Clearly distinguished by its bright maximum aperture, the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM Lens is a normal-length L-series prime also sporting a robust physical design and advanced optical layout. The impressively fast f/1.2 maximum aperture affords a great degree of control over the depth of field for isolating subjects and producing desirable selective focus effects. Complementing these qualities is a sophisticated optical composition, which includes one aspherical element to suppress spherical aberrations in order to achieve notable sharpness and clarity.

A Super Spectra coating has also been applied to limit flare and ghosting and promote greater contrast and color accuracy in a variety of lighting conditions. Complementing the imaging attributes, a ring-type USM is employed to deliver quick and quiet autofocus performance along with full-time manual focus control.