[With Sample Photos] Small but Spicy Like a Sansho Pepper...? - Canon 50mm F2.2 L39

Hello everyone!

Today we are featuring a lens, not a camera. Our blog has mostly featured compact cameras lately, but from now on I plan to write more and more about lenses and cameras too! This time it is a lens for the Leica L39 mount that may not be very well known,

Canon 50mm F2.2, a lens with slightly odd specs, which I will introduce along with sample photos. You are not misreading it. It really is F2.2. Canon's 50mm L39 lenses come in six versions: F0.95, F1.2, F1.4, F1.8, F2.2 and F2.8, and among these, the F1.4 and F1.8 are probably the ones you see most often. Looking at it this way, they certainly split the specs finely. Here are samples from this lens, one of the more obscure ones in the lineup!

Even the shade spreading under the cherry tree is rendered properly. The light source should not have been that strong, so perhaps it records this much because the maximum aperture does not force the optics too hard. It seems it captures well once stopped down. Next, let's look at a photo taken close to wide open.

Perhaps because it was close to the minimum focusing distance and near wide open, the background looks a little busy. The plane of focus, however, is rendered firmly. The color is also free of quirks, and I get an impression of excellence.

Because this photo was taken from farther away than the previous one, the blur, including the foreground blur, is relatively free of quirks. Although the overcast sky was a light source that tends to lower contrast, the yellow of the rape blossoms is rendered vividly.

For an old lens, it has an easy-to-handle rendering and size. Yet it still has a distinctly characterful look, so if you find one, please pick it up and experience it for yourself.

-----------------------------------------------------------

If you are looking for used cameras and lenses, leave it to our store, Five Star Camera!

We carry a wide variety of gear, including film cameras, medium format film cameras, digital SLRs, mirrorless cameras and compact cameras.

We also buy cameras and lenses. Even if you just want to know what your gear is worth, an appraisal request is more than welcome!

At both our Shinjuku and Toyama stores you can check the actual items before you buy, and we inspect every item we purchase carefully, one by one. Please feel free to get in touch!