Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 'L' USM lens review with samples
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2024
- I'm not really a Canon fanboy - these RF lenses really are this good (not to mention over-priced). I LOVED working with this particular lens - ever sample picture just seemed to come out so beautifully. See what you think.
Find it here (Amazon affiliate link):
geni.us/canonrf50f12
This lens will /not/ work on digital SLR cameras, or Canon EOS M cameras - only Canon EOS R system cameras.
All sample pictures taken by me on a Canon EOS R camera.
Support me on Patreon! / christopherfrost
Equipment I use for making these reviews and other videos:
Equipment I use to make my videos (Amazon affiliate links):
Canon EOS R5: geni.us/CanonEOSR5Body
Canon EF-RF Adaptor: geni.us/CanonEFtoRF
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 'Art': geni.us/Sigma50mm14Art
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM: geni.us/CanonRF35mm18Macro
Marumi Fit and Slim CPL Filter: geni.us/MarumiFitSlim77
AudioTechnica AT2020USB+ Microphone: geni.us/AT2020USBPlusMic
Rode Smartlav+ Microphone: geni.us/RodeSmartLavalierPlus
Rode SC3 adapter: geni.us/RodeSC3MicAdaptor
Zoom H1n Recorder: geni.us/ZoomH1nMiniRecorder
DJI Mini 2 Drone: geni.us/DJIMini2FlyMore
Music:
'Opportunity Walks', Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/b... 
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The image quality of this lens is unmatched. Such a beast!
Wonderful Review! Man that f1.2 bokeh is truly smooth!
Thank you for yet another outstanding review! I can't tell you how helpful your videos have been, and I hope you continue to have the inspiration to keep making more! I just also wanted to share that I actually like the modern Canon lens hoods better because they all (or almost all, at least ones for L lenses) now lock to the lens, and they don't seem to be as brittle as the old ones.
Excellent review as always C.
Christopher rocks. Your reviews kick a$$!! Great channel!
Those portraits were gorgeous. And I've seen quite a few on your channel by now :)
Hi Christopher. Here’s its 2024 and I’m still blown away also by the images I see this lens produces. It lends a certain artistic rendering to subjects that other lenses would cry for. Hope I can get it someday !😊 thanks
This thing is a beast! Absolutely unmatched in quality.
I picked this lens up a few months ago and paired with my R5 the results are ASTONISHING. It’s insanity what Canon has accomplished with this lens. Razor sharp wide open at 1.2 and the creamiest bokeh imaginable!
Christopher, another review that is a pleasure to watch.
If I may nitpick on one thing, it's the criticism of using plastics in the construction of a lens.
I don't think Canon (and other mfrs) using them in their lenses is strictly a cost-cutting measure, although that is certainly a factor. I'm no materials scientist, but I suspect that along with the lower weight users may also get the following benefits 1) reduced shock from lens impacts, since the plastic outer shell can absorb and dissipate the energy from an impact much better than hard metal, 2) improved thermal expansion / thermal conductivity properties, 3) actually, stronger materials. It may also be the case that underneath that plastic shell there is a very rigid and strong metal structure to hold the glass and moving elements together, so you still get the benefits of both types of materials.
And last, when it comes to lens hoods that are made out of plastic, I'll wager you'd rather end up with a broken/chipped hood instead of a broken hood mount / front element on your (very) expensive lens -- a (hard) metal hood would have transferred all that shock energy from an impact to the lens.
Swings and roundabouts, really - I personally prefer a metallic lens but yes, there are arguments either way
Well said. Digitalrev did a video showing how metal exterior lenses break (or dent) vs. absorbing shock. Also, breakdowns of L lenses such as from lensrentals show they are extremely robust internally.
That's right. Dear Christopher Frost, check out the teardowns at lensrentals! I wrote a comment at your review of the 35 L ii, and i think, i also left a link there. The guys from lensrentals know the inside of pretty many lenses, and they stated, the 35 L ii was the most robust lens that they ever disassembled. I think, there is also a teardown of the RF50, and it is also very robust inside. Don't let you fool you by the plastic exterior. The new Canon L lenses are far more robust than the older ones, and are actually the most robust lenses that are built today.
Build quality is outstanding!
Hello Chris, can you please let us know how do you feel about this compared to sigma 1.4? With the adapter, sigma is the same weight and I have a good deal on refurbished, still pricy but which one would you get?
The color is gorgeous! Nice bokeh!
Amazing piece of glass, unfortunately completely out of a mere mortals budget 😂
Sell both of your arms. You can still operate the camera with your feet!
