Canon 50mm f/1.2L
Full Frame RF Mirrorless
Sample Images Intro Compatibility
Specifications Performance Compared
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Bodies Compared RF Lenses EF Lenses Flash
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM (77mm filters, 33.4 oz./947g, 1.3'/0.4m close focus, $2,299 new or about $1,900 used if you know How to Win at eBay.) bigger. I'd get mine at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay.
This 100% content website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally-approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Canon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, non-USA, store demo or used lens. Get yours only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
July 2022 Canon Reviews Mirrorless RF Lenses EF Lenses Flash All Reviews
Sample Images
Top Sample Images Intro Compatibility
Specifications Performance Compared
These are all shot hand-held as NORMAL JPGs; no RAW CR3 files or FINE JPGs or tripods were used or needed.
2017 Specialized Tarmac Comp Torch Edition, 58cm, 11 September 2018. Canon EOS-R, Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L, wide-open at f/1.2 at 1/160 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.
More samples at Bokeh and throughout this review.
Introduction
Top Sample Images Intro Compatibility
Specifications Performance Compared
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This is the world's most advanced f/1.2 lens ever. It has flawless optics, ultra-sharp and without distortion all the way out to the full-frame corners even at f/1.2 for astronomical use, and when used on the Canon EOS-R camera offers perfect focus accuracy. For the first time ever we can actually get all that sharpness in real-world photos.
This new RF lens on the 30MP EOS-R significantly outperforms the EF 50mm f/1.2L on a 50MP 5DS/R at large apertures in the corners, at least if you're counting pixels. Not only is this lens better optically, a DSLR rarely gets perfect focus unless you use Live View at f/1.2, while the EOS-R gets perfect focus every time.
See how everything is sharp and in perfect focus above, even at f/1.2 where the depth of field is zero? You'll notice the pedal cranks are each out of focus, and the wall which is only a few inches behind is a complete blur when enlarged.
It's impressive that autofocus is dead-on for all of my shots at f/1.2, not just the few I used to have to hand-pick with a DSLR. With my EF 50mm f/1.2L on my DSLRs I almost never got perfect focus, and always had to play with AF Fine Tune and make many shots to pick out the one perfect one each time. If you miss focus by a quarter of an inch at this distance you start getting color fringes, but with the perfect focus accuracy of the EOS-R, both wheels and all the gears and chain are in perfect focus. Bravo!
It's a totally new and superior optical design.
It focuses by wire, even manually. Auto and manual focus work great. It has instant manual-focus override anytime you move the focus ring and AF is active.
This is a huge, heavy lens. It's significantly bigger than the EF 50mm f/1.2L, even with the EF 50mm f/1.2L on an adapter.
That's most of what you need to know. If you need the sharpest ultraspeed 50mm lens ever made, here you go. If you deserve the very best of everything, this is your lens. If you're a practical photographer who shoots better and longer when you're not weighed down with too much gear, the RF 24-105mm is a much more practical lens, and ultra-sharp as well. Heck, for actual picture taking, the EF 50/1.8 STM on an adapter works as well if you're not splitting pixels. This RF 50mm f/1.2L is for the one who demands more than just great pictures from his photography gear, or astronomers or others with special needs.
I'd get my RF 50/1.2L at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
New
All new lens mount.
TWO control rings: focus and a bonus programmable ring.
Manual focus is by wire and works great.
Good
Ultrasharp, especially at f/1.2 and especially out in the corners.
10-bladed electronic diaphragm gives fairly round openings at every aperture.
Fast autofocus for this sort of lens.
No coma at f/1.2 for you night and astro guys.
Perfect focus accuracy on EOS-R. Shoot at f/1.2 and it's ultrasharp!
No distortion, even without correction.
Reasonable price for this level of optical insanity.
Bad
Big.
Heavy.
Missing
No aperture or distance scales; everything is read-out and set, including distance, depth-of-field and aperture, in the camera.
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM. bigger.
Compatibility
Top Sample Images Intro Compatibility
Specifications Performance Compared
I'd get my RF 50/1.2L at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
This lens only works on Canon's EOS-R series of mirrorless cameras.
It won't work with any teleconverters.
It won't fit on, and cannot be adapted to, any DSLR because a DSLR has too much distance between its sensor and its lens mount flange.
Specifications
Top Sample Images Intro Compatibility
Specifications Performance Compared
I'd get my RF 50/1.2L at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Name
Canon calls this the Canon Lens RF50mm f/1.2 L USM.
RF: Works only on Canon's EOS-R full-frame mirrorless cameras.
L: Expensive as L.
USM: Ultrasonic Autofocus Motor.
