50mm 1.2 help

butterfly.shel

butterfly.shel

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shellie
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Hi

I have just bought a 40D and a 50mm 1.2 lens i have been practicing but i fine it grainy and the image has loads of noise even if i keep the ISO at 100??

why??

i will upload some examples the settings were about

Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100

on image number 1105

IMG_1105.jpg
 
Don't think that is grainy, but just soft in places due to the very shallow D of F at max aperture making only a small part in sharp focus.

Repeat the shot several times and each time decrease the aperture by 1 stop and watch the pic improve.

I am sure that is a very capable lens.
 
That picture of the kid is seriously under-exposed, which is why it's noisy. But I notice that you set the exposure manually, so I think it's hard to blame the camera in this instance.

You might want to check out "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It's a great book for learning about correct exposure.
 
butterfly.shel said:
... but finding it quite hard to get a crisp image!
Click to expand...
Have you worked out how much depth of field you have at f/1.4? Approximately zero. I think the 50mm f/1.2L is about the worst lens imaginable for trying to take photos of kids, unless you nail them to the floor before you start shooting.
 
Is it a 1.4 or is the 1.2 a typo?

I have the 1.2 and it's an extreme lens in every way, so you can forget the casual approach to shooting. It's slightly sharper at 1.2 than the 1.4 is wide open, but focusing has to be absolutely spot on.

I'm not seeing any noise in your image, so I suspect focusing wasn't quite right. Try some wide open shots on static objects to put your mind at rest.
 
Lenses with huge extreme apertures rarely work by focusing and recomposing either...

As has been pointed out, the area of sharpness with these kind of lenses "wide open" is very minimal, so the camera and lens AF points have to be spot on..

I echo the book Stewart recommends...there should be a copy in your local library, if not get it reserved or buy it outright, which I eventually did, as it's always good to come back to it from time to time :)
 
StewartR said:
Have you worked out how much depth of field you have at f/1.4? Approximately zero. I think the 50mm f/1.2L is about the worst lens imaginable for trying to take photos of kids, unless you nail them to the floor before you start shooting.
Click to expand...

hahaha yes i'm finding that but i did take it outside too and got this

IMG_1092.jpg


this i think is deffo a focus issue!
 
Shel. How many AF points are you using? Try using just the centre one and make sure that the AF rectangle is on a place in the image with enough detail to function.

This is 1/50th at f1.2 400 ISO hand held which was pushing it a bit.

3533110055_2b067089d1_o.jpg
 
It may just be that you have it so wide, I have the 1.4 and I barely use it below f/2. It's super sharp from 2.8 up so I tend to use it at that :)
 
CT said:
Shel. How many AF points are you using? Try using just the centre one and make sure that the AF rectangle is on a place in the image with enough detail to function.

This is 1/50th at f1.2 400 ISO hand held which was pushing it a bit.

3533110055_2b067089d1_o.jpg
Click to expand...

It's a cracking lens, but your technique has to bang on when you use it wide open. It's a lens with a bit of a learning curve that comes with it. ;)
 
butterfly.shel said:
yep i'm using just center AF.

So i may need to lower my shutter speed and have a steady hand?
Click to expand...

Just check where the centre of the shot is and where that AF point would have been. It looks like it was on the background?

Don't lower the shutter speed - put your iSO up to around 400.
 
butterfly.shel said:
i normally focus on the eyes then move to full frame!
Click to expand...

You can't do that with this lens. When you lock focus on the eyes, just recomposing the image will throw the focus out - DOF is paper thin! If you want the subject off centre then select one of the other AF points.

I think you just need to get in some practice with the lens, but you did the right thing for dim interiors. :thumbs:
 
butterfly.shel said:
Thanks so much for you advice CT i will do all that i think the recomposing was my main fault, so i will try again and again and again LOL xx
Click to expand...


LOL. Good gal. It's a great lens, but it does have it's problems. Subjects with very high contrast can show pronounced chromatic abberation, not that it's likely to be an issue with your interiors.

