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Thomas Ware
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Registered: Nov 17, 2006
Location: Finland
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Nov 17, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharpness, bokeh, AF-speed
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Cons:
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For the price, none
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I have been using this lens just for a couple of months with 20D. However, it is becoming one of my favourite lenses. I am very pleased with the results, pictures are sharp, the AF is quick, bokeh nice and the price is not too bad. Complements well my 50/1.4 in non-flash situations such in indoor events and the like.
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 Nov 17, 2006
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john Paul
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Registered: Jul 22, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 150
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Review Date: Nov 9, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $369.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fast glass, great price, well built, very sharp, compact, & offers full time manual focus over-ride, which the L doesn't..
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Cons:
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Hmmm....none really..
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I bought mine in 2000, and have been a very happy owner of it ever since.. I often shoot with this lens at f2.0, to f2.5, and get great results.. It's min. focus distance that I hear some reviewers complain about,...is not an issue for me when ever I use it.. It's made for portraits, right..? Why does someone need to move closer than 2.8 feet to your subject...? Nose shots..? Heck,..if you want to get any closer, it works very well with the Canon extension tubes.. I've even used the 85mm w/ extension tubes instead of my 100mm f2.8 Macro lens for close up work, and have been satisfied with the results..
Mine shows a lot of wear around the front ring,..but that's because I use it an awful lot.. In my studio, I shoot most of my stuff with this lens.. On location, it is a wonderful tool to have in the bag.. It is light weight, performs better than the 70-200mm f2.8 IS L,...it is small and black,...and doesn't stand out as much,.. it is brighter to look through,...it focuses faster than the L version of this lens,..and offers full time manual focusing, which the L doesn't....(neither does the MkII version of the 85mm f1.2 L).. For a portrait L lens, doncha think they would include that very important feature on a lens designated for portrait photography..?
Any ways,...I know many professional photographers who use this lens,..and are very happy with the results.. I might upgrade to the L,.. but I might just hang on to this one regardless.....BTW,...if you use a filter on the end of your lens, ans judge your lens sharpness with that junk on your lens,....don't! I never shoot with protective filters on my lenses.. strangely, I get pretty darn good results.....go figure.. :-p
JP
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Nov 9, 2006
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dturina
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Registered: May 16, 2004
Location: Croatia
Posts: 139
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Review Date: Oct 28, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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ultrasharp, fast, dirt cheap, absolutely great bokeh, a must have
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Cons:
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some blooming on highlights, a bit soft wide open; minimal focus distance too great
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It's one of the best optics I own, and if not for the purple fringing (it can be annoying around the catchlights in the eyes), I'd say it's a perfect lens. I use it as a portrait lens on my 5d and I keep congratulating myself for buying it. It makes absolutely beautiful pictures; not only portraits, but landscape details as well. I wish it could focuse closer, for 1:4 semi-macro, but it gets better with a macro extender.
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Oct 28, 2006
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mbohunsky
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[ X ]
Registered: Dec 30, 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 3668
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Review Date: Oct 11, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $300.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Light, fast aperture, quick AF, build quality, inexpensive, nice bokeh, super sharp from f/2.2, sharp wide open. Great portrait lens on a crop body
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Cons:
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Lots of purple fringing below f/2.8
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This has to be my favorite lens to use. I think the value of this lens is unsurpassed in the Canon lineup. The build quality belies the price. As does the amount of glass.
This lens is very usable wide open and at f/2.2 this lens is razor sharp. One aspect that I wish this lens could improve on is CA, especially purple fringing, at large apertures. Shooting cars with chrome is out of the question with apertures larger than f/2.8. Wide open to f/2.2 the purple fringing is very noticeable even at standard viewing sizes. At f/2.8, you have to look very closely and past f/3.5 CA disappears. This is only a problem with very reflective objects and it never really poses a problem with portraits.
Portraits is where this lens shines. This lens produces very creamy bokeh with head shots and large apertures. I find the level of detail striking. This lens might be too sharp for some that may be sensitive to wrinkles and facial hair on female models.
Autofocus performance is on par with the 135 f/2L. Never did I find this lens to have problems with focus speed or hunting in low light.
