No Love For The 50mm L?

I hope they make a new 50 f1.0 L II.

This is the lens I have used more than any other for the last 2.5 years. It probably does have a bit of focus shift, but you can't argue with the photos. Don't get too worried by the naysayers. There is a reason it is so popular.

Love my 50L so far, been using it for a lot of low light shoots now and have been very impressed by its performance mated to the 5D3. I think if I give it some more time, it will edge out the 70-200f2.8 as my favorite lens.

Thank you for the positive feedback. I was beginning to cause myself un-necessary buyer's remorse.

I don't own the 50L but can't wait to get it this is like my dream lens right here ....

i've only had this lens about 2 weeks and loving it so far... came from a 50 1.4 then sigma version... i gotta say this is a def better lens from built to image quality. It'a bit pricey but when you see the pictures taken with the lens, you'll automaticly forget how much the lens was

The 50 1.2L has been the lens people love to hate since before it even came out. Someone wrote a lousy review about it on FM over a month prior to the lens being available.

I’ve been a big fan and defender of this lens on this and other forums since I got my 50L in December of 2006 with a date code of UU10. This lens has been nothing but joy for me over the last five and a half years.

I have the 24L II, 35L, 85L II, 100L, 135L in addition to the 50L, and the 50 is my favorite. As shown in this post: https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost​.php?p=14874056&postco​unt=14 The 50L is relatively sharp wide open, focuses fast enough for sports, and is second to none in auto focus accuracy/consistency. Its ability to auto focus in low light is extraordinary, it will snap into focus in poor lighting situations where all others will just hunt and fail.

The color/contrast of the 50L is top notch; as good as or better than my other L primes. IMHO while the out of focus blur is not quite as smooth due to its shorter focal length as the 85L and 135L, it is better at separating the subject from the fore/background making it “pop.” It even makes foreground blur look good; with other lenses it usually looks creepy.

Yes it “focus shifts.” So does the 85L at similar apertures/distances from the subject. It is “the nature of the beast” with very fast lenses with great blur. I have never had a real world picture ruined by focus shift with either lens because I follow proper technique and use the outer auto focus points, unless I’m in a low light situation at f1.2, or taking group/landscape pictures, etc at f5.6 or smaller.

In defense of the “non-lovers;” there were a lot of issues both real and imagined with the 50L when it first came out. This seems to have subsided, and I don’t think it’s because of a “silent fix.” I believe it has to do with Canon finally working out the bugs in the 50 1.2L’s manufacturing process, and their repair technicians starting to figure out how to fix the bad ones that inevitably come out. It is a relatively new and difficult to make design. It could also have to do with micro focus adjustment and improving auto focusing ability as better cameras come out. Maybe it started to dawn on Canon that their 50mm flagship standard lens should never suck, and are doing a better job of quality assurance.

Many feel the extra third/half/whatever stop and the small increase in sharpness of the 50L over the 50 1.4 is not worth the extra $1,100. They’re right. The color/contrast can usually be matched in Photoshop and bokeh is in the eye of the beholder. I purchased the 50L for its much better auto focus accuracy/consistency and it has yet to let me down. If you’ve ever missed that perfect smile, perfect moment, or perfect light because the picture was not in perfect focus, then you will understand why Canon can charge a premium for the L. You can’t fix an out of focus picture in post and there are rarely “do overs” in photography. When the moment is gone, it’s gone.

As I step down off my soap box I can’t say I love the 50 1.2L; it’s just a tool. I do love some of the pictures I’ve taken with it and how it makes me look like a better photographer than I actually am.

The 50mm f1.2 is special.
Use it and understand it.
It's got it's own vibe.
All love.
Period.

billppw350z wrote in post #14897923
Many feel the extra third/half/whatever stop and the small increase in sharpness of the 50L over the 50 1.4 is not worth the extra $1,100. They’re right.

I agree almost everything you said. Why do people paid a premium price for a Ferrari Enzo instead of getting a Mustang Shelby or Camero ZL1?
If sharpness is all we want than 50 f/1.8 is good enough.

I bought it when I only had the 7D, because I wanted a 50mm lens that could focus reliably in poor light. I'm pretty pleased with it, sharpness is nothing if you can't lock focus

thestone11 wrote in post #14894774
My 50L is spot on, I love mine to death. Just a friendly reminder, you will easily miss focus when shooting wide open using the center AF point and recompose your shot.

Right here. Once I quit doing that I drastically reduced the number of throw aways I have.

Whenever possible I AF with center point, I never recompose wide open, and shooting from a monopod/tripod helps. When your DOF is that shallow, your body swaying a mere half inch is enouch to make your shot go soft.

I was one of the guys who thought the 85 1.2L is a POS.....then I started doing this and I am MUCH more happy with it than I ever was.
For portraiture, I even started using MF and live view.

I'm hoping the 5DIII grabs better focus on the outer points.

I did a lot of research on this lens reading many threads on several forums. It seems that most of the hate is from either early versions of this lens or people remembering early versions of this lens assuming it is still the same now. Even though it did not get a different part number I highly suspect Canon did some changes to this lens. most people who have this lens now seem very happy.