Canon 50L Sharpness at f1.2 ???

[Dylan777]

Hi guys,
I recently bought a 50L. I ran through FoCal 3-4 times. The results I got are very similar on all runs.

At f1.2, FoCal showed my 50L is best at -5 and sharpness is 753. I looked at my 24-70 f2.8 II, at f2.8 the sharpness is over 1000. Even my 16-35 II, at f2.8 the sharpness is above 800.

Questions:
1. It's normal for that 50L sharpness to be below 800 due to large aperture?

2. At f1.2, what is the sharpness on your 50L through FoCal?

Thanks
Dylan

 

[RLPhoto]

It's sharp enough for portraits in the center for me. I love the look.

 

[Dylan777]

It's sharp enough for portraits in the center for me. I love the look.

Have you run your 50L through FoCal with your 5D III bodies? I just wonder what other owners are getting from their 50L????????????????

 

[RS2021]

Had it, sold it... I simply didn't see reliably sharp pictures even in the center at f1.2...When it hit it, it was bang on...loved the contrast. Some swear by it, some blame the photographer ..."you don't know how to use this awesome piece of art...look! Look! It has a red ring! It must be perfect".

But the general opinion even among seasoned users is mixed...with caveats both on focusing and the aperture range where it potentially out-performs. Given the price, it is ok to expect more. It is due for an update anyways.

 

[RLPhoto]

It's sharp enough for portraits in the center for me. I love the look.

Have you run your 50L through FoCal with your 5D III bodies? I just wonder what other owners are getting from their 50L????????????????

I don't even own FoCal, or any focus calibration software. Infact, I haven't AFMA'ed any of my lenses. They all have been flawless from the factory. ( Fingers crossed .)

 

[Dylan777]

It's sharp enough for portraits in the center for me. I love the look.

Have you run your 50L through FoCal with your 5D III bodies? I just wonder what other owners are getting from their 50L????????????????

I don't even own FoCal, or any focus calibration software. Infact, I haven't AFMA'ed any of my lenses. They all have been flawless from the factory. ( Fingers crossed .)

Wow....you must be very lucky man, a f1.2 lens without AFMA.

Before AFMA, I did a quick test by setting up 4 markers. The distance between each of these markers is about 1.5" back. As you can see the lens has focus shift issue. I was focus on 1st marker(red). You can see the red is not in focus, the green does. That focus shift is gone after AFMA.

For now...it's all about sharpness.

Edit: back focus issue