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The Four Ultra Fast Aperture Lenses We’re Absolutely in Love With

Chris Gampat
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12/23/2019
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer 7Artisans 50mm f1.1 lens review portraits of Amy 18

If you’re all about great bokeh, these lenses are going to do a great job giving you beautiful photos.

Photographers start out typically loving and adoring the bokeh fast aperture lenses provide. But, that wears away quickly when you’re trying to become a better photographer. Then, after a while, sometimes it comes back again. Depth of field is an effective tool for storytelling, but it also helps develop a specific look in a photographer’s images: if you’re using a full-frame camera, some would say that it’s a medium format look. But otherwise, it’s overall just a special dash of magic dust that makes your images sparkle. When combined with effective lighting and color usage in the scene, the photos can look special. In the hands of a skilled photographer, these lenses can deliver unique photos. So, we went into our reviews index to find some of our favorite fast aperture lenses.

Canon RF 50mm F1.2 L USM

In our review, we state:

“The reason why you’re most likely considering reading this review of the the Canon RF 50mm f1.2 L USM is either because you’re interested in a purchase/switch over or you just want to find a reason why your current gear is superior. If I’m going to be very honest, the Canon RF 50mm f1.2 L USM is the best 50mm lens that I’ve tested. I loathe the 50mm focal length. LOATHE IT! But with this lens, I feel like I’m shooting with a medium format 80mm f2 lens in the 645 format. It’s beautiful and in every single way, Canon is leading the way when it comes to 50mm focal lengths.”

Buy Now ($2,299): Adorama

 

Pro Tip: With fast-aperture lenses, look for the shadows. Move your model there and then you’ll have more consistent lighting coverage.

Fujifilm 56mm F1.2 R

Fujifilm 56mm 1.2

In our review, we state:

“But there’s a lot more to this lens’s character than sharpness: it’s got great bokeh and absolutely no color fringing that we were able to find. But the color rendition of other lenses like the 35mm f1.4 is a tad superior to that of the 56mm f1.2.”

Buy Now ($999): Adorama

 

Captured with the Fujifilm X-T3 and the 56mm f1.2

Sigma 35mm F1.2 DG DN Art

In our review, we state:

“Canon’s f1.2 lenses for EF mount had fringing issues, and it never stopped photographers from creating beautiful images. It was part of a look. They just fixed it in post. Personally, I hate working in post-production unless I really have to. The Sigma 35mm f1.2 Art DG DN is a lens that delivers something akin to the look that you’re going for. There isn’t anything else on the market like it. So you’re going to get beautiful colors, punch, sharpness, etc.”

Buy Now ($1,499): Adorama

 

Pro Tip: Use key lighting in-camera to make a lens shine. Certain things can only be done in-camera and just aren’t the same in post-production.

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7Artisans 50mm F1.1

In our review, we state:

“Yup, there’s tons of bokeh here. The best bokeh from this lens obviously comes at f1.1 and when you’re focused closely to the subject. But given that this is a rangefinder lens, the closest focusing is around 3 feet. The bokeh is creamy, dreamy, gorgeous, there is so much to say about it that simply can’t be put into words. But in addition to that it’s also unlike any bokeh that I’ve seen before. Some say that this lens is a copy of a Voigtlander, but I’m not sure that I see that. Portrait photographers will surely be pleased here.”

Buy Now ($369.90): Adorama

7Artisans 50mm f1.1 adorama Bokeh canon canon 50mm f1.2 rf fast aperture lenses fujifilm 56mm f1.2 review sharpness sigma 35mm f1.2
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.