There aren’t many lenses that could make me seriously consider changing camera systems, but the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM is one of them.
I have always had a huge amount of respect for this lens. Yes, it is getting on a bit now, and yes, Canon has newer RF glass that can outperform it technically, but photography isn’t always about which lens produces the best laboratory results. Sometimes a lens has character, and the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L has bags of it.
That is why seeing it drop to just $1,349 at Amazon, down from $1,548.01, saving you $199.01, has caught my attention.
In fact, this is one of those rare deals that makes me look across the fence at Canon and think, perhaps I could be persuaded.
The appeal is obviously that f/1.2 maximum aperture, but for me this lens has always been about much more than simply letting in lots of light. There is a particular look to images shot wide open with the EF 50mm f/1.2L. The transition from sharp to out of focus can be wonderfully smooth; backgrounds simply disappear, and subjects seem to have that almost three-dimensional quality that is so difficult to describe until you see it.
It isn’t clinical, and I think that is precisely the point. There are newer 50mm lenses that are sharper. There are lenses with more sophisticated autofocus systems and optical designs that will undoubtedly look better when you start comparing charts. But there is a reason photographers still talk about this lens after all these years. It has personality, and in an age where modern lenses are becoming increasingly perfect, I actually find that rather refreshing.
And I think that makes this deal particularly interesting for Canon RF shooters, too. You might look at the EF mount and immediately dismiss it as an older DSLR lens, but I wouldn’t. Stick Canon’s EF-to-RF adapter between it and an EOS R-series body, and suddenly you have one of Canon’s most celebrated 50mm lenses sitting on a modern mirrorless camera.
Even allowing for the cost of the adapter, I think this represents some of the best value available if you specifically want that f/1.2 look. More importantly, I wouldn’t see the adapter as some unfortunate compromise you have to tolerate just to save money. This is a lens that deserves the respect of being used on modern cameras. The mount might belong to Canon’s DSLR era, but the images certainly haven’t suddenly become irrelevant because RF arrived.
There is also something rather appealing about putting a legendary piece of EF glass onto a modern EOS R body. You get the benefits of Canon’s current mirrorless cameras while still having access to a lens whose reputation was built over years of professional portrait, wedding, event and documentary photography.
At $1,349, it certainly isn’t an impulse purchase, but I think that misses the point. This isn’t a cheap 50mm that you buy simply because everyone should own a nifty fifty. It is a serious f/1.2 L-series prime with a distinctive rendering that photographers have loved for years.
And that $199.01 saving makes it considerably easier to justify. I don’t shoot Canon as my main system, but this is exactly the sort of lens that makes me want to convert. There are plenty of technically brilliant lenses around, but very few have built the reputation and character of the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L.
Even if I were already shooting RF, I think I would still be looking at this deal rather than automatically reaching for the newer alternative. Add the adapter, embrace the fact that you’re using an EF classic on a modern mirrorless body, and enjoy one of those lenses that reminds you why we become attached to particular pieces of glass in the first place.
Some lenses are simply tools. This one deserves a little more respect than that.
