Testing out my new Olympus OM 50mm f/2 macro. So far it seems like a stellar little guy. Haven't had an opportunity to photograph anything too exciting with it yet, but soon...compared to my Canon FL 55mm f/1.2 it has a better MFD (obviously), is lighter and a tad bit sharper starting at f/2.8. The Canon is quicker to focus, has subjectively better bokeh at what I would call its minimum working aperture (f/2) than the Olympus at f/2.8, where it will normally be. The Olympus is usable wide open at f/2 but still blooms a bit, but not nearly as much as the Canon at f/1.2. I have gotten usable images from the Canon at that aperture, but overall the Olympus is more usable wide open. I will be keeping both as I feel they are meant for different things. The Canon will still be my go to portrait lens on the NEX-5, but the Oly will go with me on hikes because of its ability to do everything from macros to stitches (which is what this is). The Canon may have better coatings, I noticed that it seemed to deal better with flare - but that is a minor issue to me. Colors are also a bit more surreal from the Canon due to the glass being yellow. I like the colors from it better. Sorry for the running narrative. These are just initial impressions. I will probably do a "real-world" comparison at some point. The Canon is a better value at $150 to $199 vs. the $299 I got the Oly at (although that is far from the $450 it usually sells at). The Canon is probably the closest manual lens you can get to the Rokkor 58mm f/1.2 - I dare say it is sharper, but the bokeh is not as smooth [which is why the Rokkor is so special]. Since I have not used the Rokkor, this is completely subjective and someone who has used both can correct this statement.
TLDR version: Canon is better for portraiture, is better at f/2, has better coatings and colors, and is quicker to focus. Olympus is sharper from f/2.8 onward, has a much better MFD, more "true to life" colors and is sharper for landscape work. The Canon is a much better value at less than half the price (normally). Keeping both.
Here are some other rather boring photos from both that are not edited well. I normally have to take a long time to ensure that there are no color casts to get things just right because I am a bit colorblind - I did not take that time here so there will be no consistency (and the Canon is displaying a bit warmer than usual).
