First look: Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM Image Quality

DJL329 · Sep 13, 2018

Wow. Now all we need is an RF to EF adapter!

vjlex · Sep 13, 2018

DJL329 said:
Wow. Now all we need is an RF to EF adapter!

A straight EF version would be even better! I know the adapter thing was a joke, but I wonder if Canon is really only going to make an RF version of this lens.

6degrees · Sep 13, 2018

Can anybody compare this Canon RF 50mm F1.2 with Zeiss Otus 55mm F1.4 ?
I will not be surprised if Canon RF 50mm F1.2 is close to or even beats Zeiss Otus 55mm F1.4 for overall image quality, because it is 15 Elements in 9 Groups but Otus has 12 Elements in 10 Groups.
Can't wait for such comparison. I really want to see where Canon RF 50mm F1.2 ranks in https://www.dxomark.com/.

tmroper · Sep 13, 2018

I went straight to comparing it to the Otus 55mm. The Otus stills beat it as far as sharpness on those test charts goes, but not by much. So, at half the price, the Canon is a steal!

woodman411 · Sep 13, 2018

It will be interesting to see if an updated EF 50 1.2L ever comes out, along with the 24-70 f/2.8L IS. If either doesn't show up for EF, it'll be time to switch over.

tmroper · Sep 13, 2018

6degrees said:
Can anybody compare this Canon RF 50mm F1.2 with Zeiss Otus 55mm F1.4 ?

Canon RF 50mm F1.2 is more complicated than Zeiss Otus 55mm F1.4. Can it beat Otus for image quality?

You can see a comparison on the The-Digital-Picture site. Click on the link toward the bottom of the review, "Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L compared to the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L Lens" and then change the lens on the right to the Otus, or any other from the drop-down list. If you want to change the aperture of the comparison, make sure to change it for both lenses (from the drop-down).

6degrees · Sep 13, 2018

tmroper said:
You can see a comparison on the The-Digital-Picture site. Click on the link toward the bottom of the review, "Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L compared to the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L Lens" and then change the lens on the right to the Otus, or any other from the drop-down list. If you want to change the aperture of the comparison, make sure to change it for both lenses (from the drop-down).

I would like to see more practical and sophisticated comparison by different ranking companies.

highdesertmesa · Sep 13, 2018

DJL329 said:
Wow. Now all we need is an RF to EF adapter!

Not physically possible. Only EF to RF.

Looking forward to seeing all the new lenses on a better sensor, perhaps on a mirrorless 5DsRII.

highdesertmesa · Sep 13, 2018

woodman411 said:
It will be interesting to see if an updated EF 50 1.2L ever comes out, along with the 24-70 f/2.8L IS. If either doesn't show up for EF, it'll be time to switch over.

EF is either already end of line or so close to being so that further investment should be thoroughly considered.

CanonFanBoy · Sep 13, 2018

highdesertmesa said:
EF is either already end of line or so close to being so that further investment should be thoroughly considered.

Nah. Not even close. 10 years? 15? Not even close.

AJ · Sep 13, 2018

With the mirror box gone, is there still clipping of bokeh balls at the edges of the frame?

dominic_siu · Sep 13, 2018

DJL329 said:
Wow. Now all we need is an RF to EF adapter!

There is no way to mount RF lens to EF body[/QUOTE]

sanj · Sep 13, 2018

Insane! I wonder where all the people who used to defend the older 50mm will hide now.

Famateur · Sep 13, 2018

CanonFanBoy said:
Nah. Not even close. 10 years? 15? Not even close.

Indeed. I think the new EF 400 and 600 L III lenses are a pretty solid statement (at $12 and $13K each, respectively) that EF isn't going to be obsolete any time soon.

Frodo · Sep 13, 2018

Famateur said:
Indeed. I think the new EF 400 and 600 L III lenses are a pretty solid statement (at $12 and $13K each, respectively) that EF isn't going to be obsolete any time soon.

While I hope that the EF mount sticks around, the new EF 400 and 600 lenses don't confirm that. I expect RF lens development will focus on where the mount has an advantage (such as the lenses currently offered). Long RF tele primes and zooms will have little advantage over existing EF lenses with an adapter, especially the new ones where I expect the focusing algorithms and possibly drive mechanisms have been updated.

Famateur · Sep 13, 2018

Frodo said:
While I hope that the EF mount sticks around, the new EF 400 and 600 lenses don't confirm that. I expect RF lens development will focus on where the mount has an advantage (such as the lenses currently offered). Long RF tele primes and zooms will have little advantage over existing EF lenses with an adapter, especially the new ones where I expect the focusing algorithms and possibly drive mechanisms have been updated.

If I understand what you're saying correctly, having an EF super-tele with adapter won't be much different in practical use than having an RF super-tele. Thus, Canon anticipates the full move to RF bodies can happen just as soon as a pro body RF mount body can do what flagship DSLRs can do -- all without upsetting those who invested in EF mount super-teles? That's a fair point, I think.

My point was that whichever way Canon goes, I expect that the needs of EF super-tele owners will factor into how (and how fast) they make the full move to RF mount bodies. Whether it's EF working seamlessly on RF bodies or EF bodies persisting for another decade, EF lenses won't quickly become obsolete (like, say, when the EF mount was introduced). Does that make sense?

Famateur · Sep 13, 2018

Back on topic, I just looked at the comparison of the RF and EF 50MM F1.2L lenses. Holy hand grenades. That RF 50 is one sharp lens. My goodness.

AuroraChaserDoug · Sep 13, 2018

On the wide end, the RF 50mm 1.2 not only blows away the EF 50mm 1.2L but is impressive against other lenses including the excellent EF 24-70mm 2.8L II (50mm at f/2.8). CA and corner sharpness are amazing on the RF 50mm. I think the only reason the 24-70mm looks as good in the center is that it has that advantage of being tested on the 5DSR.

Since long lenses don't suffer as much with CA, the long EF lenses will be around longer than the normal to wide angle lenses. I wouldn't be surprised if Canon released EF-RF 1.4 and 2.0 xtenders with built in filter holders.

applecider · Sep 13, 2018

Famateur said:
Back on topic, I just looked at the comparison of the RF and EF 50MM F1.2L lenses. Holy hand grenades. That RF 50 is one sharp lens. My goodness.

And/or the EF 50 f1.2 was not a sharp lens especially wide open, much CA is present which the RF seems not to have. Go to wonder about vignetting, the RF should be better there as well.