Rate your favorite lenses (f/1.2 and faster)

cyberjunkie

For many years I have mostly used a Pentax K-1 full frame, so my choice of super fast vintage lenses was limited.
Of the three f/1.2 lenses in PK mount I used on the K-1, the worst was the Porst/Cosina 1.2/55mm. The SMC Pentax 1.2/50mm was much better, but my favorite was the Revuenon/Tomioka 1.2/55mm, cause the bokeh is even smoother and has much less LoCA.
Recently I finally decided to buy a Sony A7II. The IQ is nowhere near the Pentax, but it has two advantages over the K-1: it's smaller and lighter, and can use any possible mount made for 35mm SLR and rangefinder cameras.
I love to shoot off-center subjects, I love low light photography, and I care very much for bokeh. Owning a Sony Alpha opens the gate to a whole lot of new opportunities, both vintage and new Chinese-made MF lenses.
Before asking about your own favorite fifties I add two more info. 1) I bought for a good price a NOS Techart Pro AF adapter (the wobbly one, but I am taking good care to avoid heavy lenses), so Leica M and M39 are also welcome. 2) I also bought a Porst 1.2/50mm (I.E. X-Fujinon EBC 1.2/50mm in old Fujica bayonet mount), but I had no time to try it cause the adapter did't arrive before I had to leave. I am curious to know how it compares to the fast fifties I have already used.

Given the scenario I already described, which super fast fifties would you choose?
Would you go for a manual focus f/1.1 (or faster) Chinese lens in FE or LM mount, or still go vintage? The comparison makes more sense if we consider similarly priced lenses. For example a brand new (2023 release) Mr. Ding f/1.1 50mm goes for way less than 300 USD where I am living...

Regarding vintage lenses, I would appreciate a lot if the answers give indications about WHY (bokeh, sharpness, control of aberrations, etc) and not just WHAT. A simple list of names would not be as useful.

Cheers
Paolo

DrBB · Joined: 26 Mar 2014 Posts: 101 Location: Croatia

I have only one lens faster than 1.6 - Schneider Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f0.95. I rarely use it but when I do it's for night urban photography and i really like cyberpunk-ish vibe it's producing.

D1N0 · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 2530

Minolta Rokkor 58mm 1.2 is an obvious one, Konica Hexanon 57mm 1.2 also. The Canon 50mm F/0.95 dream lens (range finder)

calvin83 · Joined: 12 Apr 2009 Posts: 7555 Location: Hong Kong

I only have one full frame f/1.2 at the moment. I think it is not a bad lens but not up to the same level as my Contarex 55/1.4.
http://forum.mflenses.com/tomioka-yashinon-auto-55mm-f1-2-on-a7r-ii-t78610.html

The Minolta MD 50/1.2 is decent on A7. It is better than the tomioka.

Looking for sharpness and control of aberrations on vintage f/1.2 or faster lenses may not be the best idea. Modern lenses with new optical glasses and aspherical element will beat vintage lenses easily.

y · Joined: 11 Aug 2013 Posts: 305 Location: EU

In my opinion Mr. Ding E-mount is the way to go. It is a brand new lens with nice build quality and bokeh performance too. The only drawback are extreme corners at infinity - the lens is not really meant for landscapes.

I've been using my early version (s.n. E000x) extensively since March 2022. The cost was ~$300 including postage & EU tax.

caspert79 · Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Posts: 3133 Location: The Netherlands

Donâ€™t have a f/1.2 at the moment, but Iâ€™ve had the following lenses:

- Hexanon 57/1.2
- Rokkor 58/1.2
- Porst 55/1.2

I like the Hexanon most, because itâ€™s decently sharp wide open and has a MFD of 45cm. Bokeh wide open is quite wild, but kinda cool.

The Rokkor is a good lens, but has a MFD of 60cm, which is a drawback IMO, because it limits the creative possibilities somewhat (I prefer a f/1.4 lens with shorter MFD.

The Porst I used in aps-c size sensor, so I can not really compare. I believe it was quite soft at f/1.2, but Iâ€™ve seen some stunning work from a photographer made with this lens.

kypfer · Joined: 27 Sep 2017 Posts: 523 Location: Jersey C.I.

The only f/1.2 lens I've ever owned was an EBC Fujinon 50mm in Fujica AX mount.
It became disused when my Fujica system was retired in favour of Pentax and eventually sold to an enthusiast in Japan for around 10x what it cost me Smile

What always impressed me, bearing in mind I was using an optical viewfinder on a film camera, was that in low light I could often see detail through the viewfinder that was invisible to the naked eye, such was the light-gathering properties of the lens.
As for performance ... I only ever used it in low light situations, almost invariably with fast film, so the true optical capabilities were probably never really appreciated.

simple.joy · Joined: 30 May 2022 Posts: 587

I've not used many lenses as fast as f/1.2 or faster and I'm personally also way more drawn to experimental lenses than regular taking ones... so take my rating with a grain of salt:

JML 56 mm f/1.2 (it is said to be made for the same application/with similar specs than the CRT-Nikkor: https://redbook-jp.com/redbook-e/record2/crt.html)
It does not cover full frame at infinity, but I guess it was made for close-up work anyway, so that's where it is a lot of fun:

