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up vote 8 down vote favorite

I've seen references to f1.2 lenses. I was wondering are there any faster lenses available for a DSLR mount.

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6 Answers

up vote 9 down vote accepted

are there any faster lenses available for a DSLR mount?

To answer your question, not really, though it's possible to argue based on your definition of DSLR and your definition of available.

If you relax your definition of DSLR to digital rangefinders then yes you can include the Leica Noctilux which is still in production. And if you relax your definition of available Canon made a 50 f/1.0 for the EF mount which can be obtained second hand. There are also many more fast lenses that can be mounted via an adaptor.

But practically, the fastest production DSLR lenses are the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L and EF 50mm f/1.2L and the manual Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 AIS

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up vote 8 down vote

Carl Zeiss 50mm f/0.7

http://www.flickr.com/photos/torek/3485651814/

Leica also makes a 50mm f/1.0 lens which is actually available it seems and might be more ...usable. http://lensbuyersguide.com/en/lens/show/Leica/NOCTILUX-M_50mm_f1.0

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Yay! for the good old german company ... if only I could afford their prices today ;) – Leonidas Jan 14 '11 at 6:40
I would argue neither of those are available for a DSLR mount. They're available for the rangefinder M mount :) – Shizam Jan 15 '11 at 20:03
True enough, although there are adapters. – rfusca♦ Jan 15 '11 at 20:19
up vote 3 down vote

As far as I know, the fastest lens (that is actually availabe) is currently the leica 50mm f/0.95

http://en.leica-camera.com/photography/m_system/lenses/5915.html

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up vote 3 down vote

There is also 50mm 0.95 lens from Noktor for Micro 4/3rds.

alt text

(photo from the noktor website)

Micro 4/3rds is a mirror-less system so it is not a real DSLR lens as such, but it seems that there are also planning to make models for other mounts as on the main page there is a product survey: "What mount would you like to see lenses designed for?" with options:Canon EF,Nikon F,Four Thirds and PL Cinema Mount. Hard to say if they would manage to make it equally fast for other mounts

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The Noktor seems to be a converted C-mount lens which means it barely covers the 4/3 sensor. Making a 50/0.95 to cover even a APS-C would be a daunting technical task. – gerikson Jan 14 '11 at 15:15
That's a rebranded Senko VFA5095H CCTV lens but with a micro 4/3rds mount. Given that, I can't see how they how they're going to release it with a Canon EF or Nikon F mount (both of which have a much larger registration distance i.e. minimum distance from the back of the lens to the sensor) unless it's going to be a lock-the-mirror-up job, designed for video. – Matt Grum Jan 14 '11 at 17:07
up vote 0 down vote

Rayxar makes lenses with f1/0.75 apertures.

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Definitely not an SLR lens. But this hannu.mallat.fi/oddities/rayxar/rayxar.html is more informative than the google images link.... – mattdm Jan 14 '11 at 0:25
up vote 0 down vote

Cosina has a f/0.95 lens Micro 4/3 mount - Voigtlander 25mm f/0.95 Micro 4/3 Nokton

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/voigtlander_f095_25mm_micro_43_nocton.shtml

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Micro 4/3 cameras are not DSLRs‌​. For a DSLR, 50mm f/1.1 with an adapter is the fastest lens offered under Voigtländer name. – Imre Jun 23 '11 at 3:29

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