Optics
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM internal optical construction. Aspherical and UD elements. Air-Sphere Coating.
15 elements in 9 groups.
Three Aspherical elements.
One UD element.
Air-Sphere Coating on one surface.
Coverage
Full Frame.
Diaphragm
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM. bigger.
10 rounded blades.
Electronically actuated.
Stops down to f/16.
Focal Length
50mm.
When used with an APS-C crop, it sees the same angle of view as an 80mm lens sees when used on a full-frame or 35mm camera.
See also Crop Factor.
Angles of View on Full Frame
46º diagonal.
40º horizontal.
27º vertical.
Autofocus
USM ultrasonic motor.
Internal focus; no external movement as focused, so no air or dust is sucked in.
Focus Scale
No, but Canon EOS-R cameras can display this in the finder.
Infinity Focus Stop
No.
Depth of Field Scale
No, but Canon EOS-R cameras can display this in the finder.
Reproduction Ratio Scale
No.
Infrared Focus Index
No.
Close Focus
1.3 feet (0.4 meters).
Maximum Reproduction Ratio
1:5.3 (0.19 ×).
Optical Image Stabilizer
None.
Caps
Canon E-77II front cap, included.
Canon Lens Dust Cap RF rear cap, included.
Filters
Plastic 77mm filter thread.
Hood
ES-83 plastic bayonet hood included.
Made in Japan.
Spring-loaded latch on left.
Case
LP1319 drawstring soft pouch included.
Size
3.54" maximum diameter × 4.25" extension from flange.
89.8 mm maximum diameter × 108 mm extension from flange.
Weight
33.405 oz. (947.0 g) actual measured weight.
Canon specifies 33.5 oz. (950 g or over two pounds).
Quality
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM. bigger.
Made in Japan.
Announced
3 AM Wednesday, 05 September 2018, NYC time.
Promised for
October 2018, but only if you order it today.
Included
RF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens.
E-77II front cap.
Rear Lens Dust Cap RF.
ES-83 bayonet hood.
LP1319 drawstring soft pouch.
Canon's Model Numbers
RF5012LU.
Product code 2959C001AA in Japan, 2959C002AA in USA.
JAN 4549292-115581.
Price, USA
July 2022
$2,299 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
About $1,900 used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
September 2020
$2,199 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
About $1,800 used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
September 2018
$2,299 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.
(325,000 yen in Japan at introduction.)
Performance
Top Sample Images Intro Compatibility
Specifications Performance Compared
Overall Autofocus Manual Focus Breathing
Bokeh Distortion Ergonomics Falloff Filters
Flare & Ghosts Lateral Color Fringes Macro
Sharpness Spherochromatism Sunstars
I'd get my RF 50/1.2L at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Overall
This is a huge ultraspeed 50mm with performance to match. Even better, autofocus is perfectly accurate on mirrorless, so we can shoot at f/1.2 and not have to worry about focus accuracy.
Autofocus
Autofocus is reasonably fast, and most importantly it's perfectly accurate on my EOS-R.
Manual Focus
Manual focus is by wire.
Just move the focus ring at any time that the AF system is active for instant manual-focus override, or move the switch to MF to have it respond to the ring any time the camera is on.
Focus Breathing
Focus breathing is the image changing size as focused in and out. It's important to cinematographers because it looks funny if the image changes size as focus gets pulled back and forth between actors. If the lens does this, the image "breathes" by growing and contracting slightly as the dialog goes back and forth.
The image from this lens grows as focused more closely.
Bokeh
Bokeh, the feel or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is exceptional. Of course backgrounds are far out of focus at f/1.2, and just as importantly they are smooth and undistracting at smaller apertures.
Not only is bokeh exceptional, but autofocus is so perfect that spherochromatism isn't seen when focusing on the black-and-white DAVIS logo:
Davis 6250 weather station, 11 September 2018. bigger or camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station, 11 September 2018. bigger or camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station, 11 September 2018. bigger or camera-original © file.
As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at f/1.2 get as close as you can.
Distortion
Even uncorrected, this magnificent lens has no visible distortion.
This is very impressive, because the EOS-R system corrects distortion by default, so the engineers could have gotten lazy and no one would have known. In this case, with the freedom to put glass almost all the way back to the sensor and a large budget, they really pulled out all the stops.
These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data.
|
Correction factor with corrected images (default) |
Correction factor with uncorrected images (if turned off the correction) |
On Full-Frame at 10' (3m) |
±0.00 | -0.10 |
© 2018 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
Ergonomics
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM. bigger.
The biggest ergonomic gotcha is learning to tell the two control rings apart by feel.
The front knurled ring is set in your camera to control ISO or exposure compensation or whatever you like. It clicks.