Well actually you'd be much better selling your kidney, you only need one to live, unfortunately you'll probably have to travel out of country to do so and will only get about USD$10,000! All joking aside this lens disappointed me, after Canon hyped up how amazingly fast the AF was with it's huge AF motor. They literally lied to my face and tried to say it had the same motor as in their version III super-tele lenses. This was obviously a lie as it's nowhere near as fast as one of Canon's new version III super-tele lenses that cost $12k! I own the Nikon 400mm f2.8 VR and it's amazingly fast, especially with AF limiter set to 6m-infinity and I have owned the Canon version which seems just as fast as the Nikon, which I describe as blazingly fast or instantly in focus! Not only is the build quality not as good as the EF version as noted here in the video, but the focus is kinda slow but okay for portraits but sports is a stretch. Canon representatives told me it would be great for sports, especially basketball with it's fast aperture but again they lied to me.
3gdfd de è2en.
I have all the RF lens besides 50mm 1.2
"2 years ago" - I hope you're an owner of this lens now :D
Excellent review
I see a lot of comments from people who likely have never used the RF 50L, and have likely not used the EF 50L either :). There currently is no better 50 mm lens out there, AF hit rate is 100% barring user error, it focuses very fast fro a 50 F/1.2 (a fair amount of glass to use), comparable to the EF 50L, and it is sharp from edge to edge with OOF areas that are incredible, both in front of the focus plane and behind it, which is truly special, as under normal conditions that should not be possible from an optical PoV. The EFD 50L is capable of that too, but the RF 50L is way better, and sharp from edge to edge from wide open (unlike the EF 50L).
If you want the best, this is it :).
Do you own the lens? I've heard conflicting reports about the auto focus
Very good review!😊
as ALWAYS😁
We need to see this compared to Sony's Zeiss 50mm f1.4 ZA (which is known for being one of the sharpest e-mount lenses)
Salutations. I love your videos; your reviews are thorough in the best way. Nothing seems unnecessary, especially not your dry sense of humor or your ridiculously sexy accent. Also, there's nothing missing... in regards to the categories you test (I don't imagine testing how water/fire proof a lens is would be realistic). I point to the large demographic missing out on your reviews: Nikkor lens users! I understand, spending the cash on new camera bodies would be rather costly. Although, many of your subscribers (and, dare I say, future subscribers) would be thrilled to see some of the F mount glass on your channel. Maybe some day? In any case, cheers.
If I had the extra time, I'd do Nikon reviews
@@christopherfrost #priorities
Assa ami akti camera nibo. Video valo hote hobe.konta valo hobe. Canon.d600/d 700/d 750 naki nicon d5100/d5200/d5300 pls help.
Amazing lens.
Any chance for a retest using the newer cameras?
How does this rate against the Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art?
Awesome. Thanks!
Please make a review of a TOKINA Opera 50mm 1.4 FF
Have you found the lack of image stabilization to be an issue (if the camera doesn’t have it either, like the R8)?
What an amazing eloquent review. Your use of the English language is without compare. The detail in this review leaves nothing to be uncovered and to be concerned about in respect of this particular lens. I love the nod to Christian icons and biblical texts you show albeit I am an atheist.. I feel them comforting in these times. Keep up the good works on all fronts.....
Odd a self-described atheist finds religious icons from a religion that explicitly says atheists will burn in hell forever.
Going to try to get this lens used!
Very nice video !
You're video is yet again amazing. The quality of this lens is, I don't know, it doesn't feel good enough for that price.
Your voice and the background music brings me back to my noob days. Nostalgic!
Hi, Chris. I have a question which is not lens-specific. How do you find the sharpness of the sensor itself? Both here and at other trusted sources (like the-digital-picture) I find the picture samples to lack a bit in sharpness, although the mounted lenses are very sharp. My assumption is that the EOS R has a relatively strong AA filter. Can you comment on this, having used the camera?
It all depends on the sensor of the particular camera, really. Websites like DPReview test this using very sharp lenses
Great review as always
Could you please review the New Tamron SP 35mm f1.4 ?
It's a beast. He will love it.
Its always funny how people will drop $3K+ on a camera body and not think twice about it but then cry about a $2300 lens. Lenses are more impotent than camera bodies, this lens is amazingly good and a great investment.
Michael Bell also lenses tend to hold their value much better while bodies will be next to worthless when the next model comes out.
