Canon LTM Cannot Find a Good Copy of the Canon 50mm F1.2 LTM - Giving Up!

Canon M39 M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
I once owned the 50mm Canon f1.2 lens.
It was kinda soft at full apertures.
Lent to a friend it was returned all scratched on front element!
Lesson leant, No MORE LOANS.
At a Camera Sale, a guy wanted my lens for the whole lens, as his was rusted and corroded.
I let it go for a pittance(he insisted to pay) as his front element was near perfect.
Lenses this old are bound to show wear..
A 50mm Nikkor 1.4 that has fungus and scratches that i use,
is still sharp! At one stop down, even the edges!
I don't make monster BLOW ups.
Seeing faults in Bokeh is for those small minded pixel peepers.
 
I've had atleast 5 of these roll through my work bench.

Only one of those I could not remedy as it had deep etching from fungus that left everything mushy soft even stopped down.

Typically you just need to crack the rear group open and clean haze caused by outgassing lubricants.

A nice lens if your willing to put the bench time in, I doubt you'll find an example cheaply without having to clean it. It is a persistent problem that will re-appear in a cleaned lens.

Maybe the 1.2 isn't for you! The 1.4 does not appear to suffer this fate (atleast as often)
 
I've had 3 or 4 of the Canon 50/1.2 and some have haze. Never seen bad separation like you show in that one shot, if that is indeed the lens you're showing. It's hard to tell, but it looks like about 1/5 of the surface is separating, which is very bad. You'd implied Canon RF lenses are known for this. They are not. I've had many of them, and never seen separation in any. I still have the 35/3.5, 35/1.8, 35/2.0, 50/1.2 (2 of them), 50/1.5, 50/1.8, and numbers of the longer ones. None have separation.
 
leicapixie said:
I once owned the 50mm Canon f1.2 lens.
It was kinda soft at full apertures.
Lent to a friend it was returned all scratched on front element!
Lesson leant, No MORE LOANS.
At a Camera Sale, a guy wanted my lens for the whole lens, as his was rusted and corroded.
I let it go for a pittance(he insisted to pay) as his front element was near perfect.
Lenses this old are bound to show wear..
A 50mm Nikkor 1.4 that has fungus and scratches that i use,
is still sharp! At one stop down, even the edges!
I don't make monster BLOW ups.
Seeing faults in Bokeh is for those small minded pixel peepers.
Click to expand...

It's worth noting that you have to be very careful with filters for the f/1.2. Most will hit the front element, so you either have to find lenses made specifically for it, or use an empty filter rim as a stand-off.
 
Well everyone is different about what they will accept in ageing lenses. My collection of Pen F Zuikos would make the OP gag, or perhaps faint dead away, but I'm not very picky except for price.

Oh, one more thing. Never, I SAID NEVER! look through through a vintage lens with strong sunlight shining through the lens. Maybe not even a almost new lens either.
 
I've had 4 of these, none have had separation issues but a couple have had damage from the common haze.

I've kept the first one I got from a thrift store, it's been the sharpest/highest contrast of all of them.

Keep trying and/or get a 1.4 to tide you over while you search for the perfect 1.2.
 
radi(c)al_cam said:
b) I always had the best experiences with Japanese sellers, they're particularly careful regarding the packing when mailing abroad. Reason: they know that postal services of other countries often aren't as wary as the Nippon Yū-sei Kabushiki-gaisha, formerly Imperial Japanese Post.
Click to expand...


The only hazed and fungused equipment I have bought has been from Japanese ebay sellers who had 100% ratings and described the items as like new..
 
zuiko85 said:
Well everyone is different......

Oh, one more thing. Never, I SAID NEVER! look through through a vintage lens with strong sunlight shining through the lens. Maybe not even a almost new lens either.
Click to expand...

Where does this rank compare to running with scissors?

But seriously, I though direct sun light helped keep fungus at bay?

B2 (;->
 
Huss said:
The only hazed and fungused equipment I have bought has been from Japanese ebay sellers who had 100% ratings and described the items as like new..
Click to expand...

Were they brick-and-mortar-shop sellers that have an additional ebay shop (see lit. a of my answer), or presumably ebay-only sellers?
 
I've had a couple and still have a black one


15fbpicM9canon50_01 by f4saregreat!, on Flickr

Both had to be stripped and the elements cleaned of oil from the aperture blades, its the kind of lens you would search for a longtime to get one in perfect condition, but there are quite a few about that make great users.
 
I too have been hoping to luck into one of these lenses in adequate condition. I'm quite practical in my expectations, but I agree with the OP that substantial separation is unacceptable. I didn't think these lenses were notorious for separation though.....the haze issue is very, very well known.

My strategy will probably be to wait until one shows up here in the RFF classifieds (competition!) from one of our own who are knowledgable about lens condition and will tell me definitively whether the lens has separation, haze, scratches, fungus, STDs or whatever.
 
I’ve owned a Canon 50/1.2 for decades. Like most, my lens has haze, which takes me ten minutes to clean (easy-peasy). The element just behind the aperture shows some staining (because it’s rare-earth glass) which has no impact on image quality. You don’t need perfection, something 75% of that will do.

Jim B.
 
Huss said:
I think he means to examine the lens like with the flash light test.
Click to expand...

Exactly!
I shoot pictures with lenses, if it works, it works. Doesn't matter anyway since mostly I have no other samples to compare results with. Use film only and only make small to medium (4X to 6X) enlargements. There is only so much one can do with postage stamp sized negatives unless one is willing to work very hard.
 
I had one come in recently that looks very clean already but has some haze and an oily aperture. I haven't checked it out fully yet, but I've done my share of cleaning those lenses and if the glass is good, I can get it back to excellent condition.
 
In desperation a few years ago I bought one in pretty ordinary condition for a very reasonable price ($160). Well, reasonable considering the price paid for these lenses in good condition. The lens had bad cleaning marks on the front element but I figured it would be OK if used carefully with a hood and that the lens would be likely to be a somewhat soft and flarey when shot wide open in any event. And so it has turned out. It is fine for use in specific circumstances and has turned in some interesting images although I would never use it for general work, especially in its condition. But it is good for portraiture. Here is an example of a work colleague I snapped one day on my Leica M8 (or maybe my M3 and then scanned - I can't recall):



PS These lenses are easy to disassemble and clean. If you buy one that is a bit fogged it's not hard to take them apart and clean the elements. Google it - there is at least one very good description of the process available.
 
I truly gave up the hunt for a good copy of this lens after 3 eBay returns with different sellers - 2 of which listed lenses with glass in mint condition but turned out both had glue and lens separation issues. Last night, I pulled the trigger on a CLA'd radioactive copy of the Minolta Rokkor 58mm F1.2 as part of my plan to find an alternative that wouldn't cause such a headache as the hunt for the Canon has. It's one of those lenses I will start hunting for again in the future when more time and resources allow!
 
there is a clean one local to me that I have taken a look at. If you send me a PM i can send you the contact info.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom