Canon 50mm for real-world use: EF 50mm f/1.2L vs EF 50mm f/1.4, and third-party alternatives

Question

I’m choosing a 50mm lens for a Canon DSLR and want real-world opinions rather than just lab tests. My main uses are astrophotography, plus some portraits and close-up nature work. I’ll start on APS-C but expect to move to full frame later.

For astro, I’d likely shoot wide open or maybe stop down one stop, so performance near maximum aperture matters more than stopped-down results. The EF 50mm f/1.2L is clearly the premium option, but it costs much more than the EF 50mm f/1.4.

For people who have used these lenses, is there a practical reason to choose the 50mm f/1.2L over the 50mm f/1.4? Also, are there worthwhile third-party fast 50mm options for Canon that compare well optically or in value?

user1375 · Answer

Have you considered the Sigma 50/1.4? That's definitely the lens I would get if I were starting over. Neither The Sigma and Canon 50/1.2L were out when I bought the 50 f/1.4 so it was an easy decision.

Firstly it's worth stating that the 50 f/1.4 is an excellent lens by most standards. However it is soft, and defecty (lots of lateral CA in highlights, heavy vignetting) wide open. This is of course to be expected of such a large aperture,

I don't mind the vignetting as it actually improves the look of portraits however if you're doing astrophotography what's the point in a lens that's f/1.4 in the centre and f/2.0 at the edges? Having said that vignetting is not really a problem with a crop camera.

These defects of course to be expected of such a large aperture, however the Sigma is a newer design and they worked very hard to improve the performance wide open. This is evidenced in the fact it has a much larger front element (for the same max aperture), and in tests is sharper wide open and vignettes less than the Canon 50 f/1.4. See:

As for the Canon 50 f/1.2, I have never used this lens, but there are extensive reports of focus shift due to uncorrected spherical aberration (where the plane of focus retreats when stopping down between f/1.4 and f/4.0). This is a feature of the lens and some are able to live with it and some aren't. It doesn't affect the wide open performance (since the lens is focussed wide open), however if you were to use Tv for shutter speed and let the aperture wonder between f/1.2 and f/4.0 you would probably see very variable AF performance. Past f/4.0 the extra DOF masks the focus shift. Opinions are divided on the lens as a result. Personally I would need to be able to rely on a lens, especially at this price, and given the 85 f/1.2L is corrected for focus shift. I'm sure there's a good reason Canon didn't with the 50, I believe it's to do with the quality of the bokeh - lens design is a compromise. I would read the following before investing the 50f/1.2L

Finally, have you considered buying a second hand 5D? You could pick one up plus a 50 f/1.8 for much less than the Canon 50 f/1.2L, and it would gather more light than the 550D + f/1.2. You might even be able to get a 1.4 with the change. Despite the age the original 5D is still an amazing camera.

Canon 50mm for real-world use: EF 50mm f/1.2L vs EF 50mm f/1.4, and third-party alternatives

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