Heard that 👍 I had a 7D, then a 6D
love your reviews! I'd love a review on the 15-35 and especially the rf 24-70... very few on the internet
That's because they've only just come out! A review will come in time :-)
@@christopherfrost yes true, but so many new tech items have reviews the day thst are announced.
@@theMennoniteMom Sometimes they do. Unfortunately I have a 50 hour/week job outside of this RUclips channel so I'm just a bit to busy to get on top of every new lens immediately
@@christopherfrost I'm sorry, I forgot I commented on two different channels. I was thinking your reply was from some random person commenting on the other channel. (: toy do incredible and I know all about schedules and how hard it is to keep up a youtube channel. Especially your type of videos with extensive reviews. Guess I was just disappointed, after a month still no reviews on the so looked forward to RF lenses. So often a new product is released and at least a handful of youtubers all post reviews on the day it releases. Guess not this time! Keep up the great work! No pressure!
Hello chris. I hope you see this i been a subscriber for a while. I been debating to myself whether to get this lens the 50mm1.2 or the 24-70mm2.8rf. I mainly wanna use it for portrait and a little bit pf anything else sometimes
I never liked Canons 50mm options, tested out 5 or 6 (including adapting/converted some vintage glass), landed on the Zeiss 50MP for close options (much more than macro) and the 50 1.4 milvus distagon- the classic 1.4 sucked with the same issues as Canons 1.4. Both had jittery backgrounds and bokeh. I'm adapting both to R bodies.
SO... how does the rendering and microcontrast compare to the Zeiss Milvus? I think this weighs more than the Zeiss, but might balance better due to its native mount. And I'd gain AF.
5:25 That's a lovely image
please review on your r5 as the IS really improved the practicality of this lens
thanks :)
Great review, Christopher! Thank-you! I'm thinking that if it WERE all metal, it might "WEIGH" two thousand pounds as well ;)!!
Can’t wait to see you look into the rf 85mm 1.2, rf 24-70mm 2.8 is, and rf 15-35mm 2.8 is lenses
Eventually I'll get to them
will you be reviewing the new Sony FE 35mm f/1.8??
Can you please do a comprehensive review of the rf85 1.2 DS
Love your work. RF Lens Cap Hack. Just get some bright Red Nail polish and paint it in the notch lens cap. This will make it so much easier to line up the cap to the lens! Why Canon didn't do it I do not know.
I use my EF 50mm 1.2 with my EOS-R using the RF/EF adapter is really responsive. So I will not be upgrading to the RF 50mm. From what I have seen from yours and other reviews, the EF 50mm image quality would be very close, but not $2200 worth to upgrade!
Amen! 3k CAD for this lens? Yeah, I don't think so.
Nice one mate. What are your thoughts on whether or not existing users of canon's ef 50 1.2 should upgrade? I am adapting this lens to the R & am on the fence. I love the lens but never really shoot wider than F2 because of the fringing & whatnot. Cheers from Canada.
I will not upgrade, the old is a bit softer but very artistic for my use. I am looking to buy R6 mk ii and I hope it will improve the focus a bit.
@@nicce Af is greatly improved for certain.
Man! Yongnuo has a 35mm f1.4 lens. Can you review that? There is nobody reviewing that lens. Please.
Because it's totally rubbish
@@AhmedRecon try it. . . Good lens mate
@@AhmedRecon Basically Yongnuo lenses are cheap and have border-line accptable image quality
@@AhmedRecon nope it said to be pretty good camera in other chaneel, thats why whe need christiper to ensure it claim
Mate . . . I just want a clear view 'bout the lens. Dont be so rude.
I want to buy, give the link.
Do a review of the Canon RF 15-35mm F/2.8
I can totally see myself going for the Mark ii of this lens when it will be released, if will be time for me to upgrade my 5D Mark 4 and the EF Lenses
Not too likely. There was never a Mark II EF version. And this is the best 50 Canon has ever made.
You might be waiting a very long time!
@@christopherfrost then probably never, as I age and my eyesight decreases I'll be less likely to pay for a lens that I'll not be able to even see the details of
Can you review the Zeiss 50mm F1.4 for Sony? :)
No way close to this RF
@@sadenb Nonsense! In real life scenarios and shooting, 99.9999% users/clients wont see any difference in IQ.
I love your videos! I have this lens.
How do you find the autofocus?
@@cagf2013 I don't have any problems in good and even low light to a degree. But the body also helps.
@@cagf2013 It is fantastic!!! I love it. Don't have any problems at all.
@@Thomasjcolbert82 awesome!
I have always loved your reviews, even if do not comment as much.
