Canon EF 50mm f/1L – A Rare Lens With An Amazing Bokeh

Canon’s EF 50mm f/1L

Before Canon made the EF 50mm f 1.2L, the Canon EF 50mm f/1L, now a discontinued lens, was the fastest in the company’s line-up. It might be difficult to find one nowadays, and if you do expect to pay it up to three times the price it had. Citing from Wikipedia:

The discontinued Canon EF 50mm f/1L USM is a professional L series autofocus lens. On the used market sells for as much as double the original retail value. It was the fastest SLR lens in production during its lifetime. This lens has a metal body and mount, and plastic extremities. It also features a wide rubber focus ring that is damped, a distance window with infrared index, and the ability to set the focus range from 0.6m to infinity, or 1m to infinity. In common with the EF 85mm f/1.2L USM it uses an electronic “focus by wire” system and requires power from the camera in order to manual focus. The 8-blade diaphragm and maximum aperture of f/1.0 give this lens the ability to create extremely shallow depth of field effects and to support low light situations. The optical construction of this lens contains 11 lens elements, including two ground and polished aspherical lens elements. This lens uses a floating front extension focusing system, powered by a ring-type USM motor. The front of the lens does not rotate, but does extend when focusing.

Despite its price and large maximum aperture, the 1.0L was not a particularly sharp lens at any aperture, and the two cheaper 50mm options offered far better sharpness when stopped down beyond about f/2.8. This, combined with the high production cost and low sales volume, led to it being discontinued in 2000 and eventually superseded by the f/1.2 edition.

Bryan Soderlind has a Canon EF 50mm f/1L (he payed more than $3000) and shares images and thoughts with us.

In an attempt to really get excited about switching to digital, I went “all the way” on my 50mm lens purchase. I bought the most expensive and rare 50mm Canon lens, the Canon EF 50mm f/1L. Previously I had used the 50mm 1.4 and 1.2 and couldn’t really differentiate between the two, they both were really amazing lenses.

Interviewed by PetaPixel, he said:

The Canon EF 50mm f/1L lens is a rare, discontinued, and expensive lens Canon only made for a few years. The lens is made to shine at lower apertures and the look you get at 1.0 is like no other lens made. There is somewhat of a frustrating learning curve when using the lens at 1.0, getting anything in focus takes practice.

Strong backlighting tends to give a very wild unique flare and certain light sources produce a rainbow effect I haven’t seen produced by any other lenses. The lens really isn’t any better than other 50mm Canon lenses I’ve used once you stop down past 2.8, this lens was made for the wider apertures.

There is also a heavy vignette at wide open apertures, this could be seen as a positive or negative depending on your preference. The price and the ability to find the lens is a definite deterrent, but for me it was well worth it.

On Bryan’s page there are lots of sample pics shot using an EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 5D Mark III with the Canon EF 50mm f/1L.

Available Canon 50mm lenses:

EF 50mm f 1.2L USM price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EF 50mm f 1.4 USM price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA EF 50mm f/1.8 price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

[Bryan Soderling via PetaPixel]

[Deal] Canon EOS 5D Mark III Is On Sale For $3,039.33 (limited quantity) – Update: deal still going on

Update: I just checked eBay, the deal is still alive

Another good deal on eBay today, this time by top-rated seller getitdigital. The Canon EOS 5D Mark III is on sale for [shoplink 7373 ebay]$3,093.33 (click here to check the deal)[/shoplink]. Limited quantity and won’t last long!

  • 22.3MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
  • 3.2″ Clear View High Resolution LCD
  • DIGIC 5+ Image Processor
  • 61-Point High Density AF
  • Full HD 1080/30p and 720/60p Formats
  • Built-In HDR and Multiple Exposure Modes
  • Extended ISO Range (50-102400)
  • Up to 6.0 FPS Continuous Mode
  • Dual CF and SD Memory Card Slots
  • Durable Magnesium-Alloy Construction

[Review] EOS 6D First Thoughts Review (and comparison with Nikon D600)

Image credits: Digitalcamerainfo

Let’s start with a Digitalcamerinfo’s first impressions review of the EOS 6D.

The Canon EOS 6D is designed to be a lighter, cheaper alternative to the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. To that end, it accomplishes its goals, squeezing a 20.2-megapixel full-frame sensor and updated autofocus into a relatively small body. […]

The EOS 6D does, however, seem much simpler to use at first blush than either the EOS 5D Mark III or its predecessor, the venerable EOS 5D Mark II. The 6D’s inclusion of Canon’s now-ubiquitous “Q” quick control menu and a physical mode dial chock full of automatic shooting modes should make novice shooters feel right at home. The “Q” menu, in particular, makes adjusting settings much easier, taking full advantage of the large 3-inch, 1.040 million-pixel display.

Next, lets have a look at a comparison by Digitalcamerainfo between the EOS 6D and Nikon’s D600. Both cams have a price tag of $2100, have similar specs and aim at the same target (customers). Are they so much different (beside the fact that the EOS 6D has built-in GPS and WiFi)?

On the Nikon side, the D600’s top plate is pulled almost directly from their top APS-C model, the D7000; the back control scheme, on the other hand, is largely based on their recently released full-frame body, the Nikon D800. On the Canon EOS 6D you can see bits and pieces that are clearly culled from the high-end APS-C EOS 7D, while the body’s silhouette is reminiscent of a smaller Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

Won’t anticipate more, since it is a well made article you should read. So if you want to learn about the little details that differentiate one camera from the other you where to go.

Canon’s EOS 6D can be preordered at the following shops:

Click here to open the rest of the article

[Deals] Ef 24-105 f/4L IS USM For $780, 5D Mark II Bundle $1999, And 5D Mark III For $3039

Three cool deals on eBay today. All in limited quantity, so they will be over soon. As usual, I list only reputable, top rated sellers. Let’s start with the EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM which can be yours for .

Next we have an EOS 5D Mark II bundled with a Pixma Pro 9000 Mark II Photo Printer for .

Finally, there is an EOS 5D Mark III body only offered for .

[Video] 5D Mark III Video Color Correction Using Adobe Lightroom

Cool little video by user RooiMus on Vimeo showing how to colour correct video footage (made with an EOS 5D Mark III) using Adobe Lightroom 4:

An experiment in using the power of Adobe Lightroom in colour correcting Canon 5D Mark III video: Exported original footage from Adobe After Effects as a .tiff sequence, which enables all Lightroom development tools. After colour correction, exported .tiff files as a slideshow video from Lightroom, with a user defined preset for 25 fps full HD.

EOS 5D Mark III price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA Adobe Lightroom 4 price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA