[Leica] Canon f1.2

[LRZeitlin@aol.com]

Richard asks:

<<Yes, one of the perpetual comparison question. Which one is "best" wide 
open at 1.4, and how soft is the Canon at 1.2?

Looks like there's a Nikkor 1.4 and a Canon 1.2 for sale right now, I am 
somewhat tempted...>>.


Most users (me included) have a love/hate relationship with the Canon 50mm 
F1.2. This mammoth sized optic has a screw mount but the lens is so wide that it 
is visible in the view finder of the camera. A 50 mm adapter is required to 
select the proper frame. It is soft at full aperture, but sharpens up nicely at 
F4. At apertures smaller than F4 it is not quite as good as the early F2 
Summicrons but better than the 50mm Elmar. At F1.2 it gives a mysterious quality 
to the image, a sharp core with a soft halo. In short, it is a bokeh lover's 
delight. It takes very flattering low light portraits and makes an excellent 
natural light wedding lens since everyone looks beautiful. Available light 
photos, for which this lens was intended tend to be very contrasty and the full 
opening softness is suitable. It is a BIG hunk of glass to hang on your camera and 
it is impressive as hell mounted on an M3. The M2, M4, and .72 viewfinder M6 
have marginal RF equivalent baseline to critically focus this lens at short 
distances (under 2 meters) but it can be done if you are careful. The lens works 
well on screwmount Leicas, however. For a while these lenses were cheap, in 
the $200 range but the prices seem to be climbing. I wholeheartedly recommend 
the Canon F1.2 as a specialty lens which merges the capabilities of the 
Noctilux and the Thambar.

Larry Z
- --
To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html