Here's an idea, would you care to make a showdown between the old Canon 50mm 1.2, this new 50mm and the Sigma's 50mm 1.4?, I'm very curious about the results, even more now that I own a EOS R, and I'm deciding on what to buy. Cheers!
what is the new switch on the lens replacing the image stabilizer. full- 0.8 what does that do
Focus travel. 0.8-Infinity limits the ability of the lens to focus close to things. Assuming you are not shooting macro, this scan speed up the lenses' ability to achieve focus. Full provides focus down to 0.4 Meters.
the is the focus limiter, full focus or 3 meters-infinity
How is this compare to the SIGMA F/1.4 ART?
Take a look at my review of that lens :-)
Christopher Frost Photography Oooo :) Got it!! :) and this and the 85mm f/1.2 Samyang
Wow I just realized that the lens darkens what looks to be around a full stop when focusing closer.
i want to buy a new camera so plss.. tell me eos5dmark4 or eosR?????
Eos r without any doubt!
I missed the days of small, compact prime lenses where every lens doesn't have to look like zoom.
Meanwhile, over at Tamron...
That's why today's lenses are sharper than ever, because for that they need to put more glass elements and the result is a large piece of log in your hand. 😅
Probably a stupid question, but, can we use this lens on a sony mirrorless system like a7riii using a metabones or sigma mc-11 adapter? Not that im buying the lens, just curious.
Can you do a top 10 sharpest lenses regardless of price and aperture?
Maybe one day
"Don't do that...
don't give me hope..."
I didn't get one thing. When you go from F 1.2 to F2, the picture becomes way brighter. Why is that?
Vignetting disappearing
The whole story is different when you buy an EOS RP with an EF mount, autofocus speed becomes very low with my camera taking around 5 seconds to autofocus on a steadily moving subject! so bear that in mind if you wanted to save money on a EF adapter.
Is the Sigma 40mm overall better IQ?
Hmm...they'll be very similar
Love your placement of the Word. 😍
do you have digital image stabilisation for video set off?
Yup
@@christopherfrost
Why?
@@chrisn5914 Why not
Unfortunately, I need to drop an actually here:
At 1:21 it is said that 1.2 is 33% brighter than 1.4, which is not true though. 1.2 and 1.4 are pretty much half a stop. ln(1.4/1.2)/ln(sqrt(2)) is about 0,44 which means 44% brighter. With exact numbers it’s even closer at 47%.
Please review Panasonic LUMIX S PRO 50 mm f/1.4
I'm pretty disappointed with the focusing...the fact that it goes in and out, the noise, the focus-breathing, the speed... If it were quite a lot cheaper, that would all be understandable, but it is super-expensive. Thanks for the review!
For stills, the AF speed is plenty fast. It can shoot in near total darkness, and lock onto pretty much anything. And the front element doesn't extend past the barrel, so not an issue.
At $2300 the AF should be much better. That AF speed is much worse than using Canon EF glass on a Sony with the MC-11 and that should never happen with a new mount and native glass
When you use it it is ok 👌
When you buy an optic of this price range on a completely new mount that is supposed to have benefits that could not be achieved on a DSLR you should get world class AF along with all the other benefits including sharpness, bokeh and micro contrast. That AF looked slow and pulsed in and out before finding focus. Again, I've seen EF lenses mounted on a Sony via the MC-11 that were much faster to focus so something is not right here
aceflibble Disagree. At this price range, I would expect quick reliable AF, because why have f1.2 when most things would be out of focus before lens moves. May be for shooting static things and models that can freeze in time.
Best 50 in the world.
Plastic is not necessarily worse than metal, even tho I prefer metal lenses. But modern plastics are probably more impact resistant and lighter too.
Can you imagine audible books read by Christopher Frost? If so, I might even listen to Herman Melville's Moby-Dick!
Thanks!
Out of my price range but thanks for the review. Great photos coming from that lens. Tell your wife she's lovely and a good sport. My husband is a total grump when I ask him to pose.
Well done with the review and thanks for saving my money cause I thought there will no be any chromatic Apperation, but still this lens sucks for the price. It like 40,000 EGP to get it tho.
If only we had a pancake lens for the RF mount...
I can't wait! Canon, get to work!!
👍
2:36 a new style of ASMR ?
Whether it sounds like ruffling smooth sheets or breathing in your ear, it reminded me of sex. Thats saying something for a camera lens 😂
Can you zoom on these lens?
Yes.
