GE AR RE V I EW. CANON 50MM F/1.2L USM AND 24-70MM F/2.8L IS USM LENSES
Specifications 50MM
LENS MOUNT Canon RF
APERTURE RANGE F/1.2-16
OPTICAL CONSTRUCTION 15 elements in nine groups, one ULD and one aspherical element
APERTURE BLADES Ten, rounded
AF MOTOR Ring-type Ultrasonic
IMAGE STABILISATION None
Starting with the 50mm RF lens, this is essentially the improved version of the pro photographer and vlogger favourite, the 50mm f/1.2L EF. The new one is about a grand more expensive, of course. It’s also heavier and bigger in every dimension, with two additional rounded aperture blades for even smoother bokeh, and the addition of an aspherical element. But it does focus a tad closer. The RF lens is now more than three years old, as it was one of the first exotic optics launched with the EOS R camera. But it isn’t showing its age at all. It is very fast to focus, the image is sharp and contrasty right across the frame, and the colours are natural. It’s simply the king of 50mm lenses for the RF mount. It’s not perfect, though, and there is some slight vignetting in the corners of the frame when shooting wide open. This is easy to remove in post, and for some it even adds a nice aesthetic quality to an image. After all, you end up shooting a lens like this wide open for creatively shallow depth-of- field, so a tiny bit of darkening in the corners of the frame enhances this effect. For video shooters who want to use manual focus, it’s not quite as effective. The fly-by-wire focus ring could never replicate the tactile feeling and control of a fully manual cine prime, but you can’t have everything. In AF mode, if you move the MF ring then focus can be changed instantly, which is a nice feature.
mount. And that’s especially true if using adapted EF glass on the latest EOS R3 or R5 cameras. You’re losing out on extracting all the performance you could get. Two of the most popular lenses for stills shooters and filmmaking pros are a fast 50mm prime and all- round 24-70mm zoom. That’s where this pair come in: the Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM and 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM lenses in RF mount.
IN FOCUS The AF/MF and focus limiter switches on the 50mm f/1.2L lens are highlighted here
CLOSE FOCUS 40cm/15.7in
FILTER SIZE 77mm
DIMENSIONS (DXL ) 89.8x108mm/3.54x4.25in
WEIGHT 950g/2.09lb
“The fly-by-wire focus ring could never replicate the tactile feeling of a fully manual cine prime, but you can’t have everything”
PRICE £2389/$2299
canon.co.uk
52. DEFINITIONMAGAZINE.COM
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