The special Canon focusing screens (optimized for fast lenses) certainly help in this regard.4

I have one of these marvelous lenses and am continually astounded/delighted by the "look" produced (these day IMHO much overused term bokeh) of the selectively and precisely focused subject and its' relationship to the 'out of focus' background, or foreground or whatever else is going on in the shot

I'm in the process of acquiring a full set of fast prime "L" lenses

the lenses have really disappointed me.

Great lense, love it!

This lense is amazing.

I broke three plastic 1.8 lenses before I bought this.

the bank.- Bokeh, contrast and color saturation from this lens are outstanding - far better than other Canon 50mm lenses.

Again, while not perfect in the labs at open apertures, it is oddly one of my favorite lenses and gives gorgeous photos.

It has made me prefer prime lenses over zooms.

It gives me an extra stop or stop and a half over any of my other fast lenses, which can make a difference in low light.

I already own the 50mm 1.8 and I have rented the 50mm 1.4 and they are both proper lenses

Definitely expensive, but if you like 50mm lenses I think it is the best-performing option for Canon users.

The lens loses edge sharpness on a full frame quicker than longer focal length, or slower aperture lenses.

I'm still rating it high because it's one of my favorite lenses.

Love this lenses

but I can tell you that this lens is one of the best lenses I've ever used.

Not sure what to say but this is by far one of my most favorite lenses that I have

They say that amateur photographers embark on an equipment journey...beginning with cheap starter lenses, then to "L" zooms and eventually all roads lead to the elite prime "L" lenses- the 35mm, the 50mm, 85mm, 135mm, etc,

I would recommend this lense to anyone!

That being said, I've had years of experience shooting with fast prime lenses (20mm f/2.8, 24

Both lenses are great and I would not feel cheated by either

I love this lense!!

all three lenses are very sharp above f/2 but the two cheaper lenses both have poor background blur rendering.

However, the sharpness is not as good as other Canon lenses from the more standard apertures of f/2.8 and narrower.

all three lenses are very sharp above f/2 but the two cheaper lenses both have poor background blur rendering.

Well worth the purchase and definitely one of my favorite lenses that has brought me from beginner to advanced photography.

Its not as bulky as some other lenses in its caliber, so it can be a little bit more 'incognito' when you don't want everyone to know you're walking around with $1500 worth of lens

But, it's not as expensive as having to go out and buy a new MK IV to compensate for the cheaper lenses

One of the best lenses I've ever used

this lense is a life saver for I love low light photography and this lense have what it takes to produced great low light photos

With the other 50mm primes I've owned, I never got filters for them...seemed overkill on cheaper lenses, but with the amount of moolah you fork over for this f/1.2 bad boy, you'll want to protect that forward element!

This is the softest L lens I own.

Plus I had my much better photographer friends telling me to go with a nice L zoom lens for the flexibile range.

Sean Reid [...]. rated this as the L lens worth its price tag

They say that amateur photographers embark on an equipment journey...beginning with cheap starter lenses, then to "L" zooms and eventually all roads lead to the elite prime "L" lenses- the 35mm, the 50mm, 85mm, 135mm, etc,

I'm in the process of acquiring a full set of fast prime "L" lenses

It seems to do exactly what it purports to do and then some...it really makes some truly lovely pictures (and yes all that wonderful L color and contrast is there too)

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

Chromatic abberation is rather harsh for an L-lens (even harsher than the 1.8 and 1.4 non-L lenses) and the vignetting on a full-frame sensor is kind of disappointing