Canon FDn 50mm 1:1.2 vs 1:1.4 – comparison

Published by Tony on

Canon FDn 50mm 1:1.2 vs 1:1.4 lenses comparison

  • Canon New-FD 50mm 1:1.2
  • Canon New-FD 50mm 1:1.4

I hope that comparison with such a level of precision and details will be enough to fully answer the question about the advantages of these two lenses.

Tested lenses reviews


Canon FDn 50mm 1:1.2 vs 1:1.4 lenses comparison – sharpness

Long-distance test description

  • Camera Sony A7II (24mpx, full frame) – RAW (ARW), tripod, A-mode, ISO 100, WB fixed, SteadyShot OFF, manual focus correction for every shot
  • Targets (buildings) – fixed by gravity power on the distances in more than 200 meters
  • ARW post-processing – Capture One, default settings, 100% crops 300×200 px

Note: the bad weather is better for this test – low-light is required for wide-opened apertures to slow down the shutter speed.

Scene preview

Test results

Canon FDn 50mm 1:1.2 vs 1:1.4 lenses comparison - infinity


Short-distance test description

  • Target: 10-15 cm picture, printed on glossy photo paper
  • Distance: 1.7m
  • Camera: Sony A7II (24mpx, full-frame, tripod, remote control). M-mode, ISO fixed, WB fixed, SteadyShot – OFF.
  • The test was repeated for every F-stop on every focus position with manual focus adjustment for each shot. That is to avoid the effect of field curvature.
  • RAW processing: Capture One, default settings. All quality settings – 100%. Crops – 300×200 px

Original target image (printed in horizontal orientation on 10cm X 15cm glossy photo paper)

Scene preview

Test results

Canon FDn 50mm 1:1.2 vs 1:1.4 lenses comparison - close distance

Canon FDn 50mm 1:1.2 vs 1:1.4 lenses comparison – final conclusion

It was easy to select the winner between these two lenses from the sharpness point of view.

Long-distance:

  • Center – 50/1.2 not so good as 50/1.4 if wide opened, and became the same at F2.8
  • Middle – 50/1.2 not so good as 50/1.4 if wide opened, but (!) became better after F4
  • Corner – 50/1.2 not so good as 50/1.4 if wide opened, and became the same at F5.6

Close distance:

  • Center – 50/1.2 not so good as 50/1.4 if wide opened, and became the same at F2.8
  • Middle – 50/1.2 not so good as 50/1.4 if wide opened, but (!) became better after F4
  • Corner – 50/1.2 not so good as 50/1.4 if wide opened, and became the same at F5.6

As a result: the behavior of these both lenses doesn’t depend on distances. Canon New FD 50mm F1.4 is much better up to F2.8-F4. On closed apertures, Canon New FD 50mm F1.2 has a very slight advantage in the middle, but it can’t compensate the loosing on wide-open apertures. Canon FDn 50/1.4 – has won.

 


1 Comment

CuffLyu · 2019-11-17 at 08:31

Great review!
I bought a FDn 50 1.4 last night, and I’m very statisfied with its optical quality.

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