The other thing is that when you use the lens wide open, it throws such a large image circle into the camera that it's clipped by the raised mirror which cuts one edge off those lovely round OOF highlights we all love. The effect lessens as you stop down and disappears at about f4.
 
butterfly.shel said:
but if i change the f/stop won't it get darker??
Click to expand...

butterfly.shel said:
i got the lens so i could take the leap into weddings...
Click to expand...

Isn't that a real contradiction? I don't think both comments belong in the same thread by the same poster... I'm not being mean, but I think weddings are a long way off, and there's a steep learning curve to go through first.
 
As the others have said, f/1.2 is very hard to work with. You would need your subject completely still and ideally be using a tripod, that is unless your subject is far away. If your subject is 5 meters away then f/1.4 should have an increased depth of field. The closer your subject is to the lens, the shallower your depth of field becomes, so you could certainly use it in a church for specific shots from a distance. For close up portraiture I would not go below f/2. May I also recommend using aperture priority mode rather than manual. Aperture priority mode works brilliantly for portraiture.
 
Another hand held shot at f1.2 which demonstrate show nicely this lens can lift your subject from the surroundings, even at a distance. This was at around 25-30 feet, so you can see how well this works for those church interiors where the presiding holy man wont let you get close to the action or use flash.

It also shows that flattened upper edge on those oof highlights at left of centre. Not too bad here, but the effect is more pronounced when the highlights are closer to the camera.

3610664684_c0e9ae7bbe_o.jpg
 
Well it's only really a snap. I'd only just got it and took it out with me to try it out, being an impatient git. :D The shot does have a movie -like feel though doesn't it?

Stonkin 'lens! ;)
 
I think she was having a bit of a bull and cow with her other half across the table. :D
 
Seems like it's a bit of a b****r at f1.2! The DoF on CT's shot is superb :thumbs:

I think I'd be inclined to swap it for a 1.4, quite a difference in price!
 
There's no point in buying a 1.2 unless you're going to use it wide open - at least now and again, and you can nail some great narrow DOF portraits.
 
CT, you have nailed focus perfectly in those shots, whats your keeper rate at F1.2?
 
CSB said:
CT, you have nailed focus perfectly in those shots, whats your keeper rate at F1.2?
Click to expand...

It's pretty good actually, once you get the hang of it, although inevitably you do get the odd bin job, usually due to a bit of a lax approach, you really need to concentrate when using it. The 80mm 1.2 is much the same - stunning when you get it right. Thank gawd for the preview screen. ;)
 
A lot of people reckon to use manual focus with this lens, but I always use AF and servo. (unless I want the subject off centre)
 
CT, that is a snap? Are you stalking that girl? It looks like you are shooting it over your friend's shoulder!
 
CT said:
LOL. Good gal. It's a great lens, but it does have it's problems. Subjects with very high contrast can show pronounced chromatic abberation, not that it's likely to be an issue with your interiors.

The other thing is that when you use the lens wide open, it throws such a large image circle into the camera that it's clipped by the raised mirror which cuts one edge off those lovely round OOF highlights we all love. The effect lessens as you stop down and disappears at about f4.
Click to expand...

That's an interesting comment. I've not seen that before, but the evidence is there in your other shot in post #27.

However, if it was the raised mirror, would that not clip the underside of the highlight circle? And you say it does not disappear until f/4. Just thinking out loud, but I can't equate that to any intrusion in the mirror box. Confused as to what's going on :thinking:
 
Put it on Av (aperture priority) and turn the dial until the f-number is at f/1.2 (the widest the lens can go). Take a picture. Adjust the dial until it's at f/1.4. Take a picture. Adjust the dial until it's at f/2. Take a picture.

You'll get the hang of DoF and understand it better. Also, it's best to manually adjust the focus so you can get it pin sharp on one subject and completely OOF on something else less than half a foot away.
 
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