Shoten officially announces the Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 for the RF mount

Canon Rumors Guy

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Press Release:
Mid optics SPEEDMASTER 50 mm F 0.95 III (Sony E / Canon RF / Nikon Z)

Scheduled to be released in April 2019
Manufacturer’s preferred price ¥ 98,000 (excluding tax)

SPEEDMASTER 50 mm F 0.95 III is an ultra large diameter standard lens designed for mirrorless cameras with full-frame sensors.
While achieving the phenomenal brightness of an aperture opening F value of 0.95, it is also designed for portability, and balance on full-frame mirrorless cameras.

Utilizing the features of the ultra-large aperture lens, it is possible to take handheld photographs in places where there is little light intensity or to take advantage of beautifully soft background blur.
Improvements from SPEEDMASTER 50 mm F 0.95 M 67 (version 2)

Improved image quality by updating the optical design.
It is compatible with the Nikon Z mount and Canon RF mount.

Continue reading...


 
It's quite strange to promote wide aperture in MF especially for FF. It's just impossible to get decent shot of subjects w/in 10ft for live events, just a narrow example as a pointer.
The audience for this type of lens is usually video or studio/portrait photographers. Live view with focus peaking can make it more usable for events, not sure if the RP has that or not.
Edit:
If there is no focus peaking, then the trick I use when shooting RAW video is to set the picture style to landscape and adjust the contrast all the way to 11.
 
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Two Zhong Yi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 lenses were actually announced today by the importer and distributor of Zhong Yi products in Japan, Shoten Kobo:

1. Zhong Yi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 III, a slight revision of the former version, now available in Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts in addition to Sony E mount.

Zhong Yi Speedmaster 50 mm f0,95 III.jpg

2. Zhong Yi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 C, a completely different lens in Canon EF mount.

Zhong Yi Speedmaster 50 mm f0,95 C.jpg
 
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Quirkz

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Had it on my sony for a while (before I sold the Sony, because I really disliked it).
while I disliked the camera, I loved this lens.

Not so much for portrait, but for scenery and people shots, removing background on busy streets, spectacular low iso night shots, etc.
Was fun. Now this means I have to buy an RP. grrrr. (If it has good focus peaking. Not willing to spend the extra for the R, given that I already have my 5D4)
 
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justaCanonuser

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Very interesting lens. But my experience tells me that if you try to shoot such a super fast lens manually wide open, in-focus results are a matter of chance, even for a skilled photographer. Today, good ML cameras offer focus peaking which is great of course, but the paper thin focus plane makes it really hard to manually track moving objects. Therfore I personally would always prefer a super fast lens with AF for an up-to-date gear to get more reliable results. I do frequently street shooting with a vintage Canon 7 rangefinder (no focus peaking of course), using an old manual Canon 1.4/50mm rangefinder lens , and managing f=1.4 is already a challenge but still feasible. Such a less fast lens has also the advantage to be smaller and lighter.

For portrait, even f/1.2 is already a tad too fast for a 50mm lens, if you don't want to have the nose and the ears already lost in blur (sometimes I like to play with that). That said, the artist Chuck Close copied exactly this blur-in-the-face effect in some his photorealistic portrait paintings (e.g. "Mark", 1978-79). I am sure he had some fun doing that.
 
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I find that these lenses, while cool, only get put to use in very very limited situations. If it's a person, they have to be very very still. And you'd have to take multiple shots to check eye focus. I don't find such lenses to be very practical, particularly for what they cost. I tried the Mitakon 0.95 on Fuji X (similar to FF 1.4 result) and was a pain to use. But still fun. Just not $400 fun.
 
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The audience for this type of lens is usually video or studio/portrait photographers. Live view with focus peaking can make it more usable for events, not sure if the RP has that or not.
Edit:
If there is no focus peaking, then the trick I use when shooting RAW video is to set the picture style to landscape and adjust the contrast all the way to 11.
It has.
 
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