The big flat rubberized ring is a manual focus encoder. It talks to the camera's computer for manual focus. It works great.
The AF/MF and Focus Limit switches are right under my thumb where I want them.
Falloff
Falloff is corrected automatically in the camera. You'll never see any unless you go out of your way and turn it off (MENU > CAMERA > Lens aberration correction > Peripheral Illum corr > OFF).
I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background:
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L falloff on full frame at infinity, default correction.
© 2018 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
If you turn correction off for artistic emphasis (MENU > CAMERA > Lens aberration correction > Peripheral Illum corr > OFF), it looks pretty good; it's a smooth fade across most of the frame:
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L falloff on full frame at infinity, correction turned OFF
© 2018 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved. |
Filters, use with
There's no need for thin filters. I can stack many standard filters and not even come close to any vignetting on full frame at any setting.
Go ahead and use your standard rotating polarizer and grad filters.
Flare & Ghosts
Unlike other 50mm lenses, this optical marvel has 15 elements in 9 groups. That's a load more glass and air-to-glass surfaces than any other 50mm lens; the EF 50mm f/1.2L has only 8 elements in 6 groups, the EF 50mm f/1.4 only has 7 in 6 groups, and all the 50mm f/1.8 lenses all only have 6 elements in 5 groups — which leads to much less flare and ghosting compared to this new lens.
No worries; you really have to go out of your way to get this lens to flare. This below is an extreme case; I had the sun shining directly in my lens while I was exposing for the shadows under the Canary palm tree. You'll probably never see these many ghosts in actual use.
Any blobs get relatively smaller and brighter as you stop down, so use this knowledge to get the look you want — although I doubt you'll ever see any flare or ghosts in actual shooting.
Click any to enlarge:
Click any to enlarge.
Lateral Color Fringes
There are no color fringes; Canon cameras correct these by default.
Macro Performance
Macro doesn't get that close, but it is exceptionally sharp, even at f/1.2. Goodness gracious, look at how vapor-thin the field is at f/1.2!
Compared to DSLR shooting, it's so much better to have in-finder magnification to see what I'm doing when focusing. This alone may help people get much sharper macro shots. I know it helps me; now I can make one shot and I've got it, while with DSLR viewfinder shooting I'd have to make a focus-bracketed series and select one to get the results I need at large apertures.
Kienzle Flieger Automat 800/2843, 10 September 2018. Canon EOS-R, Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L at f/1.2 at close-focus distance. bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above 30MP image. bigger or camera-original © file.
As you can see, depth-of-field is so shallow that only the watch is in focus while the case and hands are out of focus.
If this crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 22 × 34" (57 × 85cm).
If this crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 45 × 67" (1.15 × 1.7 meters).
It's so sharp that stopping down only increases depth-of-field:
Kienzle Flieger Automat 800/2843, 10 September 2018. Canon EOS-R, Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L at f/9 at close-focus distance. bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.
If this crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 22 × 34" (57 × 85cm).
If this crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 45 × 67" (1.15 × 1.7 meters).
Mechanical Quality
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM. bigger.
While this is quite likely the finest 50mm lens ever made, the outsides are all plastic.
Hood
Plastic bayonet.
Front Bumper
None.
Filter Threads
Plastic.
Hood Bayonet Mount
Plastic.
Front Barrel
Plastic.
Front Control Ring
Plastic.
Focus Ring
Rubber-covered plastic.
Rear Barrel Exterior
Plastic.
Identity
Printed around front of lens, also "50" printed on top of barrel.
Internals
Seems like mostly metal.
Dust Gasket at Mount
Yes.
Mount
Dull chromed metal.
Markings
All paint, except for engraved and filled "50" on top of lens.
Serial Number
Laser engraved in black-on-black on bottom of barrel.
Date Code
None found.
Noises When Shaken
Minor clunking.
Made in
Japan.
Noise and Vibration
It makes the usual quiet sliding sounds as it focuses.
Sharpness
The only limitation to picture sharpness will be your skill as a photographer. This lens is completely sharp on full-frame from corner-to-corner even at f/1.2.
If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/11 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 100 because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above, avoid shooting across long distances over land like this which can lead to atmospheric heat shimmer, be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it (I set mine to the maximum) and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at f/16 at ISO 1,600 at default sharpening in daylight through heat shimmer of rapidly moving subjects at differing distances in the same image.
Here's a boring photo shot wide-open that you may explore at 100% to your heart's content. This lens is super-sharp corner-to-corner, even on this hot and hazy day, and it only gets sharper as stopped down:
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 MTF wide-open at 10 cyc/mm (black) and 30 cyc/mm (blue). Saggital (solid) and meridional (dashed).
