Re: bokeh. It's typical that 'characterful' bokeh lenses calm down a stop or two down from wide open. I'm a fan of the 50mm Sonnar design, which can be pretty wild looking wide open, but mellows nicely slightly stopped down. The love/hate EF 50/1.2L was somewhat similar and I preferred using it in the f/2.0-2.5 range, so it does not surprise me that this is the case with the 45/1.2.
An advantage of this quality is that you can tune the look of the bokeh to match your preferences for a given photo.
Yep - really reminds you of a faster EF 50/1.4 USM, in my opinion. Personally I find that rather attractive since that makes it a pretty versatile tool, which is what I'd be looking for in such a lens.
GabrielPhoto wrote:
Can you do the same with foliage or similar backdrop that usually gets very nervous at 1.2 with that 45mm lens?
I want to see how soon it starts getting smoother like is it at 1.8m or even earlier?
Thanks!
Tried to get my son to stand still, but was not overly successful. Close enough though, I think. Lens corrections off.
?s=eyJpIjo1NDk3MDg2NzAxMywiZSI6MTc2NTI2NzUwNiwicyI6ImY5YTY5YjU1MmM0MTdkMjUxMjNjMjVmYzhhNjJkMTc0Yzg2ZmQ2OTEiLCJ2IjoxfQ">Canon 45mm F1.2 RF by Dmitry Brodsky, on Flickr
?s=eyJpIjo1NDk3MDg2NjYwOCwiZSI6MTc2NTI2ODE1MSwicyI6ImZhNmI0NWYzOTYzNzJlOTkzOTM4NzgwZTg4NDEzZGM3MzUzYmU2M2QiLCJ2IjoxfQ">Canon 45RF 1.2 by Dmitry Brodsky, on Flickr
?s=eyJpIjo1NDk3MDk0NDgzOSwiZSI6MTc2NTI2ODE4NywicyI6IjQ0MWRhZmY0NWUwMDcwNzQxZDcwYjA3NzkxNTBkZDQ0MmJlZjEzMDkiLCJ2IjoxfQ">New Canon RF45mm 1.2 by Dmitry Brodsky, on Flickr
Not that sharpest tool in the shed (starts getting good except the corners around 1.8), decent amount of LoCA in tough scenarios, and bokeh can get textured. All that said, what I like about this lens is I can take it with me on my food photography shoots along with the RF 24mm f/1.8, 35mm f/1.8, and 85mm f/2 macro lenses without breaking my back and have something between 35 and 85 which is really nice for shooting drinks and interiors. Keep in mind I own the 50mm f/1.2, but it would require taking a larger bag. Here are some examples below. In some cases I have done corrections for LoCA or tamed the bokeh a bit.
Hey all, just circling back here to share that I ended up returning my RF 45mm f/1.2 STM in favor of the RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM, which I was able to snag from Canon's holiday refurb sale at $300 off list. (Not as good as the Black Friday price--which I missed--but still compelling.)
This shouldn't take anything away from the 45mm STM, though. I still feel it is a great value and a better than expected performer at its price point.
I think I favor the slightly longer focal length of the 50, and I can afford the step up in price. But I could happily have continued with the 45 STM if my situation were different.
garyvot wrote:
Hey all, just circling back here to share that I ended up returning my RF 45mm f/1.2 STM in favor of the RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM, which I was able to snag from Canon's holiday refurb sale at $300 off list. (Not as good as the Black Friday price--which I missed--but still compelling.)
This shouldn't take anything away from the 45mm STM, though. I still feel it is a great value and a better than expected performer at its price point.
I think I favor the slightly longer focal length of the 50, and I can afford the step up in price. But I could happily have continued with the 45 STM if my situation were different.
Hope you all enjoy the new lens!
