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Archive 2008 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

Rrexy
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p.1 #1 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

Hello All!

I'm really interested in getting the 85mm 1.2 V. II The pics I've seen displayed are simply incredible! I currently use an 85 1.8 for occasional sports shoots - however not very frequently. If I decide to purchase the 1.2, the 1.8 will have to go to help offset the cost.

My question is, with the improved auto focus of the V.2 85 1.2, how is it & would it suffice for an occasional sports lens?

Thanks for any assistance!

Randy

Feb 20, 2008 at 07:09 PM

Evan Baines
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p.1 #2 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

If sports are your primary subject, I'd stick with the 1.8. You *could* use the 85LII for sports, but its FAR from ideal.

I say this as someone who absolutely LOVES my 85LII.

Feb 20, 2008 at 07:15 PM

Psychic1
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p.1 #3 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

Randy:
I purchased the 85-1.8 new about 18 months ago and probally used it twice; I purchased the 85L new in October and I shoot with it every day and it is fantastic.
Selling the 85-1.8 crossed my mind, but, it's worth more in inventory and peace-of-mind than the $$$.
The instant you sell it, you will need it.
You really need both.

Edited on Feb 20, 2008 at 07:20 PM

Feb 20, 2008 at 07:19 PM

Chris Dees
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p.1 #4 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

It's a stellar lens but of no use in sports (except sports portraits

).

Feb 20, 2008 at 07:26 PM

Lord Fluff
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p.1 #5 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

You can only use it for sports where the subject distance does not change rapidly, or if you are hot-poop at manual focus. I have used to photograph half-pipe and flatland bmx and it was fine - forget it for 'action' sport though.

Feb 20, 2008 at 07:40 PM

rockitman
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p.1 #6 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

The 85 1.2L acquires initial focus to slow to be a good sports/action lense. Stick with the 1.8 if you like that focul length and enjoy the $$ saved.

Feb 20, 2008 at 07:43 PM

John P Mulgrew
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p.1 #7 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

I guess you could pre focus somewhere but I think the only action the 85 1.2 would really be good at would be snail races

Feb 20, 2008 at 08:03 PM

rachp
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p.1 #8 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

I just got the v2 and it is usable for something like grade school basketball and as others mentioned sports portraits. I have seen some great shots of dance and gymnastics from this lens so it can be used in some cases.

Feb 20, 2008 at 08:10 PM

Psychic1
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p.1 #9 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

I've used it at the racetrack on the 5D in Servo mode with excellent results.

Feb 20, 2008 at 08:37 PM

Rrexy
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p.1 #10 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

Thanks for the input on this!

I've made the choice & the 1.2L has been ordered

I'll hold on to the 1.8 for now - just in case!

The track shots look awesome Psychic1 !

I WOULD LOVE TO SEE ANY MORE EXAMPLES THAT OTHERS MAY HAVE

Thanks Again!

Randy

Feb 20, 2008 at 09:20 PM

David Troyer
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p.1 #11 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

The track shots work with the 1.2L because the focus-distance is changing slowly and consistently. Sports where you are changing focus distance often or trying to follow a fast subject (i.e. basketball) the 1.2L would be much less than ideal.

Feb 20, 2008 at 09:41 PM

Tandem
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p.1 #12 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

I used it successfully in a dimly lit gym on a 1D2n for high school wrestling.

Feb 20, 2008 at 10:32 PM

John P Mulgrew
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p.1 #13 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

DON'T GET RID OF THE 1.8 if you plan on shooting indoor sports, don't do it you will regret it!!!!! The 85 1.2 is a great portrait lens but it's not fast at all for AF. The 50 1.2 on the other hand is much better and I have used that lens for GS Bball last year and will use it again this month for the boys in a tight gym. My most used lens for Volleyball and Basketball this year has been the 85 1.8. Maybe some day I'll try the 85 1.2 but I wouldn't shoot a whole game with it let alone a half. Keep the 1.8, two lenses with two different uses.

Feb 20, 2008 at 10:54 PM

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p.1 #14 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

I took mine out to see if was suitable for volleyball(the single most demanding sport for a camera and photographer IMO) and it failed badly.

Bottom line....the 85L is useless for acquiring fast focus in a fast moving sports environment, it is just too slow. If the subject is moving erratically at all...forget it.

I was really hoping this would not be the case....but it is.

Feb 21, 2008 at 12:11 AM

Richard Nye
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p.1 #15 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

You can use it with lots of light (outdoors) with a small aperture and long DOF (like the horse racing shots above), but inside in low light wide open for active sports, not so good. But I love my 85 f/1.2!

Feb 21, 2008 at 05:43 AM

eosfun
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p.1 #16 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

The 85/1.2 is a great sports lens, especially for:

chess
darting
game fishing
brain sports
snail marathon
biking sur-place
a.o.

and of course any sport shot axial like the horse running that Psychic1 showed us.

Have EOSfun

Feb 25, 2008 at 12:17 AM

Ron Daniel
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p.1 #17 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

I will concede that it is not the ideal sports lens, but when you are shooting inside with lighting just a little better than a dungeon and flash is not allowed, it can get shots that no other lens will. Here is one from a recent gymnastics event. It was on AI Servo with a 1DMKIIn. I use it mainly on a 5D for portraits but the lens on a 1D just focuses faster, or maybe it doesn't waste any movement hunting. It's really not that bad if you just have to have the higher shutter speeds in low light.

Ron

Feb 25, 2008 at 12:44 AM

eosfun
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p.1 #18 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

Ron, that one also scores high on the scale of "any sport shot axial". Not hard in terms of AF speed. Heck, I guess you could even do that one in MF mode. How long does the guy stand in that position

I did these shots myself with a selftimer when I was an athlete

Have EOSfun.

Feb 25, 2008 at 12:54 AM

Pixel Perfect
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p.1 #19 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

Rrexy wrote:
Hello All!

I'm really interested in getting the 85mm 1.2 V. II The pics I've seen displayed are simply incredible! I currently use an 85 1.8 for occasional sports shoots - however not very frequently. If I decide to purchase the 1.2, the 1.8 will have to go to help offset the cost.

My question is, with the improved auto focus of the V.2 85 1.2, how is it & would it suffice for an occasional sports lens?

Thanks for any assistance!

Randy

It comes in handy in the fast paced world of snail racing, especially with the new genetically modified snails that are 1.8x faster than the common garden snails

Feb 25, 2008 at 01:30 AM

Ron Daniel
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p.1 #20 · 85 1.2 V. II for sports???

eosfun wrote:
Ron, that one also scores high on the scale of "any sport shot axial". Not hard in terms of AF speed. Heck, I guess you could even do that one in MF mode. How long does the guy stand in that position

I did these shots myself with a selftimer when I was an athlete

Have EOSfun.

At that distance, it couldn't have been shot in MF, I tried but the DOF was just too small. My example was not really mean to tout it focusing ability as it is relatively slow, but its low light, high shutter speed capability. He was moving quite fast and I will admit about half of the shots were out of focus, but I was able to get 1/500 of a sec shutter speed at ISO 1600 and f1.2. The lens does have it's usage in sports, just in special situations.

Later,

Ron

Edited on Feb 25, 2008 at 02:05 AM

Feb 25, 2008 at 02:03 AM

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