STM vs USM L glass difference

[EK25]

Please can we talk about how huge the actual difference between STM vs L USM lenses is... I am looking at 50 mm RF lenses and the $2000 price difference is killing me. I understand that different AF systems, sound vs no sound for videos. I am NOT a sports photographer (the fastest moving objects I am shooting are running kids). So if I took 2 images seconds apart, same settings and camera, with a STM vs USM lens what the actual difference between them will be? Sharpness? Bokeh pattern + background separation? What else??? Thank you in advance!

[FloridaDrafter]

EB, I'm not a pixel peeper nor someone who reads or watches reviews to base my advice on. I actually own and use both lenses that the OP asked about and have for several years and I never comment on gear that I don't own and use. I've been using Canon gear for the past 30 years and trust it, although I do read Canons spec sheets before I buy, so I have no need for reviews 🙂

In your response, although you did eventually get around to it, it was  buried deep in the post. You left out a very pertinent bit of the OP's question and went right to the 90% no difference thing. OP: "May I please ask in what situations there will be notable differences then? I am shooting families as a business, and I still want the best for my clients".

IMO, the second part of the question screams L glass all day long and should have been addressed straight away, particularly with the lenses in question (the RF 50mm f/1.8 STM and the RF 50mm f/1.2L USM), which I did. Honestly, if I used the 1.8 the way I use my 1.2L, it wouldn't be around long 😁 My wife likes the 1.8, but she shoots light, LOL!

Newton

[ebiggs1]

If what you are using is working for you and you are good with it, you have the right lenses. Don't matter what others or me say about it or what the name on the lens is "L" or no "L".

Not that it makes a hill of beans but I worked for a multimillion dollar company and my own photography business for decades and not once in either case did someone say, "Geez if you had only used 'such and such' lens that would have been a great shot."  People put too much weight on what otter people think of them and what they are using or doing.

In my perhaps my unique situation I had the opportunity, plus my own hobby, to use or own 100's of lenses more than I can count. I probably have two dozen right now.  Sometimes even duplicates of the same lenses. That's the big reason I don't read or watch reviews not that I have never seen one or read any. I don't even read the reviews about purchases when buying gear.  You simply can not trust reviews. Most cases, not all but most, are one off and in no way represent the entire lot.

If you and your wife are happy with what you have so am I. Good shooting to both of you.

[FloridaDrafter]

I get all of that and for the most part agree, but of the two lenses in question (not hundreds), I can't bring myself to recommend the consumer version of this lens series to a working or potentially working pro.

BTW, I have had clients ask what gear I use, not many, but a few 🙂

Newton 

[ebiggs1]

" I have had clients ask what gear I use, not many, but a few"

After 40 years at my main job and about 50 years of my own business, no one has ever asked the question if only you used Canon's 1 series and all "L" lenses.. My second shooters, sometimes two sometimes just one, always used Rebels. My web site does state I use Canon equipment though. Along with Photoshop and Lightroom. It is a positive to let people know you have better or top notch gear. More so then scary uncle Bob or the next door neighbor who has a point & shoot and will shoot for free. People do like to think they are paying for the best.

Look no matter how you try to spin it, nobody cares what gear is used if they like the final photo. They just don't. If you think buying or recommending the most expensive gear and/or even the top notch gear is what it takes to make money as a photographer you have a lot to learn my friend. 

[FloridaDrafter]

"you have a lot to learn my friend."

Well, that may be, especially with the new era of photography that Canon has us in with mirror-less and fabulously brilliant optics that take advantage of the technology. I'm in my 70's and love the challenge of learning.

As I've mentioned several times, this thread is about two specific RF 50mm lenses and the OP has probably moved on. So, lets give it a rest please 🙂

Newton

[EK25]

Thank you so much for sharing these! Photos do look great and very sharp! This is off topic, but I am wondering why you are using such a high SS (and as a consequence, a high ISO) on the outdoor shots with seagulls as well as a couple shot (your daughter and her husband)? Also, which tools in PS are you referring to? I shoot in RAW, and prefer LrC to Ps, usually do sharpening and some denoising if necessary, but it sometimes does weird things to how things look, so I rely on good SOOCs...     

[EK25]

Thank you so much for everyone's input, I truly appreciate it. I wish I could afford to buy the best glass - I am just not there in my career yet. But a last question though - if you were shooting with a mirrorless, and were to choose between EF L glass vs RF consumer grade STM glass, what would go with? Same price, both zooms (EF 24-70mm 2.8 L II USM vs RF 28-70 2.8 IS STM? Thank you very much in advance!
 

[EK25]

Thank you so much for everyone's input, I truly appreciate it. I wish I could afford to buy the best glass - I am just not there in my career yet. But a last question though - if you were shooting with a mirrorless, and were to choose between EF L glass vs RF consumer grade STM glass, what would go with? Same price, both zooms (EF 24-70mm 2.8 L II USM vs RF 28-70 2.8 IS STM? Thank you very much in advance! 

[EK25]

Thank you so much for everyone's input, I truly appreciate it. I wish I could afford to buy the best glass - I am just not there in my career yet. But a last question though - if you were shooting with a mirrorless, and were to choose between EF L glass vs RF consumer grade STM glass, what would go with? Same price, both zooms (EF 24-70mm 2.8 L II USM vs RF 28-70 2.8 IS STM? Thank you very much in advance!

[FloridaDrafter]

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@EK25 wrote:

Thank you so much for sharing these! Photos do look great and very sharp! This is off topic, but I am wondering why you are using such a high SS (and as a consequence, a high ISO) on the outdoor shots with seagulls as well as a couple shot (your daughter and her husband)? Also, which tools in PS are you referring to? I shoot in RAW, and prefer LrC to Ps, usually do sharpening and some denoising if necessary, but it sometimes does weird things to how things look, so I rely on good SOOCs...     

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Hello, EK 25! You are welcome for the photos.

That's so cool that you caught that! I have a medical condition called "essential tremors", which causes me to shake pretty bad. I use a high shutter speed to counteract the tremors. Fortunately, my cameras handle ISO very well, so with IBIS and high SS it just works out for me. The shots in question were taken late in the day after the sun had gone down, so lighting was poor. ISO allowed me to get a fast SS and get a narrower aperture.

As for PhotoShop tools, I stopped using Adobe products when I retired so the images I posted were edited in DPP 4 then cropped and framed in Corel's PSP 25. All of those photos were barely touched in DPP and what adjustments I did use could easily be configure in one of the cameras picture styles, so they are pretty close to SOOC (that's why I posted those particular shots). The thing about Canon's DPP 4 is it uses their camera and lens profiles so when you use a lens that needs correction, it knows exactly what to apply. Not that LrC can't make the corrections, they just aren't the same as Canon's, IMO 🙂

Newton