do you guys use 50mm 1.2 ? is it the big deal compare to 1.8?
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henryqiu
Well-known member
50 @f1.2 x1.6 crop => a unique in-camera dreamy effect added to every photo
however, if you want to own a 50mm lens, many would recommend sigma 50 f1.4 art for its obvious sharpness when wide open.
50 f1.2 is very different from Canon's f1.4 or f1.8 versions, is probably the smallest lightest L lens, and is almost completely weather sealed. Sigma's f1.4 art is bigger, heavier, and sharper (at same aperture) than 50 f1.2.
however, if you want to own a 50mm lens, many would recommend sigma 50 f1.4 art for its obvious sharpness when wide open.
50 f1.2 is very different from Canon's f1.4 or f1.8 versions, is probably the smallest lightest L lens, and is almost completely weather sealed. Sigma's f1.4 art is bigger, heavier, and sharper (at same aperture) than 50 f1.2.
egproductions
Veteran
f1.8 to 1.4 is 2/3 of a stop
f1.4 to 1.2 is another 1/2 stop
You can emulate how much extra light you are getting by adjusting ISO accordingly (won't be exact since you are talking about f/stop and t/stops but it will be close enough).
Also keep in mind that f 1.2 or 1.4 might not be a usable aperture for you.
All that being said, one of the biggest reasons to go for a different 50mm lens is because it will be a lot sharper at equivalent apertures. As Henryqiu said, the Sigma 50mm 1.4 art is much sharper than the Canon 50mm 1.2. Both are great lenses.
I use my Sigma 98.2% of the time but on occasion I will whip out the Nifty Fifty because of how it flares when wide open.
f1.4 to 1.2 is another 1/2 stop
You can emulate how much extra light you are getting by adjusting ISO accordingly (won't be exact since you are talking about f/stop and t/stops but it will be close enough).
Also keep in mind that f 1.2 or 1.4 might not be a usable aperture for you.
All that being said, one of the biggest reasons to go for a different 50mm lens is because it will be a lot sharper at equivalent apertures. As Henryqiu said, the Sigma 50mm 1.4 art is much sharper than the Canon 50mm 1.2. Both are great lenses.
I use my Sigma 98.2% of the time but on occasion I will whip out the Nifty Fifty because of how it flares when wide open.
From my use with the 50mm 1.2 & 85mm 1.2 on my T3i is they tend to miss focus too often when shooting at 1.2. It's very annoying. I only use the center cross-type AF point on my T3i. On my 5DmkII it hit focus 98% of the time with the 50 & 85 @ 1.2. Another note is most crop sensors's don't have micro focus adjustments so if your lens misses focus you can't fix it.I would stick with 1.8 if you've got a really sharp lens, I had an old 50mm 1.8 mkI that was sharp as a razor. If not Sigma's 1.4 is great.
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Alpha Beta Omega
Veteran
I have the Canon 50/1.2 L. It isn't the sharpest 50mm lens but sharp enough. The real deal with the 50/1.2 L is the dreamy look. It's kind of funky but givers something else compared to other L lenses.
the 1.2 is a lens to use wide open in video or at least close to wide open to get the effect people mention.
Otherwise any 50mm will do. If you do photography than sigma 50mm art is the way to go.
John mentioned missing focus, probably it isn't missing focus, you have to learn how to work with this lens. It has a few flaws in photography specially. At 1.2 corners seem out of focus because they are soft and the dof is so thin if you focus a bit next to the eye the eye will be out of focus. Anyway it is a beautifull lens and at the end of the day one of my favourites.....i remember when a bought it how happy it made me some years ago loool
500mm 1.8 can do 95% of what 1.2 can...we always pay 10x the amount of money for that 50% advantage. Anyway every lens has a different look...i for example love some older lenses and dont mind sharpness in video that is bullshit, nobody cares except people in these forums
Otherwise any 50mm will do. If you do photography than sigma 50mm art is the way to go.
John mentioned missing focus, probably it isn't missing focus, you have to learn how to work with this lens. It has a few flaws in photography specially. At 1.2 corners seem out of focus because they are soft and the dof is so thin if you focus a bit next to the eye the eye will be out of focus. Anyway it is a beautifull lens and at the end of the day one of my favourites.....i remember when a bought it how happy it made me some years ago loool
500mm 1.8 can do 95% of what 1.2 can...we always pay 10x the amount of money for that 50% advantage. Anyway every lens has a different look...i for example love some older lenses and dont mind sharpness in video that is bullshit, nobody cares except people in these forums
DigitalBard
Well-known member
I have never had the Canon 1.2 or 1.4 lenses. But I did own the Canon 1.8 and it was nice, but I didn't like the bokeh on it. I briefly had a manual 50mm F/1.2 lens and it was really nice, but again, not a perfect bokeh for my "personal taste". I landed on a Yashica 50mm F/1.4 manual lens (PK mount with a cheap $5 adapter) and it's by far the best lens I own for shallow DOF work. Again, personal opinion.
G
Guest
Guest
F1.2 is like using an explosion in a movie. A few explosions are amazing, but if the whole film is 90+minutes of explosions, it can get a bit excessive. The amount of time you actually use 1.2 is so rare in video. Can it be effective on that rare occasion? Heck yes!!! But will you get your money's worth by using it all the time? no way. Also, most of the time, we are shooting at f2 to f8. No reason to get even a f1.8 50mm really. By the time you stop down to normal aperture, you get "stop sign" bokeh for 95% of your shots. Best to get a f2, f2.8, or f3.5 50mm for majority of shooting, and then have a special low light f1.2, f1.4, or f1.8 for those rare occasions. But good luck keeping things in focus on the move, or trying to tell the interview subject not to lean forward.
I agree with this. I've used the 50 mm 1.8 and 50mm 1.4 on my T3i. I use both. The later is a sharper lens and a significant improvement over the 1.8 and is well worth the $200 difference. Now when you talk of Canon 50mm 1.2, it's $900 plus. In that range you could buy a used full frame camera like the 6D from eBay.
The 1.2 is actually quite a heavy lens, and balances really poorly even on a 1D, despite how short it is. My 135L is way lighter.
It's hard to do anything at 1.2 focus wise, but with the DPAF on my 1DX II I can really accomplish a lot. Stopped down it's still nice, too, but it's definitely not the sharpest lens but makes up for it with other qualities. Just gotta be careful, 'cause there's a lot of chromatic aberration from it too. That can be corrected in camera, to an extent, but not with every camera.
Had my 24mm-70mm 2.8 and always thought it was ok even if i wanted the 50mm, not until i used the 50mm 1.4, to me the difference was almost day and night in a 6D and it has never left that camera, i use other cameras instead if i want to change lenses i get paranoid that it will somehow change the setting of the lens.
G
Guest
Guest
The entry level Canon 50mm 1.8 AF is a terrible lens wide open, imho.