Ponsoldt
Established
Does anyone have any experience with this lens either good or bad? Any photos?
Bill
Bill
Canon 50mm .95F
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jlw
Rangefinder camera pedant
Several of us own these, including me, and from time to time we've put up threads with various example pictures. You might want to try using the search feature to ferret out some of them; I'll include links to a few at the end.
A few basic opinions: It's very much a special-purpose lens, and the "look" of images it produces from wide-open down to about f/1.4 is unusual and not what most people consider "crisp." Typically image details have a fairly sharp central core surrounded by an unsharp secondary image, and of course there's so little depth of field that out-of-focus areas go 'WAY out of focus very quickly. No doubt it would turn in a terrible result in a modern MTF test, but some of us really like this distinctive appearance.
Another quirk that isn't so pleasant is that bright light sources in or near the picture area produce exotic-looking, sharply formed "flare spots" in dramatically curved shapes. It's also very susceptible to internal reflections off filters, so if you must use a filter you want to make sure it's a high-quality multicoated one (the lens takes standard 72mm filters.)
Stopping it down even slightly cleans up the image and increases contrast noticeably, and once stopped down to f/5.6 or so it's quite sharp and performs pretty much like any good-quality 50mm lens; that means you can carry it for low-light opportunities but still expect good results in bright light. One drawback to this approach, though, is that it's very large and heavy, and blocks off almost 1/3 of the viewfinder on a Canon 7 or 7s -- so unless you really need the speed, you'd probably be better off taking along a smaller, handier lens.
Incidentally, although you probably already know this, it's important to remember that the lens mounts via a special external bayonet flange, NOT a normal screw or M mount, so in its stock form it can be used only on the Canon 7-series cameras. It's possible to have a technician convert it to M mount -- I've had this done on mine -- but once converted it can no longer be used on a Canon 7/7s.
Here is a thread I started in September that includes some example photos.
Here is a link to a page I put up shortly after having my 50/0.95 converted to M mount, showing some example pictures made with an Epson R-D 1.
My gallery includes a couple of photos (#s 7 and 8) made with the 50/0.95 back when it was still in its original Canon 7 mount.
And this link takes you to a little documentary/photoessay I did a few years ago, all shot with a 50/0.95 and Canon 7s under very low light conditions.
And for your camera-p*rn fans, here's a picture:
A few basic opinions: It's very much a special-purpose lens, and the "look" of images it produces from wide-open down to about f/1.4 is unusual and not what most people consider "crisp." Typically image details have a fairly sharp central core surrounded by an unsharp secondary image, and of course there's so little depth of field that out-of-focus areas go 'WAY out of focus very quickly. No doubt it would turn in a terrible result in a modern MTF test, but some of us really like this distinctive appearance.
Another quirk that isn't so pleasant is that bright light sources in or near the picture area produce exotic-looking, sharply formed "flare spots" in dramatically curved shapes. It's also very susceptible to internal reflections off filters, so if you must use a filter you want to make sure it's a high-quality multicoated one (the lens takes standard 72mm filters.)
Stopping it down even slightly cleans up the image and increases contrast noticeably, and once stopped down to f/5.6 or so it's quite sharp and performs pretty much like any good-quality 50mm lens; that means you can carry it for low-light opportunities but still expect good results in bright light. One drawback to this approach, though, is that it's very large and heavy, and blocks off almost 1/3 of the viewfinder on a Canon 7 or 7s -- so unless you really need the speed, you'd probably be better off taking along a smaller, handier lens.
Incidentally, although you probably already know this, it's important to remember that the lens mounts via a special external bayonet flange, NOT a normal screw or M mount, so in its stock form it can be used only on the Canon 7-series cameras. It's possible to have a technician convert it to M mount -- I've had this done on mine -- but once converted it can no longer be used on a Canon 7/7s.
Here is a thread I started in September that includes some example photos.
Here is a link to a page I put up shortly after having my 50/0.95 converted to M mount, showing some example pictures made with an Epson R-D 1.
My gallery includes a couple of photos (#s 7 and 8) made with the 50/0.95 back when it was still in its original Canon 7 mount.
And this link takes you to a little documentary/photoessay I did a few years ago, all shot with a 50/0.95 and Canon 7s under very low light conditions.
And for your camera-p*rn fans, here's a picture:
adep
Established
JLW - I really love the look of the photos you've taken with that lens, I've wanted one of those for about a week now (ever since I knew it existed!)
