Canon RF 50mm f1.2 should I?

[Reded]

Hi folks,
I have an RD1 sometime now and love it. I currently have CV 50mm 1.5 Nockton & CV 35mm Ultron, I see a Canon 50mm 1.2 for sale €300. Would it be much of an addition to the collection? The price I think is pretty good. Anyone with eperience with both,how does the Canon draw and FOCUS????
I like this Forum alot, you people are all so polite!!! The reason I bought the RD1 in the first place is Sean R's fault!
Keep it up.

Slan.
Ed.

 

[rover]

Well, first of all, Welcome.

Hmmm, if my math is correct, you may be able to do a little better on the price for a Canon 50/1.2. Be patient and shop a little, it may pay off.

I am thinking I will be using mine for the first time today, so we shall see. There was a recent thread comparing the Noctilux and Canon 1.2, you may want to search that out.

And Taffer has some shots taken with his Canon 1.2 in his gallery I believe.

Hope this helps.

 

[mtokue]

Hi Ed,
First off welcome to the forum I think you'll find it a nice place.
I can not really answer your question completely because I have not used the Nockton,
but I recently aquired the Canon and I am very happy with it , It has a nice girth and fits/balances well with the RD-1, I have read some not so kind reviews but I have found it to be both sharp enough for general photography and also soft enough to be great for portrature.
Not sure whether that helps but if you go through the forum there are a couple of threads that deal with this lens, Plus it also features in Seans almost completed Lens tests!!

Cheers
Mike.

 

[taffer]

Hi Ed, and welcome !! 🙂

€300 may be a bit steep unless the lens is in top condition, don't have the Nokton myself but got the 1.2 a while ago, for swallow DOF portraits it works great and seems to be optimized for center sharpness. Stopped down becomes an overall good performer.

That said, maybe you won't find that much of a difference speedwise with your Nokton...

My 0,02 😉

Oscar

PS: I posted my first results with this lens on this thread

 

[jlw]

Out-of-focus areas with the 50/1.2 are very "smeary," especially toward the corners. This may be an effect you like, or it may not.

Here's a thread in which I posted a couple of examples.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Here is my folder under the old Photo Gallery of the 50mm F1.2:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/759

All of these shots are wide-open.

300 Euro's (~$390?) sounds a bit high unless it is near perfect. It is fast, and will give effects that the Nokton will not.

 

[rover]

Well, I shot mine today for the first time. I bought an inexpensive metal hood for it, used Neopan 1600 with a yellow filter, very easy to find 55mm size. I shot all images indoors on a cloudy rainy day here in CT.

On my M6TTL .72 this is a great lens to use. The Leica camera is quite heavy, and using a big lens on it for me, handles great. Focusing, even close and open, is easy and sure. I do not expect to find that I missed focus due to my error when I process the film. I look forward to seeing how narrow the DOF is at 1.2. I shot many frames between 2 and 5.6, but went wide open a few times to see the effect. I hope to have captured some nice candid portraits.

Of interest, the smallest aperture on this lens is 22. 1.2 to 22 is quite a range.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

This thread probably put me over the top on selling off some gear. Three Canon 7 (s), a Vt, and a IIf with the 50 F0.95, 50 F1.2, 50 F1.4, and 50 F1.5. AND Nikkor 5cm f1.4, Summarit 5cm F1.5, and J3 all in LTM was even hard for me to justify. And little Elmar. And Rover is bad?

ANYWAY, the lens and Canon 7 are up in the classified section.

 

[back alley]

has the collector hit his limit?
doubtful, i think.

i plan on making that canon lll w/ 50/1.9 my 'stuck to the hip' camera.
maybe sell the canonator and buy a 7s in the fall, after my holidays.
or, sell the 135/3.5
and use the 85 on the p , using the 100 fl as a 'guide'.

decisions...

joe

 

[Stephanie Brim]

You know I'd give the Canonator a good home. I'd use it and love it and give it a nice shelf to sleep on every night. I'd feed it at least two rolls of film a week. I'd take it on many walks at twilight.

We'd be happy together, the Canonator and I. Yes we would.

😀

 

[back alley]

you make me smile miss steph.

and btw, what are doing home on a computer on a sat. nite?
get that boyfriend of yours to take you out dancing or to a movie, at least!

time's a wastin'

joe

 

[jlw]

I bought an inexpensive metal hood for it, used Neopan 1600 with a yellow filter, very easy to find 55mm size.

The size is easy to find, but be a bit careful when using third-party filters on the Canon 50/1.2. The convex surface of the front element comes unusually far forward -- if you look from the side you'll see that the center actually sticks out past the beginning of the filter threads -- so some deeply-set filters may make contact with the center of the front element when screwed in all the way. And that can't be good! Of course, other third-party filters may fit fine, depending on how they're constructed, but it pays to check. (One solution might be to buy a cheap filter and remove the glass -- usually there's just a thin retaining ring that snaps out -- to use as a "filter spacer.")

Canon made special low-profile filters especially for this lens, featuring filter glass mounted flush with the front of the filter so it could be thin but still clear the front element. These filters had no front thread, so you could only attach one at a time.

 

[Stephanie Brim]

We're spending the next two weekends at his place so we're spending this one apart. I *could* go out to the bar and take the Nikon for one last spin before it goes bye-bye, but I'm tired and I'm trying to write an article....of no particular importance. 😀

 

[rover]

The size is easy to find, but be a bit careful when using third-party filters on the Canon 50/1.2. The convex surface of the front element comes unusually far forward -- if you look from the side you'll see that the center actually sticks out past the beginning of the filter threads -- so some deeply-set filters may make contact with the center of the front element when screwed in all the way. And that can't be good! Of course, other third-party filters may fit fine, depending on how they're constructed, but it pays to check. (One solution might be to buy a cheap filter and remove the glass -- usually there's just a thin retaining ring that snaps out -- to use as a "filter spacer.")

Canon made special low-profile filters especially for this lens, featuring filter glass mounted flush with the front of the filter so it could be thin but still clear the front element. These filters had no front thread, so you could only attach one at a time.

You made me look. I am using a standard Hoya filter and it is fine. I really looked over that front element, and I don't think it clears the end of the filter ring on the lens. The problem must be with filters that set deeply into the threads, as you say above.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

> has the collector hit his limit?

I have to say, after getting the Nikon M Unsync and the IIf Canon 50mm F1.5 I am satisfied. After trying to find room to put another camera and lens, I am FULL-UP!

 

[back alley]

> has the collector hit his limit?

I have to say, after getting the Nikon M Unsync and the IIf Canon 50mm F1.5 I am satisfied. After trying to find room to put another camera and lens, I am FULL-UP!

i wonder if we need to take this as a sign...?

😉joe

 

[laptoprob]

Hey 1,2 lovers,
I use a set of Hoya filters, just sold a 55mm Tiffen red that was not suitable because of the front element.

Rob.

 

[Ed Schwartzreic]

Ed,

Look at http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00C2Ec

There is a 50/1.2 available

Ed S.

 

[rover]

I can't wait to scan the negatives. I processed them today........... I am pretty excited expecting to see something I like.

I hope I am right.

 

[Reded]

Hi Folks,
Thanks for all the insights,I not sure if I really need that Canon 50mm. But I tell you, having just spent the afternoon on a job using Canon 1Ds & Mk 2 + long lens, flash, it was great to come back and chill just using the RD1 and not that much slower,but certainly a far more pure feeling.
Thanks again,
Slan,
Ed.