Food in Japan with the Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L
This will make you hungry…
Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L on my EOS R @ F1.2
When a lens like this comes along you can’t help but wonder, what was it like before this?
Let me explain, when a new camera system is launched many people pay a lot of attention to the camera itself but generally not as much attention to the lenses these days. But to me the entire reason I went out and bought my current camera system I use almost every day, was because of the lenses that were announced as part of the system. The company I work for currently is known for creating a system, both a camera and a set of lenses that work together in harmony to produce beautiful images together. And although still camera systems are very different than a motion picture camera system I feel the need to judge a system as a complete system; but where as some might place the highest level of scrutiny on the camera, I place undoubtedly a rather strong priority on the lenses.
Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L on my EOS R @ F1.2
There is no doubt in my mind that this Canon 50mm RF F1.2 L is one of the highest performing 50mm lenses I have ever used for any camera system. And you might say well, it’s only a 50mm lens, one of the most easy focal lengths to get right at least for most lens manufacturers. But this 50mm lens manages to do two things very well, in fact better than any other 50mm lens I have tested before. It manages to be a technological masterpiece as well as an artistic tour de force. So what better place to test it than with the culinary delights of the land of the rising sun, Japan.
This lens is nothing less than a marvel of modern lens design and construction. It features a rather seemingly overzealous 15 elements in 9 groups. I can’t say I’ve ever tested a 50mm Prime lens with that many elements. Yet has not only a maximum aperture of F1.2 but an excellent close focus/maximum magnification to boot of just 1.31ft/0.4m which is soothing kind of unheard of for a fast 50mm prime and besting pretty much any other 50mm F1.2 lens I have ever used or heard of.
However, it’s not just about mind bending numbers and technological innovation such as the claimed “shock proof” housing the optics sit in; it’s also a lens that renders images like few lenses I’ve ever seen before.
Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L on my EOS R @ F1.2
What is perhaps most intriguing to me is the level of correction combined with artistic intent in the rendering of images with this lens. As you can see there is absolutely no lack of contrast and resolution with the lens in addition to a healthy does of micro-contrast. But all of this is perfectly isolated to to the area of focus without any of the usual negative effects that many of those technical characteristics can have on out of focus image rendering. The lens transitions beautifully from a sharp but natural rendering to a beautiful out of focus flurry of blur and bokeh. Chromatic aberrations are very well controlled even wide open and there is no visible distortion, green/magenta fringing (Spherochromatism) before or after the plane of focus. Spherical aberration is very well controlled as well. I personally enjoy the cat’s eyed bokeh rendering present toward the edges of the frame. However if you are not a fan of super shallow focus the 10-rounded aperture blades make for very round bokeh when stopped down. Vignetting is definitely present but not really noticeable in real world conditions especially with the automatic correction turned on and it’s a gentle linear vignette rather than a harsh one.
This is a big, heavy, expensive lens without a doubt, and you might be wondering is it really worth the price? Especially since it’s just a 50mm lens, but I can say without a doubt if you are striving for not just the best overall image quality with a 50mm lens as well as that special “je ne said quo” character that makes the images it produces so special this is the modern 50mm F1.2 lens for you..
