CANON S 50mm F1.2(L39)

Review and photo examples of the CANON S 50mm F1.2(L39).

Photo example

The sample photo were taken with the LEICA M8.2

Review

The 50mm F1.2 is a standard L39 screw mount lens released by Canon for its Barnack Leica compatible cameras. Canon calls it S mount.

This 50mm F1.2 has almost the same configuration as the 50mm F0.95 that will be released later, and is more compact than the F0.95 due to the lens’ darker aperture. Still, it’s about twice as heavy as the 50mm F1.4, so this lens is also a heavyweight lens.

When I was using it with the Leica M8.2, the lens barrel went into the viewfinder and got in the way when taking pictures. In the 2020s, many users will likely use this lens with mirrorless cameras, and the above-mentioned problem will be resolved when shooting with an EVF.

The lens barrel has an infinity lock, but the focus ring on the model I owned was moderately heavy, so it didn’t change its position naturally even without the lock. Therefore, in practical terms, this lock is of little use, but the clicking sound when returned to infinity was a nice accent to the lens. However, it was a pain to have to unlock the focus ring each time I moved it.

When the aperture is wide open, the lens has a thin focus surface, so if you open it up a little, the poor depiction becomes noticeable, and the blur in the front and back isn’t as beautiful.

Of course, if you stop down, the depiction will improve, but if you want to use it with the lens stopped down, you should use 50mm F1.4 or 50mm F2, so if you’re going to take this lens out with you, you’ll want to actively use the widest aperture. Shooting with a rangefinder camera can be a bit of a pain, but fortunately with the EVF of a mirrorless camera, you don’t have to worry about focusing, so you can play with confidence.

In the lens configuration diagram published in Leica Lenses of the World Part 1 P124, the lens at the rear is the largest in diameter, similar to Nikon’s 35mm F1.8. This seems to be an error in posting the lens configuration diagram. The diagram on the A list of vintage super-fast 50-60mm f/1.2 lenses page is considered to be a reasonable diagram, as the rear group lens is smaller than the front group lens.

Specification

Items	CANON	MS-ISM	NOKTON	KONICA M
Focal length(mm)	50	←	←	←
Max aperture	1.2	1.1	1.1	1.2
Min aperture	22	16	16	16
Leaf blade	11	16	10	12
Lens Construction	7elements in 5groups	←	7elements in 6groups	←
Min distance(m)	1.0	0.8	1.0	0.9
Lens length(mm)	39	41	57.2	50
Max diameter(mm)	63	54.7	69.6	68.8
Filter Size(mm)	55	55	58	62
Weight(g)	322	178	428	390
Lens mount	L39	M	VM	KM
Release date	1956.09	2019.08	2009.6.29	2001
Price(Yen/No-tax)	¥60,000-	–	¥131,250-	–

Reference links

Canon Museum 50mm F1.2
Leica lenses from around the world Part 1 (P124)/CANON 50mm F1.2・amazon affiliate link
A list of vintage super-fast 50-60mm f/1.2 lenses

Update history

2024.05.28

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