Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM

I've owned this lens for four+ years now and used it on two bodies and it's remained my favorite.My other lenses:-Rokinon 14mm f/2.8-Canon 16-35mm f/2.8-Canon 24mm f/1.4-Canon 70-200 IS f/4.0-Canon 100mm IS f/2.8 macro-Canon 400mm f/5.6Because you will be wanting to shoot at f/1.2 a lot, I suggest buying an ND filter (think of it like sunglasses for your lens), which will let you open up to f/1.2 to get your nice bokeh, which after all came at a high price, so you want to use/abuse it when you can. If you don't shoot with a ND filter, for instance, your camera will complain that its shutter speed isn't fast enough. There's just too much damned light in the scene. Now, that's usually a good thing with cameras, but not when you want to shoot wide open at f/1.2 in broad daylight.Advantages:-bokehlicious-very fast lens, even in near-dark conditions. Bloody great, and corny as it sounds, it puts a smile on my face (almost) every time I'm in difficult lighting conditions.-great big aperture for astrophotography, though the focal length is a bit weird for that application (not too telephoto for closeups, not wide enough for big Milky Way shots)-low profile, not big enough to attract much attention. One of the reasons this is my favorite.-USM ultrasonic motor (also on f/1.4 version). My biggest gripe with the f/1.8, other than the gorgeous shots it was capable of achieving, was the noisy autofocus. That doesn't work well if you're trying to photograph animals or trying to remain inconspicuous. An upgrade to the f/1.4 or this f/1.2 model will fix that, since you'll get the fast and quiet USM focus.Disadvantages:-heavy. This is definitely heavier than my 70-200 f/4.0 and 100mm f/2.8 macro-expensive. 16x more expensive than the f/1.8 I upgraded from, but I've never once regretted it.-not paired well with some cameras, though this is more of a gripe with the camera and not the lens. Open wide at f/1.2 on my older Canon 7D, I had focusing issues which required me to guesstimate microadjustments I had to select in the settings of the camera (based upon the distance between the camera and the subject). This was especially difficult with off-center focus points, which seemed more touchy. I got pretty good at guesstimating the microadjustments needed for each shot, but when I changed distance between me and my subject I had to reset it again, which was annoying. All of these problems went away when I moved to the Canon 5D Mark III, where a greater percentage of my shots now come out in-focus, even off-center focus points. That being said, most of my favorite shots that DID come out well with my Canon 7D are gorgeous - it was just much more difficult to achieve.-because you paid more, you will want to justify your purchase by always shooting at f/1.2. Don't do that. For instance, this lens is great for food photography, but you'll want to go to around f/2.8 for that usually. On the plus side, the f/2.8 on this lens will be sharper than on the cheaper models.-lots of shots end up out of focus full open at f/1.2, at least on the Canon 7D. I have had a MUCH better success rate with the Canon 5D Mark III. Also, a quick tip for portraits: focus on the person's eyes, not their nose. Select your autofocus points. At f/1.2 it matters a lot.

Oh, boy, where do i start. I had a Sigma 50mm 1.4, two tamron sp 35mm and 85mm 1.8, all made for high megapixel wars, but none, no other lens besides the 85mm 1.2 L lens will give u the rendering, the bokeh, the 3d look, the beautiful L lens colors, transition from bokeh to sharpness, the amount of light u can capture with this lens, its superb. Might not be as sharp wide open, but still makes images look nicer, a special feel, than any lens i owned. Autofocus, spot on, even though i bought used (with L lenses, im sure u heard this before, ur not paying extra for the red ring, but for the built quality, reliability, long term ownership). I had a zeiss, nice colors, rendition, but no Canon L lens. I tried to switch to sony, nikon, because of supposedly better sensors (how much dynamic range do u really need?), features (would love to have a sony sensor, 5 axis image stabilization, and hybrid ovf with focus assists such as peaking, zoom), but these two lenses held me back. The 50mm and 85mm 1.2 lenses. When shooting wide open, they create magic, storybook like pictures. Canon sensor, canon L glass, best images i have seen so far (my photography mentor is an avid nikon fan). Dont hesitate, pull thr trigger, i did, and besides paying more than i personally budgeted, do not regret it. No other lens will give u the weather sealing, the ability to capture this much light (F1.2!!!), offer such beautiful pictures WITH AUTOFOCUS. I can manually focus, getting the precision screen soon for my 6D, but autofocus allows you to shoot immediately, capture moments u simply cannot with manual lenses, no matter how good u are. Nobody has autofocus lenses that capture so much light? Nikon? Niet. Sony? I wish. The rest are not in the same league. Pentax K-1 is an amazing body/ sensor, but in dier need of good glass. I highly recommend the 50mm 1.2 L lens to anybody, if i need to take just one lens with me, its this one!