Defying the bleakness by simple.joy, on Flickr

Way into fall transitions by simple.joy, on Flickr

Over riding by simple.joy, on Flickr

JML Optical 64 mm f/0.85
This lens is heavy, cumbersome to adapt and limited in its possible magnification. It still is very interesting to me personally, because it allows for some awesome and unique experiments:

Nail-in focus? by simple.joy, auf Flickr

Always try to keep it drill! by simple.joy, auf Flickr

Closer to the essence still... by simple.joy, auf Flickr

Predates us by simple.joy, auf Flickr

Tomioka Cosinon Auto 55 mm f/1.2
I was initially disappointed by its wide-open performance... after some time I realized that my reference for wide-open sharpness (the Sigma Art 35 and 50 mm f/1.4) were not really a fair comparison. When I looked at some shots later I didn't think it was bad at all. Just way more glow than a modern lens shows and a significant amount of CAs wide open. It can be distracting (the rendering of this lens is generally not everyone's taste) but I think it is a capable lens overall.

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BrianSVP · Joined: 09 Jun 2023 Posts: 335 Location: Philadelphia

I'm going to buck conventional wisdom and say that the Minolta MD 50 f/1.2 IMO actually produces better images for most use cases than the MC 58mm f/1.2, although the jump right from 1.2 to f/2 on the aperture ring is kind of a bummer. The 58 is still quite a nice lens, though.

The Canon FL 55/58mm f/1.2 is very underrated with great rendering, and the Pentax K and A 50mms (identical optically) are nice all-arounders. The Porst/Yashica is IMO massively overrated and has some of the worst CAs I've ever seen in a standard length prime.

BrianSVP · Joined: 09 Jun 2023 Posts: 335 Location: Philadelphia

RokkorDoctor · Expire: 2025-05-01

alex_d · Joined: 19 Jan 2019 Posts: 377

simple.joy is able to justify such an aperture with his consistent photography and his niche

simple.joy · Joined: 30 May 2022 Posts: 587

KEO · Joined: 27 Sep 2018 Posts: 772 Location: USA

I only have one full frame lens that fast, the ZY Optics 85mm Speedmaster 1.2.

It's a fantastic lens, sharp across the frame wide open (even though the focal plane at 1.2 is razor thin) with excellent soft bokeh.

Possible negatives include the weight, which is considerable (a bit lighter than the notoriously heavy Helios-40-2), and a minimum focus distance of 1m. Neither of those are a big problem for me, but they might be for others.

I like mine enough I picked up another in GFX mount, and I use it quite often.

sergun · Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2023 7:14 pm Post subject:

I only had canon fl 55/1.2. I would say it's all quite specific. Pretty much non-contrasting, bokeh for an amateur. When you start looking for some portraits, it turns out that in most cases you can find some flowers on MDF on old high-power lenses.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iPjx9tBmMa9jMHZVA

p/s
translator what the hell did you write : )

D1N0 · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 2530

Flowers on medium density fibre board Wink

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 3930 Location: Switzerland

My experience with f1.2 lenses at f1.2 is very limited, but I own a few vintage f1.2 lenses and might contribute some comparing images if that's interesting.

Canon FL 1.2/58mm
Canon FD 1.2/55mm
Canon nFD 1.2/50mm L
Canon nFD 1.2/85mm L
Minolta MC-II 1.2/58mm
Minolta MC-X 1.2/58mm
Minolta MD-II 1.2/50mm
Minolta MD-III 1.2/50mm
Nikkor S. C. Auto 1.2/55mm
Nikkor Ai 1.2/55mm

I also know people who own the Olympus Zuiko OM 1.2/55mm and the Konica Hexanon AR 1.2/57mm.

Let me know what kind of comparison you wish.

S

simple.joy · Joined: 30 May 2022 Posts: 587

visualopsins · Expire: 2025-04-11

Please include wide-open starfield examples!

kiddo · Joined: 29 Jun 2018 Posts: 1221

Never had a 1.2 lens ,but I was tempted to get one.
If I'm correct, the 55mm 1.2 has close DOF with 58mm 1.4 so, for someone looking for a thin DOF I'm not sure 50mm would be the right choice (maybe dream lens?). Probably best choice would be a fast 58mm 1.2 ,Minolta I like a lot but ain't easy to find it for a good price , meantime I'm happy with Topcor 58mm 1.4
I'm sure ,more experienced people would explain better the benefits at least regarding the bokeh on so fast lenses.
The Canon asph should be nice to see on some test against other fast Lenses.

BrianSVP · Joined: 09 Jun 2023 Posts: 335 Location: Philadelphia

Here's a recent low light kid portrait I shot using the Canon FL 55mm/1.2. Ever so slightly front focused, so the eyes are a bit soft, but the sharpness on the eyelashes/eyebrows is outstanding. For shallow-DOF portratiure, it may be my favorite vintage lens.

caspert79 · Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Posts: 3133 Location: The Netherlands

sergun · Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2023 7:45 am Post subject:

caspert79 · Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Posts: 3133 Location: The Netherlands

stevemark · Joined: 29 Apr 2011 Posts: 3930 Location: Switzerland