5D MARK III with 50 mm f/1.2 performence

[Plato the Wise]

I have the 50L and the 5D III and it is a great combo.

I've never used the 50 1.4, but I have some other non L lenses and the color and contrast are much better on the L lenses. The color, contrast and bokeh on the 50L are very nice...as mentioned before sharpness isn't everything.

This lens is best suited for organic/portrait type work.

[Zlatko]

The Zeiss is the sharpest 50mm made but its only F/2 and the bokeh isn't as nice as the 50L.

The Zeiss looks great in The Digital Picture comparison.  However, the "sharpest 50mm made" appears to be the current Leica 50mm f/1.4.  That lens seems to outperform the best from Canon, Nikon, Sigma and Zeiss — though it costs a bundle and won't work on any DSLR.    See the charts in the "Overall Comparison" section of the LensRentals "50mm Shootout" here:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/01/the-great-50mm-shootout
And Leica may have surpassed even their own sharpest 50 with their new 50/2 ($7,200), not tested in the LensRentals shootout.

[Zlatko]

I have heard that the 50mm f/1.2 had focus peaking problems
my question is for 5dm III owners please, did you notice a difference when using the 50mm with the 5dmIII compared to the 5dmII?

i used to have the 1.4 but i really didn't like it, most of my images were out of focus and it was real pain to autofocus in the dark... don't know if i had a bad copy of it... but i was using it with the 7d...
any feedback please

The 50/1.2L is a sweet lens with a wonderful look.  It does not have focus peaking problems (not sure what that is).  Its only problem is backfocusing when stopped down to about f/2.8 - f/4 and shooting closeups.  This is an inherent fault in many fast lenses that lack a floating element.  That problem is easily avoided by shooting closeups with wider apertures (f/1.2 - f/2.5) or smaller aperture (f/5.0 and smaller).  And again, it's only an issue for closeups and only at certain apertures, certainly not for full-body shots.

The 50/1.2L seems to focus more accurately on the 5DIII than on the 5DII.  Actually, all lenses seem to focus better on the 5DIII than on the 5DII.  Of course, accurate focus at very wide apertures (f/1.2 - f/2) still requires extra care. 

The Canon 50/1.4 USM is not a bad lens, certainly very sharp stopped down, but my impression is its old autofocus motor design is not as precise as that in newer lenses.

[RLPhoto]

The Zeiss is the sharpest 50mm made but its only F/2 and the bokeh isn't as nice as the 50L.

The Zeiss looks great in The Digital Picture comparison.  However, the "sharpest 50mm made" appears to be the current Leica 50mm f/1.4.  That lens seems to outperform the best from Canon, Nikon, Sigma and Zeiss — though it costs a bundle and won't work on any DSLR.    See the charts in the "Overall Comparison" section of the LensRentals "50mm Shootout" here:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2012/01/the-great-50mm-shootout
And Leica may have surpassed even their own sharpest 50 with their new 50/2 ($7,200), not tested in the LensRentals shootout.

Well I assumed that most here would understand in the context of Canon EOS lenses. Afterall the OP didn't ask about leica equipment. 

[Daniel Flather]

You buy the 50L for its bokeh and build quality.  For head shots it's too short IMHO, but its bokeh is what you want.  If you have to ask, then the 50/1.8 might be all you want.

My son, born November 14, 2012, 20 hours old, f1.2 @ 1/60, Canon 5D3, funky indoor hospital room lighting.

[jimy444]

i am looking to buy a new 50mm because i mostly shoot indoor and in low lights, even harder than this, i shoot my little 1 year old kid, i am moving away from the 50mm f/1.8 because in many situation at iso 4000-6400 it is very slow to focus in low lights...
Flash is not an option because i cant hit the baby with it while he is eating before going to sleep per example...
so my goal is to pick up the fastest 50mm that will focus very fast with the 5dmark III considering that he is never still!
attached a few pictures for the kind of pictures i take.
i am not a big fan of retouching....

[te4o]

You buy the 50L for its bokeh and build quality.  For head shots it's too short IMHO, but its bokeh is what you want.  If you have to ask, then the 50/1.8 might be all you want.

My son, born November 14, 2012, 20 hours old, f1.2 @ 1/60, Canon 5D3, funky indoor hospital room lighting.

Congratulations, Daniel! The boy looks really stress free, and well made! I hope you will have time to review the millions of photos you'll take of him:)
I found that the 50 mm FL was the best for babies and children and use the MakroPlanar for that purpose. One problem with these ultra fast primes is that it's often only you behind the camera. For the rest of the family it is unusable, especially if MF...

[jVillaPhoto]

I'm absolutely in love with the 5D3/50L combo! I shot a couple live bands in very low light @ ISO 6400 and was pretty damn pleased with the results. Check them out here if you all would like! http://jvillaphoto.com/live_concert/ I have a few more but only added my favorite few

Shooting teenage bands that jump all over the stage in low light @ f/1.2 was a pain, but the results are awesome when you get a decent shot!

