[FrozenVoid]

> beautiful in an intangible way

Perhaps the older lens has more pleasing colors: normally absorbing a bit more of hi-freq(blue/violet) lens a comfy "orange sunset" effect and warm atmosphere. Modern digital cameras tend to be "colder" in color, with sharp blue/violet.

[bitwize]

Much like the effective high rolloff filter in the vinyl mastering process is largely responsible for the "rich, warm sound" of vinyl.

[ISL]

To me, the copy of the EF 1.2L that I tested had a softness to its rendering that was very painterly. I shudder to use the term "microcontrast", but the lens appeared to have solid contrast and sharpness at broader spatial scales and a softness at the smallest scales.

It felt like a lens that rendered every scene with a deft touch, making everything just a little prettier than it might really be.

Someday, I may find a used one to call my own, but I can't quite justify its weight and expense today. The EF 1.4 largely fills that bill without the price and heft, but doesn't render things so instantaneously as art.

[h0l0cube]

This is one of the reasons I like the Fujifilm X-trans sensor. It’s raw output always feels a bit warmer and more ‘natural’ vs a typical Bayer sensor.