Canon 50mm f/1.2 does wildlife photography

[Terao]

Now I'm sure this lens wasn't designed for use on a bright sunny day to take a photo of a seagull's, erm, derriere, but then it wasn't designed to be used on a digital rangefinder either...

Needless to say tracking focus with such a beastie is not as easy as it is with a megazoom-equipped DSLR, but I did manage to get a few shots of these gulls playing in the wind at Cap St Vincente in Portugal, and some were even sharp and in focus. 😱

Have used the lens a fair bit this week, great fun, even in normal light conditions. For sure a slower lens would be more compact but I just like the look of this lens. Think I'll be selling my VC f/1.5 at this rate...

 

[ChrisN]

Very nice!

 

[espressogeek]

My goodness! That is SO SHARP and clear.

 

[Avotius]

shocking clarity in that shot. The colors are great. M8?

just saw your sig, rd1 eh, very nice

 

[Terao]

The R-D1 seems to suit this lens, I guess you're chopping off its soft corners. That was also shot at f/8 so is probably the sweetest of the sweetspot. I've found that it lacks a little contrast compared to modern lenses but that's easily fixed in development when shooting RAW.
Tonight it will be doing motorsport, I'm off to the Rallye de Portugal Super Special in Faro. Not expecting to get close enough to make really dramatic shots but we'll see. At least I'll be in a fixed position so will be able to fix focus...

 

[venchka]

Note to Me:

Do not look at Canon 50/1.2 samples Wayne! Do not look at Canon 50/1.2 samples Wayne! Do not look at Canon 50/1.2 samples Wayne! Do not look at Canon 50/1.2 samples Wayne!

Lovely photograph. Keep the Canon 50/1.2 samples coming. I won't be able to look at them. Grinning.

I don't need another 50! I don't need ChrisN's 50/1.2. I really don't.

 

[Terao]

OK, some more 50 @ f/1.2 shots 😀

Not great bokeh and very very soft:

Much better (and what a great subject 🙂 )

And some static portraiture to show off the shallow dof