Spherochromatism
Spherochromatism, also called "color bokeh" by laymen, can cause colored fringes on out-of-focus highlights, usually seen as green fringes on backgrounds and magenta fringes on foregrounds with fast, long lenses shot wide open.
It is an advanced form of chromatic aberration in a different dimension than lateral color. Spherochromatism is most commonly seen in fast lenses of moderate focal length when shooting contrasty items at full aperture. It goes away as stopped down.
As expected there is mild spherochromatism. It's yellow-green in the background and violet in the foreground:
Kienzle Flieger Automat 800/2843, 11 September 2018, shot at f/1.2. bigger or camera-original © file.
1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above 30MP image. bigger or camera-original © file.
If this crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 22 × 34" (57 × 85cm).
If this crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 45 × 67" (1.15 × 1.7 meters).
Sunstars
With a 10-blade diaphragm you can get some 10-pointed sunstars on brilliant points of light if you really work at it (click to enlarge):
Compared
Top Sample Images Intro Compatibility
Specifications Performance Compared
NEW: iPhone Xs Max Bokeh vs Full-Frame Professional Cameras 24 September 2018
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L and Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L on EF to RF adapter. bigger.
These are very different lenses if you sweat the details, and pretty much the same if you don't.
There is no lens this fast that's as sharp as the new RF lens, and for all I know, there is no other 50mm lens this sharp period. Especially if you're shooting on an EOS-R, adapted EF lenses just aren't as sharp as this beast — but only if you're looking at test targets at 200%.
The price you pay isn't just dollars, it's size and weight. I've shown the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L on the EF to RF adapter, and the combo is still smaller than this new RF lens. More soberingly, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L and EF to RF adapter combination still weigh much less than the RF lens alone (RF lens: 33.4 oz. (947g) and EF lens and adapter combined: 25.300 oz. (717.3g).)
Out of the lab and for real-life picture taking the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L and EF to RF adapter combination work great, with just-as-fast focusing and just-as-accurate autofocus at f/1.2. The reason to get this RF lens is mostly for astronomers and others who are going to look in the corners with microscopes of scientific subjects at f/1.2.
For normal portraiture and low-light picture-taking the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L and EF to RF adapter work as well. Use the adapter I do with the control ring and you now have the same control ring with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L and EF to RF adapter combo as the RF lens!
You people know who you are. See also Is It Worth It.
I haven't tried the goofball lenses from ZEISS. They usually lack autofocus and there's no way they could exceed this lens' performance on the EOS-R.
User's Guide
Top Sample Images Intro Compatibility
Specifications Performance Compared
I'd get my RF 50/1.2L at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM. bigger.
AF - MF
AF: Auto Focus. You have instant manual focus override by turning the focus ring at any time the AF system is active.
MF: Manual Focus only. The focus ring works any time the camera is on.
Full / 0.8m-∞ Switch
This is a focus limiter.
Leave it in FULL.
The 0.8m-∞ position prevents the lens from autofocusing closer than 0.8 meters (2½ feet). Use this setting only if you're having a problem with the lens attempting to focus on irrelevant close items, or if for some reason the lens is "hunting" from near to far looking for distant subjects.
Recommendations
Top Sample Images Intro Compatibility
Specifications Performance Compared
I'd get my RF 50/1.2L at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
This lens only works on Canon's EOS-R cameras.
The choice is easy: if you deserve the very best or are using this for scientific purposes, this lens has your name all over it.
It works great for general photography, but smaller and less expensive lenses will take exactly the same pictures and focus just as well.
If you demand the very best, this is your lens. If you want something practical, I prefer the RF 24-105. It's just as sharp, much lighter and less expensive, focuses closer and zooms much further in and out; it's just not as sensitive to low light. The 24-105 is better for portraits because it goes to 105mm, letting you get farther away for better perspective.
I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap. I only use a cap when I throw this in my bag, otherwise I leave a clear protective filter on my lens at all times so I'm ready to shoot instantly.
The best protective filter is the 77mm Hoya multicoated HD3 UV which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints.
For less money, the B+W 77mm 010 is an excellent filter, as is the multicoated version and the basic multicoated Hoya filters or the 77mm Nikon Clear (NC - UV), but the Hoya HD3 is the toughest and the best.
Filters last a lifetime, so you may as well get the best. The Hoya HD3 stays cleaner than the others since it repels oil and dirt, and will outlast this lens.
I'd get my RF 50/1.2L at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
This all-content and junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Canon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, non-USA, store demo or used lens. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new camera before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.
Thanks for helping me help you!
Ken, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.
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