Reason for discontinuation of Canon 1200mm

[steve_dunn2]

<p>I don't know if Canon gave an official reason for discontinuing the 50/1.0L USM, but really, it only existed so Canon could claim to have made a faster 50mm SLR lens than anyone else had. Compared to every other 50mm lens in Canon's lineup, it was huge, heavy, ridiculously expensive, very slow to focus, and optically inferior*. Sure, if you stop it down, it's pretty good; check the MTF charts for it at f/8 and you'll see it's a fine lens. It's probably fine at f/2.8, too (neither photodo nor Canon provides charts for it at apertures between f/1.0 and f/8 so I'm going based on photodo's blended ratings for intermediate apertures). But you could buy several copies of each of the other 50mm lenses for the same money, and they're also very good to excellent at these apertures, so what's the point of the f/1.0 lens?</p>

 

<p>*: I have a Canon L-series lens brochure from 1997 which explains how to read MTF charts, and also provides MTF charts for each lens. According to Canon's own description of how to read the charts, the 50/1.0L, wide open, is barely adequate, and only in the centre; towards the edges, it's nowhere near what they claim is adequate.</p>

[vincent_j_m]

Aaugghh ! ! After deciding I wanted a couple of those 1200 thingies for my next birthday, they go and discontinue it. Maybe I'll just buy out the damn company and start making them myself.

[christian deichert]

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