This is a really beautiful piece of kit. I read the reviews here and on the various web fora and was obviously worried about the oft mentioned "back focusing" issue, but went ahead and bought one back in October 2009.

As to be expected from a Canon L grade lens the EF 50mm f/1.2 USM L has an exceptional build quality thanks to a tightly assembled combination of high quality plastics and metal parts. A sealing against dust and humidity as well as the the very smooth focus ring completes this positive impression.

Wow All this stuff about cameras and lenses needs some clarification, and here is why. I use this 1.2 prime with a Canon 7D camera. I get great results. If you set your focus to manually choose placement/ auto, you can do some cool stuff, like have three people in a row, and focus on one- the one...

Speed low light performance and beautiful colors

heavy and pricey

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM ($1,619 direct) is one of only two f/1.2 lenses available for the Canon EOS camera system, the other being the EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM, which is best suited for portraiture.

Expensive; Large and heavy; A little soft at maximum aperture.

I absolutely love this lens. Crisp, vivid photos every time. Use it mostly for portraits and it hardly ever comes off my camera body! The small details in the shot are beautiful and the images are again vivid and sharp and clean!

Outstanding 50mm Lens! It's a little heavy, a bit bigger than most other 50mm Primes... but photographic quality is absolutely superb! My guess is that the size and weight are a direct result of top quality glass and components; I haven't found a situation which this lens has struggled at.

I used to work 50 mm - it is very convenient. I like the artistry and sharp picture on the f1.2. Background - water color, sharpness - the schedule. minus - pulling edges.

It's bokeh and overall quality is magical. It is not comparable to the 1.4 as it has more depth and a different look. People constantly try to compare, but this is a different beast!

Durable; Nice Bokeh; Strong Construction

Heavy; Slow Focus

This is a high-quality lens that definitely deserves the "L" series designation from Canon. Extremely sharp, amazing color, and beautiful bokeh. The only issue I had was that the auto focus was slow and would hunt a lot.

Superior image quality; beautiful bokeh

Slow auto focus; price

There's no getting away from it.... A 50mm lens is a necessary tool. A standard "Normal" lens for many years, it is great for those times when you don't need the capabilities (and weight) of a zoom lens. This lens is ultra-fast and ultra-sharp! I've been wanting this lens for a very long time.