. The performance of the 50 1.4 isn't good wide open and the bokeh is jittery. (I had 2, separated by a Zeiss 50 1.4 which only feels better.) If you buy a 50L, it's for that 1.2-2.0 performance.

mcluckie wrote in post #13519579
If you buy a 50L, it's for that 1.2-2.0 performance.

really? thats the only reason people are allowed to buy 50L for?