Edit: Dmitry, those portraits are excellent!...Show more →
Thanks! 50 1.2 and 1.4 are clearly better sharper and more contrasty lenses. 45 is an inexpensive and light (in weight) way to shoot at F1.2 natively on R mount, The problem is we all have been spoiled by a decade of stellar mirrorless lenses coming from pretty much all manufacturers, so anything that is not on par with what we are used to these days looks unusual
absolutic wrote:
50 1.2 and 1.4 are clearly better sharper and more contrasty lenses. 45 is an inexpensive and light (in weight) way to shoot at F1.2 natively on R mount, The problem is we all have been spoiled by a decade of stellar mirrorless lenses coming from pretty much all manufacturers, so anything that is not on par with what we are used to these days looks unusual
This is also a lens for those new to photography without experience with lenses from 15, 25+ years ago when shooting wide open was not already the sharpest optical performance, unlike the minor optical miracle performed by most current fast lenses.
Regarding your excellent restaurant photos: what is the strange banding-like effect in some of the background bokeh of the drinks photos? I thought maybe too fast a shutter speed causing LED banding in those lights, but EXIF indicates 1/30 second for the one image I checked... and it should be rotated 90 degrees for a vertical photo...
rscheffler wrote:
This is also a lens for those new to photography without experience with lenses from 15, 25+ years ago when shooting wide open was not already the sharpest optical performance, unlike the minor optical miracle performed by most current fast lenses.
Regarding your excellent restaurant photos: what is the strange banding-like effect in some of the background bokeh of the drinks photos? I thought maybe too fast a shutter speed causing LED banding in those lights, but EXIF indicates 1/30 second for the one image I checked... and it should be rotated 90 degrees for a vertical photo...
I was not the one who posted the restaurant photos (I did the wife at the pool photos above). Back to your comment about 25+ year old lenses, I sure remember using these. I remember Nikkor 50 1.2 Ais, that lens was so soft at F1.2 it was cartoonish, but used it no problems and called it a ‘character’ lens. Comparing it to Sony 50 1.2 GM lens I had few years ago that Sony lens was a pure perfection. I have not tried the new Canon RF 50 1.2 and 1.4 but I owned Canon 85 RF 1.2 and that lens had no flaws, so I assume 50 1.2 and 1.4 are just as great.
rscheffler wrote:
This is also a lens for those new to photography without experience with lenses from 15, 25+ years ago when shooting wide open was not already the sharpest optical performance, unlike the minor optical miracle performed by most current fast lenses.
Regarding your excellent restaurant photos: what is the strange banding-like effect in some of the background bokeh of the drinks photos? I thought maybe too fast a shutter speed causing LED banding in those lights, but EXIF indicates 1/30 second for the one image I checked... and it should be rotated 90 degrees for a vertical photo...
First of all, thank you. I don't think the lines are banding as I used the mechanical shutter and they don't appear across the image. It's possible there was some obstruction between me and those particular lights at the top, maybe a ceiling fan? Either way, not related to the lens.
FYI, I just got an update from Adobe, and it looks like they have added profile corrections to both ACR and Lightroom for the RF 45mm f/1.2 STM. The relevant build numbers are ACR 18.1.1 and LrC 15.1.
I was using DPP when testing this lens, but this update means it is now a first-class citizen in Adobe software.
garyvot wrote:
FYI, I just got an update from Adobe, and it looks like they have added profile corrections to both ACR and Lightroom for the RF 45mm f/1.2 STM. The relevant build numbers are ACR 18.1.1 and LrC 15.1.
I was using DPP when testing this lens, but this update means it is now a first-class citizen in Adobe software.
So, somehow an update Adobe pushed out right before DPReview put their samples up (including raw files) hit, and I was able to apply corrections in Lightroom Classic. At the same time, I had several people state that they had no such update, and had no corrections available.
johnctharp wrote:
So, somehow an update Adobe pushed out right before DPReview put their samples up (including raw files) hit, and I was able to apply corrections in Lightroom Classic. At the same time, I had several people state that they had no such update, and had no corrections available.
Weird.
Same on my end. No LRC update, but was immediately able to apply the profile when I received the lens.
Same thing with the EF 50/1.2L (and other lenses through the years); achieving the 'look' of these lenses means leaving certain aberrations uncorrected, and that results in the focus 'shifting' when stopping down.
Christopher Frost also notes that Canon has engineered a function that deals with this, and this is what is 'missing' on older cameras.
