|
Stumbling across an older photo I made back in Dec 2009 - showing two glasses sitting in the kitchen sink - taken with the Canon EF 50mm f 1.2 L lens - which to say the least, is pretty "blurry" when used at its minimum focus distance, at wide open aperture ƒ1.2...
And yet... it fascinates me ! I love this kind of look !! It's actually "better" than when i use the clinically super sharp Canon RF 50/1.2 L lens @ ƒ 1.2
The dreamy look has a flair of its own - because the optical characteristics of the Canon EF 50/1.2 L - are more... well, it has real character. Yet, you can also see it as being not up to good performance (which is also true, in the close range with that lens).
How could I forget that its optical character is this lovely ?!
I really like the photo
But... why or how could i forget this photo style ?! I should use this lens more often. Therefore I also intend to test it on the Fujifilm GFX 50s II camera - in order to see how it performs on the larger sensor.
The character is so lovely, that I surely have special use for this lens.
Isn't photography fun ?
I so love it !!!!
In hindsight - additional note • (27 Sep 2023)
I realize that when i took this photo, I must have put an extension tube between camera and lens, because the Canon EF 50/1.2 L doesn't really focus this close. Or I use a close-up lens ?
This would explain why the photo looks somewhat different to me. Normally you don't get this close. So, when I tested it on the Fuji GFX 50s II camera (with an Andoer EF-GFX adapter) it confirmed my suspicion - because I was not able as close, compared to the main photo above.
Fuji GFX 50s II + Canon EF 50/1.2 L
Does the lens work ?
Yes, for experimental photography, it does.
It shows slightly corner shading in the closer range, but due to the very large aperture, it isn't really intrusive. (And with a dark background it is a non issue). The Andoer EF-GFX adapter I only use to control the lens' electronic aperture, but focus rather manually instead of using the slow AF.
After all - the Canon EF 50/1.2 L in itself is a bit tricky. Also its optical performance drops significantly when you close it in the closest range (due to the lack of floating elements). You can use either this to your advantage - or end up with crappy images.
Tricky lens - yet with unique character
What I do like about this lens is, that it sometimes has an unique rendering style. It is almost as tricky as the Leica Noctilux-M 50/1 lens: when you use them with spirit - they makes unique images. They require attention and presence from the user. Just shooting away... isn't working to satisfaction. I also feel that these lenses are better in their rendering style for Black & White images with 3-dimensional objects.
In most cases however, you end up with flat crap shots !
Is it worth it ? No (if you don't have vintage 35mm lenses).
If I wouldn't have collected all these lenses though life - I wouldn't buy "vintage" glass in order to use them for the Fujifilm GFX 50s II camera, believe me; I would only buy Fuji GF lenses. They are perfectly made for the Fujifilm GFX cameras, and deliver the best quality.
Nevertheless since I do have all the other lenses - of coufrse I try them out on the Fuji. Just to see, if there are some worth it. Mainly because of their optical rendering style (aka character). |
