One 50 to rule them all

50mm is my favorite focal length. I once went nearly a year on a new system (fuji) with a single lens- the 35mm (50 equivilant). I love how the focal length takes great portraits yet is still wide enough for other uses.

I have been shooting Canon for 16 years, and only now do I think I finally have the perfect 50. The 50mm length for Canon EF has been a flawed collection- the EF 1.2L had severe focus issues and was soft. The 1.4 had poor build and focus issues. The 1.8 was probably the best of them- maybe not in a direct comparison but as far as getting what you pay for, it was the best. But of course the focus system was poor on that one. I've been using the Sigma Art 50mm 1.4 for some time. It's sharp and beautiful but has plenty of AF problems, and the colors were different than all my other Canon lenses. And of course, none of these were RF.

Those times are gone. The RF 50mm 1.2 is perfect in every way, as far as I'm concerned. Perfect weight, length and girth. Some will hate the size and weight, but I for one appreciate it. It is a substantial lens but weighted just right. The sharpness is unbelievable. The focus is fast, MFD is impressive. And most importantly of all, the color, contrast, and corrections on this lens are the best I've seen. I recently sold my Sigma to buy this lens, and lost considerable $$$ in doing so. But this thing is worth every penny.

I agree with you.

I never liked the EF 50/1.2 because of the terrible AF performance and lots of CA (Even though I loved my EF 85/1.2 - which was a tad better than any EF 50/1.2 I tried - though not great).

I had the EF 50/1.4 and used it sparingly.  Nice lens, hunted a bit with AF but great bargain lens.

But when I got my first R, the only RF lens I had for the first year was the RF 50/1.2 and that lens is just amazing.  AF speed, CA, colors and like you, I like the heft of the lens.  It is spectacular and I have probably shot more images with that lens in 2 years than I did with my EF 50/1.4 in 12 years.

I know the RF lenses are prohibitively expensive for many, but I will say my experiences with all of them, the 50, 85 and the holy trinity have been stellar.

I can’t seem to take the RF 50 off my camera for the moment.  I have several RF lenses but that RF50 is just plain gorgeous.  There are two other lenses that have piqued my interest but they are only a couple of transplants away.  The RF100-500 and the much less expensive 85f2.

I don’t know if I prefer the 85 or the 50 😅