Sorry, no. It is a prime lens. That means it has one one focal length
canon really spent all of their budget on their new lenses
Man, I wish this had IS. I won't be switching to the new high MP Canon cameras anytime soon. Going to stick with my r3 for high res and the EOSR for daily carry. But, these images look beautiful enough to purchase anyway. Thanks for the review!
Thinking about selling two of my lenses and buying it on gray market.. still expensive though.. hah crazy
Do top 10 built like a tank lenses video please
tokina and tamron :D
Please review Canon M50. Thank you. Love your videos.
I only test lenses, really
@@christopherfrost ok thank you sir
Hello Nate, if you need to know more about the m50 you can visit Canon’s live chat. People there will help you with all your quiries regarding the camera
www.canon.co.uk/canonlive/live-chat/?
Awesome lens.
That’s insane. Where’s the nifty fifty?
This lives on my Komodo
When the price drops to $1400, I will look at this lens again.
LOL, good luck with that. How much did you spend on your camera? More than $1400 I bet. This lens is far more important to image quality than whatever camera you have.
Not to mention it will outlive the body ten times over, especially given that Canon is now banking on the RF mount.
Thanks for reaffirming my purchase of this lens. Looking forward to that rumored 83 mega pixel R series camera next year!
One note that is incorrect in the video, f-stops are not a measure of light transmission so this lens may not necessarily be "brighter" than a f1.4 lens. It's not theory, you can easily compare exposures.
Personally find the colours produced from this lens very lackluster.
f/stops are indeed different from light transmission but the difference is not often that dramatic. I severely doubt it would ever be enough to make any f/1.2 as dark as an f/1.4
Christopher Frost Photography absolutely right. It's just sometimes we think fast lenses are brighter but in reality not as much as we think ;)
I still don't get FF mirrorless, this is no smaller than the DSLR version really...
ryan EVF, Silent Shooting, Better Focusing and better lenses. There you go 👍🏼
The camera's a lot smaller though. Also, wide angle lenses can be made smaller on mirrorless :-)
Well, the lens is actually about twice the size of the EF version. But see below for why mirrorless cameras are better than DSLRs.
I really love Canon's RF lenses. Sometimes I'm thinking to switch back from Sony only because of these new RF lenses but when I see Canon's cameras it feels just meh.
the front of the lense is a no-go since it has no covering glass in front.
It have the "focusing pipe" exposed and one grain of sand and you scratch the pipe all over.
yeah, yeah ... you could add a UV filter or so ... but for that price I would want 105%
agreed, when I saw that it made me jeer, for that sort of price on a modern lens? I never would have expected an exposed moving front element
The front glass element is fixed. What you're seeing is the internal elements shifting during focusing. The front element just isn't really all that visible in the shot I think you're referencing.
@@andreworourke5778 2:30 I don't think there is a front glass element. Tho I had Sigma zoom lens which extends while zooming that I dragged through mountains, oceans, caves and deserts, dropped few times, nothing. So unless you're shooting straight into the beach sand you're gonna be OK.
There isn't a front glass element but just put on a clear UV filter and that eliminates the concern of dirt getting into the focusing tube.
Optics good, haptics mass market grade. Now they are damaging their reputation with lens lines, while the 3. party products get better and better.
Substitute ‚optics good‘ with ‚optics outstanding‘
If sports related photography is not your thing, just go for Sigma art.
@Foto4Max it's not that bad.
@Foto4Max never had an issue with my 20, 50 or 85 arts, they are always bang on.
lens so expensive you would think twice about taking it out for use.
The AF of this lens is a little dissapointing, but it can deliver really great images, the bokeh it even has some "character" that gives a really nice rendering. But not sure if it's worth such big amount of money. Right now there is no other native option for Canon, but we will see in the future.
Focus motor noise is unacceptable. Especially for the price.
So glad I sold all my Canon gear incl. 5x L lenses to move to a Sony A5100 lol, but with an E 35mm f1.8 the image quality is better ... 1/20th the price and 1/5 the weight.
2 grand......eh no. My M50 will keep me happy with the old plastic fantastic 50mm.
This is an RF mount, you wouldn't be able to regardless lol. 1.8 stm is still a sharp as hell however.
Stopped down sure, it's pretty soft at 1.8
I like my Tamron 45mm f/1.8, partly because of the VC
@@Farmalando Where did I say it was sharp at 1.8? Just saying its sharp for a cheap lense lol
@@777TonyRamirez777 nearly anything is sharp stopped down lol
This lens is a little slower focusing than the Nikon z 50 mm F/1.2 lens and the noise is a bit more.
I want