This lens will stay with me for a long time.
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Oct 11, 2006
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tutumon
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Registered: Jan 3, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 1086
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Review Date: Oct 10, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $320.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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I have 5 'L' lenses(had the 85 1.2L also), The quality of this is on par(with all and better than!) some of the 'L's. I use this for indoor volleyball on my 20D at ISO 1600, and the pictures are absolutely fantastic!!!! Enough said!
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Cons:
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I don't see any.
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Simply outstanding! Fast(large aperture) and Fast(focus). A must for all indoor sport activities. Also gorgeous for portraits. Very sharp at 1.8 I always use this at 1.8 for indoor sports. Pictures are tack sharp. Sharper wide open than many 'L's. Infact sharper than ,most if not ALL 'L' zooms that I have used.
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Oct 10, 2006
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Justin D
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Registered: Sep 8, 2006
Location: Germany
Posts: 787
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Review Date: Oct 7, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp at f1.8, Very sharp at f2.8, feels good in the hand even if it is not L quality build (whatever that is). AF accurate and fast. Colour and contrast good, too. Good price and from what I read, consistent QC.
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Cons:
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Can't think of any. I remember thing the depth of field was a bit wider than I liked in a shot or 2 at or about f5.6, but I can't see the shots now. Probably imagining it.
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An impressive lens. Fast enough to pull in almost as much light as my eye in some situations (at 1600), very sharp, comparatively light with a solid feel, good colours and contrast. For some reason, it took me a couple of hours (~50 shots) to start getting good results (could have been the behaviour of my 8 year old subject, though), but within a couple of hours, I had 5-10 shots I reckon are pretty good. Highest keeper ratio of all my lenses after the 70-200 f4L, but I'm not dealing with extremely narrow depth of field with the zoom.
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Oct 7, 2006
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condrup.eu
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Registered: Jul 21, 2006
Location: Denmark
Posts: 38
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Review Date: Sep 24, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp as h... Not as huge as the L edition, cheap.
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Cons:
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Not L, but you can live with that. Focus is not so fast.
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I use this lens for portrait work, mostly. Sometimes when i want to make low DOF images, its great too. Images are crystal sharp, it may not be an L version, but its lighter, both in weight and in money. I will never get rid of this lens, not even with the 1.2 version in my back, since this lens is so easy to get around with and makes great images. So, dont hesitate, buy it! 
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Sep 24, 2006
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Areta
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Registered: Feb 19, 2005
Location: Poland
Posts: 334
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Review Date: Sep 23, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very sharp, not expensive, fast focusing
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Cons:
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Hood mount
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I bought this lens following FM recommendation and I love it. It is very sharp with nice colors and fast focusing. Excellent for children. Cheap for what you get and compare to some recent Canon lenses
I do not like its hood. I do not understand why Canon could not apply hood mount of 50/1.4 for 85/1.8.
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Sep 23, 2006
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routerguy666
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Registered: Aug 16, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Sep 21, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $350.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Price, optical quality, sturdy build.
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Cons:
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None.
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Excellent lense. Sharp as a tack, great colors, great contrast. People who post about focus issues at 1.8 or with the 50mm primes need to learn how to use them. On a crop camera this is a great portrait lense and the bokeh is very fine. Price is right, autfocus is quick and quiet. It's all been said before, this is just another thumbs up for a great piece of glass.
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Sep 21, 2006
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Lasse Eriksson
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Registered: Sep 13, 2006
Location: Sweden
Posts: 2404
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Review Date: Sep 18, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Image quality, Fast AF
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Cons:
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A bit soft wide open
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Sep 18, 2006
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gberger
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Registered: Apr 29, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 216
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Review Date: Sep 16, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $369.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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After reading the reviews here, my question was not "should I buy this lens?", it was "How fast can I get my hands on one?". I've just finished spending the morning fooling around with it, and it's every bit as sharp as everyone says. Stopped down to f4 or smaller it is stunning. A previous reviewer commented that "nothing is in focus at F1.8", so I ran a test. I photograped a detailed 3-dimensional small sculpture at the closest distance I could get to it, with the camera on a tripod of course, at f-stops ranging from 1.8 to 16. Depth of field is indeed very shallow at F1.8, as you would expect, but there was a definite plane of focus. This lens is an excellent value for the money, I'd have to think long and hard about whether the small increment in sharpness in the "L" lens is worth the money before making the move. For a pro it's a no-brainer, but for hobbiests like me this is a fantastic lens. Over 35 years of shooting, have used many lenses, L and others, and I think this baby is one of the best. I can't give it a 10 while the L series is out there, but I'd like to give it 9.7.
