50L on a 7D = a, well, 80L?

If this topic has been talked to death, I'd appreciate a direction to the thread.

I've spent a lifetime having people look at one another and say "huh?" when I ask questions, but here goes. I have a 50L that I bought new recently and absolutely love. No QC problems that I can determine; no focus problems -- sharp, sharp to my eyes.

I have the 50L on my 5D2. I've wondered what result I could expect if I put the lens on a 7D (a camera that I do not have, so cannot test).

Anyone made that particular comparison? How about simply using that combo of a 7D and 50L?

Obviously (or maybe not so obviously), I'm wondering how the pictures would compare to those taken under similar circumstances with a 5D2 and an 85L.

Thanks.
Mike

The 5DII with an 85L will produce a creamier bokeh compared to a 50L and a 7D.

The 50L and 85L draw things differently. Lenses are not all the same, even at the same focal length and f-stop.

A 50L on a 5D and a 50L on a 7D will have the similar characteristics (color, contrast, etc.), the images will just be different because of the different FoVs and subject distances.

I don't know if the 85L's bokeh is any better or "creamier" than the 50L, it's just different.

Thanks, guys.

I like the 50L on the 7D. The slightly faster camera & smaller sensor seems to turn it into a more easy to use all-purpose lens. Won't match the look it gives on a full frame but it will improve on some of its quirks.

You will see that quite a few people use 50L (or generally a 50 mm prime) and 7D (or generally a 1.6X crop body) and they are pretty satisfied with the combo. This combo is more or less used instead of a 85 mm + FF setup. That said, there are a few aspects that I'd consider if I was weighing up my options:

- FOV and perspective
- depth of field
- individual charachteristics of lenses eg IQ, bokeh, AF performance, weather sealing, weight, etc.
- image differences due to different sensors (resolution, noise, etc)

My comment is that 50L + 7D is a nice combo and given you already like your 50L, I'd expect you to be quite satisfied with it. However, that combo is not exactly the same and as good as 85L + 5D (MkII). Now whether this improvement is worth buying a 85L + 5D (MkII) is a different question.

A 1.6x crop camera looses a stop and a third DOF relative to a full frame camera with the same angle of view. So a 85L shot at f1.2 on a 7D will have a simular apparent DOF and framing as a 135mm f2 on a 5DII. But other charectoristics will vary. Lens colour, vignetting and contrast may be different as well as sharpness (the ful frame has a lover pixel resolution).
A 50L shot wide open at F1.2 on a 7D would yield an approximate 80mm @ f2 on a 5DII.

Great information. One of the reasons that I love this forum.