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Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 USM L (full format) - Review / Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
Canon EOS (Full Format)
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Page 1 of 3
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published November 2009
Special thanks to Rainer Temme for providing this lens!
Introduction
Released back in 2007 the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 USM L is the successor of the legendary EF 50mm f/1.0 USM L - the fastest mass production SLR lens ever ... and one of the most expensive around. Surprisingly Canon decided to give up two thirds of an f-stop (f/1.0 - f/1.1 - f/1.2 - f/1.4 in case you wonder) but the good news about this is the substantially lower price tag of around 1400 €/US$ so the lens is now within the financial reach of normal mortals. Typical applications for this ultra-large aperture lens are portrait and available-light photography.
As to be expected from a Canon L grade lens the EF 50mm f/1.2 USM L has an exceptional build quality thanks to a tightly assembled combination of high quality plastics and metal parts. A sealing against dust and humidity as well as the the very smooth focus ring completes this positive impression. The lens has a constant physical length but the inner lens tube moves a little during focus operations. The front element does not rotate of course.
The ring-type USM AF drive is very fast and virtually silent. The AF accuracy was generally fine except for a hint of focus shift around f/2. Full-time manual (FTM) override in one-shot AF mode is naturally also available.
| Specifications |
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| Optical construction | 8 elements in 6 groups inc. 1x aspherical elements |
| Number of aperture blades | 8 (circular) |
| min. focus distance | 0.45 m (max. magnification ratio 1:6.7) |
| Dimensions | 86 x 66 mm |
| Weight | 590 g |
| Filter size | 72 mm (non-rotating) |
| Hood | barrel-shaped, bayonet mount, supplied |
| Other features | - |
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