[NormanBates]

My son, born November 14, 2012, 20 hours old, f1.2 @ 1/60, Canon 5D3, funky indoor hospital room lighting.

absolutely gorgeous pic

so my goal is to pick up the fastest 50mm that will focus very fast with the 5dmark III considering that he is never still!
attached a few pictures for the kind of pictures i take.

nice pics too

you are describing the 50 f/1.2L

[rpt]

i am looking to buy a new 50mm because i mostly shoot indoor and in low lights, even harder than this, i shoot my little 1 year old kid, i am moving away from the 50mm f/1.8 because in many situation at iso 4000-6400 it is very slow to focus in low lights...
Flash is not an option because i cant hit the baby with it while he is eating before going to sleep per example...
so my goal is to pick up the fastest 50mm that will focus very fast with the 5dmark III considering that he is never still!
attached a few pictures for the kind of pictures i take.
i am not a big fan of retouching....

I like the third one. Seems to say "You are in my space mister!"

[spinworkxroy]

Personally, i feel the only reason why you'd buy a 50 f1.2 is because you shoot at f1.2.
If you're gonna buy it to shoot at f4 or f5.6, you're not better off getting a 50 f1.4 or even a 50 f1.8..it's going to be almost identical in IQ.
It's at 1.2 that makes this lens so special..
Since people are talking Leica, it's the same..you buy the Leica 50 f0.95 not to shoot at f5.6, it's to shoot at f0.95

[risc32]

Well, sure you buy an ultra fast lens to use it at ultra fast speeds, but sometimes you just want more DOF, and it would be nice if the 50L was as sharp as the 50mm 1.8(a $100 plastic lens) at more mundane fstops. but perhaps choices in lens design have to be made and you can't have both. If it was the equal or close to the 1.8 at these smaller fstops i would have bought one years ago. every now and again i still think about it though. sharpness isn't the end all for me anyway. this most recent time the thought of buying the 50L was in my mind i bought a sigma 35 1.4, so who knows? maybe i won't like it, and i'll be back to thoughts of the 50L. (i'd like to see the 35L v2, but i'm afraid of the expected price)
 
also, i know what you mean about a camera bringing a lens to life. before i got my 5dmk3 i rarely used my 300mm f2.8. it was OOF so often and just never really did it for me. sure when it hit it was great but i just couldn't count on it. as a part time wedding photog i need to know my gear will work. that's job #1. now, with the mk3, i can use it like it was meant to be used. it's just amazing.

BTW- i've seen some very good low light AF tracking photos on the net from the 5dmk3 and 50L so it might just be up to the task. Personally, unless you think you can figure out in a day or 2 whether or not the 50 is right for you i'd buy in it instead of renting. the resale is high enough that you could probably save money just using it for a month, or a year and selling it if it's not for you.  my 2 cents and my wife will tell you that's about how much it's revalue is

[7enderbender]

You should try it or at least buy it somewhere where you can return it without taking a hit. I'm using mine on a 5DII and came from the 50 1.4 which I sold in the meantime.

First off, it's good for people who really like the 50mm focal range on full frame. That's the most important thing. Then if you tend to shoot wide open a lot it may be right for you. And to me that's not a matter of low light conditions but a choice to throw a lot of things out of focus. With that it is a clear winner over the 1.4 since sharpness and especially contrast improve. This comes at a price - and not just in hard earned dollars. There is the much discussed focus shift issue (hasn't bothered me yet at all) and there is a visible increase in CA. I don't mind the latter either. It's the design of the lens and I love the results.

If all you care about is "sharpness" and you shoot mostly between 2.8 and 4 or even higher then keep the 1.8 or maybe consider any of the other choices. My 1.4 was noticeably sharper between 2.8 and 4. Still couldn't see myself using it ever again really so I sold my really good copy.

Also the build quality alone makes it worth it to me. Again, that comes a at a price. It's heavy and big in comparison. I don't mind that either.

What concerns me is that you were so unhappy with the 1.4. You may end up being as unhappy with a 1.2 for similar reasons - unless there really was something wrong with your copy. Don't know how it behaves on the Mark III but if anything it should be slightly better with the improved AF system. Depends on use I suppose.

 

[Zlatko]

Personally, i feel the only reason why you'd buy a 50 f1.2 is because you shoot at f1.2.
If you're gonna buy it to shoot at f4 or f5.6, you're not better off getting a 50 f1.4 or even a 50 f1.8..it's going to be almost identical in IQ.
It's at 1.2 that makes this lens so special..
Since people are talking Leica, it's the same..you buy the Leica 50 f0.95 not to shoot at f5.6, it's to shoot at f0.95

The 50/1.2L is also quite special at around f/2.5.  It has a lovely look that is not matched by the 50/1.4 or the 50/1.8 lenses at the same f-stop.  By f/5.6 it probably looks the same as any other 50mm lens, but I feel that it offers something special not just at f/1.2 but also in the range from f/1.4 to f/2.8 or so.

[@!ex]

If you are shooting low light indoor portraits of your family 5d mkiii and the 50 1.2 are an awesome combo.  Just be sure to know how to use your continuous AI in servo mode.  I actually set the front function button (normally used for DOF preview) to quick switch into continuous servo mode when ever I hold it down, that way whenever the moment is right I am always ready.  Also, head shots with a 50mm are totally fine, especially with a little distortion correction in post.

One thing no one has mentioned is the motivation factor certain gear can have.  This lens camera combo is so sexy and creates such lovely images that it compels you to shot with it, even if you aren't feeling in the mood.

Here are some shots with the combo I've taken recently.


Low Key by @!ex, on Flickr


In the Dark by @!ex, on Flickr


Confederate Cloth. by @!ex, on Flickr


Bugging Out by @!ex, on Flickr


Into the Sun by @!ex, on Flickr


Available Light... by @!ex, on Flickr