Dan Kerin

 canon 50mm F/0.95

The Canon 50mm f0.95 lens was designed for the Canon 7 rangefinder camera back in 1961, and is often referred to as the ‘dream lens’ for its unique characteristics. At the time of release it had the largest aperture of any mass-produced lens. at f0.95. This made the lens four times faster than the human eye allowing the resulting images to have a very distinct dream like look. Being designed for the Canon 7 rangefinder system the lens had a special 3-lug bayonet system, meaning without being modified it can only be used on this camera. Having seven elements in five groups this is quite simple design for such a fast lens and this does have its drawbacks that I will cover below. That being said it is a gauss design using two uncemented lens elements to try and best correct aberrations which can be a common defect when working with such large aperture lenses.

Thankfully these lenses can be converted to the Leica M system allowing them to show their full potential. Mounted to the camera this lens is a beast. It’s probably more sensible to say the camera is mounted to the lens! Having a huge 72mm diameter you do need to be mindful when setting the camera on a flat surface as it will be the first point of contact. While it has a very large diameter it is only 48mm long, making it a very squat lens. This is very appealing as it makes it quite compact for such a fast lens. In contrast the Leica 50mm f0.95 Noctilux is 79mm long. The lens also has a very long focus throw which means focusing accurately at f0.95 is actually easier than you might think but is not designed for fast paced work.

When mounted to the camera you sure do feel the weight. More often than not I would choose to hold the camera by the lens in my hand as opposed to hanging it around my neck as I usually do. I also found myself shooting very differently with this lens due to its size and weight. Whereas other lenses I would usually find a subject then focus, with this lens unless the subject was stationary, I would focus on an interesting point/ composition then I would wait for a subject to walk into the frame. I know many people photograph like this anyway but with the long focus throw on this lens I found it rather difficult to focus on moving subjects.

Wide open this is not a sharp lens by any stretch of the imagination and shooting at f0.95 can sometimes be a challenge within itself. This combined with the lenses overall soft characteristics means shots wide open will lack sharpness but that is just how this lens renders. Remember this was at a time when film speeds were still relatively slow and being able to capture an image regardless of sharpness was sometimes more important. I was quite shocked at just how much of a challenge this lens was to use. I had previously owned the Canon 50mm f1.2 which I was able to consistently get good results wide open but my hit rate and speed when using this lens was noticeably lower. I did shoot this camera both with a Leica M3 and Leica M6 thinking the more accurate rangefinder on the M3 would make a difference but while the M3’s rangefinder is great for the 50mm focal length I didn’t see a huge benefit to using it over the M6 as I initially thought I would. I think this is mainly down to Canon really pushing the limits of their technology at the time to achieve an f0.95 lens. The size and weight of this lens also makes it quite challenging to use on an M camera. Remember Leica’s first fast 50mm Noctilux was an f1.2 and they only managed f0.95 in 2008.

This was a lens I have always wanted to use and at times have looked into buying for my personal collection. I don’t think that will be the case anymore. I can surely see the perks of having a super-fast 50mm but for my style of shooting, having a smaller lighter setup is more important and this doesn’t fit the bill. While it is smaller than other fast 50’s like the Noctilux it makes the camera very unbalanced due to the weight and you are constantly reminded of its presence. If you are prepared to put up with the size and weight of this lens then it will defiantly yield some unique images. If you have not shot super fast 50’s before I would try the Canon 50mm f1.2 first as this will allow you to see if you like the look before investing a lot of money into a one trick pony lens such as the Canon 50mm f0.95. The other option if you are desperate for that iconic subject isolation would be to opt for the sharper and newer Leica 50mm f0.95 Noctilux but this will come at a higher price point.