Bokeh and Out of Focus Highlights of the EF 50mm f/1.0L, EF 50mm f/1.4 and EF 50mm f/1.8

Photographic series were taken at the same camera to subject and subject to background distances with a Canon EOS-1D Mark II. Subject and background were each lit with a tungsten modeling light. There is variable top lighting from the sky light over the mannequin's head. The focus point was the mannequin's right eye. Central areas of the image were cropped.
Summary of results:

• The EF 50mm f/1.0L gives slightly better blurring of background at each aperture than the other two lens. Image at f/1.0 is soft to the point of being unusable.
• At f/1.4, the EF 50mm f/1.4 lens produces an image very close in quality to that produced by the EF 50mm f/1.0 lens.
• The inexpensive EF 50mm f/1.8 II gives incredibly good performance at all f/stops. Note the pentagonal aperture pattern in background out of focus lights at f/2.8 (5 blades in aperture diaphragm, compared to 8 blades in the other lenses.)

f/stop	EF 50mm f/1.0L	EF 50mm f/1.4 USM	EF 50mm f/1.8 II
f/1.0	EF 50mm f/1.0L f/1.0
f/1.4 / 1.8	EF 50mm f/1.0L f/1.4	EF 50mm f/1.4 USM f/1.4	EF 50mm f/1.8 II f/1.8
f/2.0	EF 50mm f/1.0L f/2	EF 50mm f/1.4 USM f/2	EF 50mm f/1.8 II f/2
f/2.8	EF 50mm f/1.0L f/2.8	EF 50mm f/1.4 USM f/2.8	EF 50mm f/1.8 II f/2.8
f/4	EF 50mm f/1.0L f/4	EF 50mm f/1.4 USM f/4	EF 50mm f/1.8 II f/4
f/8	EF 50mm f/1.0L f/8	EF 50mm f/1.4 USM f/8	EF 50mm f/1.8 II f/8
f/16	EF 50mm f/1.0L f/16	EF 50mm f/1.4 USM f/16	EF 50mm f/1.8 II f/16