EF 50 1.2 L - rather buy older or newer copy of this lens?

[drolo61]

Short shout for advice.
Currently looking for a used copy of the 50 1.2 (buying in Germany).
On Ebay a re various good looking copies available.
Prices are slightly below 1000 e.
Copy age varies between 1987 to 2012.
Optically they look all equally good with genuine pictures.
Rather buy older or newer?
Thanks for feedback and have great days where ever you are.

 

[sanj]

Short shout for advice.
Currently looking for a used copy of the 50 1.2 (buying in Germany).
On Ebay a re various good looking copies available.
Prices are slightly below 1000 e.
Copy age varies between 1987 to 2012.
Optically they look all equally good with genuine pictures.
Rather buy older or newer?
Thanks for feedback and have great days where ever you are.

Why would you want to buy older? Am curious. I would go with the condition of the lens, not the manufacture date. And personally would prefer newer...

 

[drolo61]

@sanj
I was considering build quality decreasing over time with cost pressure on production lines over the years.
My old beetle had a much sturdier constriction than any current car

 

[candc]

There have been a lot of af complaints from 50l users. Mostly field curvature problems making focus and recompose difficult. I have one of the newer ones and don't find it as bad as its reputation. I have read here and elsewhere that there may have been some refinement to the lens over time that has alleviated much of the problem. I would go with a newer copy.

 

[YuengLinger]

I don't think we've even had rumors of build quality decreasing. You think they'd use cheaper glass? Bring in new, under-paid line workers? More likely newer models of lenses would have cost saving techniques applied, both in design and production, than Canon would use significantly lower quality materials in a product already in production.

From what I've seen with a few new purchases, such as the 35mm 1.4 II, build quality is going UP.

But rather than mess with ebay, just wait for a sale at Canon Refurbished Store. I've seen them for just under $1000 in the past couple months. I think a sale just ended this week with the price around $1050. You get about a week to ten days to thoroughly test the lens before the return deadline, and, best of all, you get a full one-year warranty, just like on a new lens.

All that said, the focus-shift issues associated with this specific lens would keep me away from it. I'm waiting for version II. And waiting. And waiting...

 

[sanj]

@sanj
I was considering build quality decreasing over time with cost pressure on production lines over the years.
My old beetle had a much sturdier constriction than any current car

I do not believe lenses change a bit (better or worse) after they are designed. The Beetle analogy does not apply to Canon. IMHO.

To me great lenses are available both at Ebay and Amazon. I don't rely on refurbished. Personal opinion.

 

[bholliman]

@sanj

To me great lenses are available both at Ebay and Amazon. I don't rely on refurbished. Personal opinion.

Agree, there are plenty of good quality used lenses available through these sites, but with Canon Refurb prices similar AND a 1-year warranty, refurb a great deal. Personally, I always look for refurb deals first and only look used if nothing is available or the used price is enough lower to offset the value of the warranty. YMMV.

 

[Rasmus]

This lens is much better than it's reputation. My copy does not have any notable focus shift. It takes some getting used to though. It's by far my favourite lens, and it's creamy bokeh is out of this world.

 

[Viggo]

Think it was released in 2006, so anything older is impossible.

EVERY copy has focus shift, no matter what some might claim. I've always heard that 2010 and newer are better, but honestly I don't think so.

If you're looking to use corner focusing points forget this 50. Of you're a Canon shooter and want a great 50 you don't really have any options with AF. I would buy the Zeiss 50 f2 mp, or the Otus 55.

 

[YuengLinger]

Think it was released in 2006, so anything older is impossible.

EVERY copy has focus shift, no matter what some might claim. I've always heard that 2010 and newer are better, but honestly I don't think so.

If you're looking to use corner focusing points forget this 50. Of you're a Canon shooter and want a great 50 you don't really have any options with AF. I would buy the Zeiss 50 f2 mp, or the Otus 55.

Or skip a 50mm prime for now, going with 35mm or 85mm, while using a 24-70mm f/2.8 II if this focal length is needed...Truthfully, wedding and event photographers are getting by just fine with the ef 50mm 1.4 that, while not stellar under f/2, does have reasonably quick and reliable AF. It definitely has its place for supplemental shots, and works ok with some TLC in post for portraits.

 

[Boyer U. Klum-Cey]

No issues with my (+/- 2103) 1.2. However, the new 35L is much easier for making those last second, adaptations to get the shot.

 

[Canon Rumors Guy]

Short shout for advice.
Currently looking for a used copy of the 50 1.2 (buying in Germany).
On Ebay a re various good looking copies available.
Prices are slightly below 1000 e.
Copy age varies between 1987 to 2012.
Optically they look all equally good with genuine pictures.
Rather buy older or newer?
Thanks for feedback and have great days where ever you are.

This is one lens I'd be more likely to buy a newer version of. There is no floating element and the lens can exhibit backfocus in certain situations. There is evidence that Canon has quietly changed things over the years to offset this issue.

 

[YuengLinger]

Short shout for advice.
Currently looking for a used copy of the 50 1.2 (buying in Germany).
On Ebay a re various good looking copies available.
Prices are slightly below 1000 e.
Copy age varies between 1987 to 2012.
Optically they look all equally good with genuine pictures.
Rather buy older or newer?
Thanks for feedback and have great days where ever you are.

This is one lens I'd be more likely to buy a newer version of. There is no floating element and the lens can exhibit backfocus in certain situations. There is evidence that Canon has quietly changed things over the years to offset this issue.

Could you please provide or link us to the evidence? Thanks!

 

[drmikeinpdx]

I recommend the Canon Refurbished Store, especially if they are having a sale.

I bought a used one locally a couple of years ago for $1050 and had to send it to Canon for correction of decentered element(s) that made the different focus points have different degrees of error. It took them three tries, they always want to adjust it electronically rather than looking at the optics, but they finally got it dialed in perfectly, as far as I can tell. Unfortunately, since it was not under warranty, I had to pay $250 for the repair.

When I buy a used lens, I mentally add the cost of such a repair to the used price and compare that to the current price of a refurbished copy, which of course comes with the usual Canon 1 year warranty.

I use my 50 1.2 a lot. It's pretty versatile, since you have a lot of creative control over the bokeh vs sharpness simply by varying the aperture.

I don't have any interest in any of the newer 50mm designs, unless perhaps one comes out with image stabilization. That might be tempting.

 

[Axilrod]

Short shout for advice.
Currently looking for a used copy of the 50 1.2 (buying in Germany).
On Ebay a re various good looking copies available.
Prices are slightly below 1000 e.
Copy age varies between 1987 to 2012.
Optically they look all equally good with genuine pictures.
Rather buy older or newer?
Thanks for feedback and have great days where ever you are.

I think you're getting the 50mm f/1.4 and 1.2L confused. The f/1.4 came out in 87 but the L came out in January 2007, so the oldest one you can get is 10 years.