The Story of the Canon RF 45mm f/1.2 STM: The Tale of Different Reviews

[justaCanonuser]

3) what artifical conditions? yes, the MTF is calculated in Canon's case but their elements and most lenses are manufactured by machines, not humans anymore; the odds that the MTF will match reality have a fairly strong correlation.

That's exactly what I learned in the past, say, 15 years reading lens reviews, e.g. the ones of lensrentals. In particular these showed that the variation of the production quality of lenses gets smaller and smaller over the years. They also showed that Canon is one of the leading manufacturers in terms of stable optical quality, e.g. Nikon struggled much longer with decentered lenses in their production lines (a typical Nikon problem back then in particular with tele lenses, unfortunately):

The Nikon 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Test: Or Why I Don’t Test Just One Copy

As most of you know, we generally test multiple copies of a lens when we evaluate it, simply because we are so aware of copy-to-copy variation. But I got caught between a rock and a hard place this week. We received exactly one copy of the new Nikon 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens and [...]

www.lensrentals.com

Today, MTF charts aren't just showing the best case - the "lucky copy" - of a lens like in former times, they tell you what you can expect to get.

 

[AlanF]

That's exactly what I learned in the past, say, 15 years reading lens reviews, e.g. the ones of lensrentals. In particular these showed that the variation of the production quality of lenses gets smaller and smaller over the years. They also showed that Canon is one of the leading manufacturers in terms of stable optical quality, e.g. Nikon struggled much longer with decentered lenses in their production lines (a typical Nikon problem back then in particular with tele lenses, unfortunately):

The Nikon 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Test: Or Why I Don’t Test Just One Copy

As most of you know, we generally test multiple copies of a lens when we evaluate it, simply because we are so aware of copy-to-copy variation. But I got caught between a rock and a hard place this week. We received exactly one copy of the new Nikon 300mm f/4E PF ED VR lens and [...]

www.lensrentals.com

Today, MTF charts aren't just showing the best case - the "lucky copy" - of a lens like in former times, they tell you what you can expect to get.

There is still variation, unfortunately. I've tested multiple copies of some lenses that have outstanding reputations for consistency, including the EF 100-400mm ii that Lensrentals claimed to be one of the most consistent they have tested, and have seen differences. Even extenders, like the EF 1.4xIII varied. @neuroanatomist has mentioned occasions where the-digital-picture has had to change their copies because they were poor compared to his.

 

[roby17269]

Richard raises in this very interesting comparison of reviews a question that I ask always myself: do I want perfection or "artistic" imperfection?

Being myself scientifically educated (physics) I always love to check sites like Photozone, now OpticalLimits, with thorough lab reviews - that's the sort of "scientific" Dr. Jekyll in me. But when it gets to real life photography, the "artistic sort" Mr. Hyde could be set free, and then I enjoy shooting with gear that isn't technically, in particular optically, perfect - depending on the subject, of course. Its the street & people side of photography in which I often love to get an imperfect, vintage look (not quite Lomography, that's too crappy for my taste). By contrast, when I shoot wildlife or macro, I want technical perfection. Getting to the 45/1.2 here, this would be a nice candidate for the first approach to real life photography, so I can understand well why some reviewers are more enthusiastic than others.

I like to think that I too have "2 sides of my photographer's soul", so to speak: the more analytical one and the artsier one
But I do not see them in conflict, I see it more as the artsy side leaning on the technical side.

In the specific, I prefer to capture the image in a way that the data is as optimal as possible and I can always tweak the data in an less than optimal ways in post. I have done so with my latest fashion shoot, where a lot of "character" was added afterwards (haven't shared those images here since they were taken with my MF rig). There's plenty of plug-ins to simulate film and lens defects in post (Nik had a great one, not sure it is still there in their latest incarnation).

Having said so, like you I suspect, I've never based my buying decisions on reviews. I treat them as food for thought, not as decision makers.

 

[Old Man FL/FD]

My fast 50mm Prime for a very affordable price (600€), excellent optical performance but quite slow AF is a second hand Zeiss Milvus 50mm/ f1.4. Only downside is the weight ...

Do Zeiss Milvus (and Otus) RF/EF mount lenses have AF?

 

[P-visie]

Do Zeiss Milvus (and Otus) RF/EF mount lenses have AF?

The Otus RF lenses are MF. The Milvus are also MF.