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Cons:
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I used to have a 135 f/2 Canon FD manual lens that I really LOVED, and I have been looking for a reasonably priced replacement. After reading the reviews here, my question was not "should I buy this lens?", it was "How fast can I get my hands on one?". I've just finished spending the morning fooling around with it, and it's every bit as sharp as everyone says. Stopped down to f4 or smaller it is stunning. A previous reviewer commented that "nothing is in focus at F1.8". I ran a test to see what he was talking about. I photograped a detailed 3-dimensional small sculpture at the closest distance I could get to it, with the camera on a tripod of course, at f-stops ranging from 1.8 to 16. Depth of field is indeed very shallow at F1.8, as you would expect, but there was a definite plane of focus.
This lens is an excellent value for the money, I'd have to think long and hard about whether the small increment in sharpness in the "L" lens is worth the money before making the move. For a pro it's a no-brainer, but for hobbiests like me this is a fantastic lens. In over 25 years of shooting I have used many lenses, L and others, and I think this is one of the best. I can't give it a 10 while the L series is out there, but I'd like to give it 9.7.
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Sep 16, 2006
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ilind
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Registered: Aug 11, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Sep 10, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, clear, good color. Reasonably priced.
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Cons:
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None that I can see.
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I love this lens.
So far, I haven't been able to afford an "L" lens to use with my Canon 350, but this lens gets excellent results. It is sharp, clear and handles well.
I grabbed it a couple of days ago and headed out on the back deck with some of our cats.
Here are the results, all shot with the 85mm f/1.8.
http://ilind.net/gallery_2006/cats090906/
-Ian Lind
Kaaawa, Hawaii
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Sep 10, 2006
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mainephotonut
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Registered: Aug 21, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Aug 21, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Awsome color, sharpness, "wow factor" when I see the results. I used a freinds 100-400L, and IMHO the color's were just as nice with my 85/1.8.
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Cons:
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Need's a tripod if you really want to get sharp, but that's with any lens. However with the 85/1.8, the results are wonderful. Not really a negative aspect of the lens however. Lens hood seems easy to pop off if not careful
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This was my first lens I bought (other than the kit lens that came with the 20D) and I was blown away by the sharpness and color. It just makes me grin everytime. It feels solid, the focus is quick and accurate, and I like the full time manual focus ring. (Of course, anything compared to the 18-55 kit would be better. )
It's a keeper, I dont plan on giving up this lens anytime soon, it'a great portrait lens, and I've done some flowers with it that have come out nice. But with people pictures, it really shines.
All the pictures in this gallery http://www.pbase.com/kratka/people_pictures were taken with the 85 1.8.
I am pleased with it, I think you will be too if this is the kind of focal length you seek.
Cheers.
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Aug 21, 2006
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I Simonius
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Registered: Apr 22, 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 50
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Review Date: Jul 27, 2006
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Recommend? |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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Small,cheap, excellent resolution
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Cons:
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a little flimsy, not 'L' quality ( but it's not an 'L' so that's fair!)
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The sharpest lens I have once stopped down a little, sharper than my 50mm 1.4 when both @f5.6 - so that's saying something!
I'm not convinced the 85mm1.2 would be sharper at similar apertures, but I might have to just try anyway to see (one day) ;-)
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Jul 27, 2006
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LanceUSA
Offline
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Registered: Mar 7, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jul 26, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Very sharp, fast autofocus, descent bokeh, small size
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Cons:
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fringing on metal surfaces and areas of high contrast, non existent DOF at f/1.8 at minimum focusing distance
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I bought this lens based on the many positive reviews found here. But I felt there were a few things people left out about this lens and its more about the usage than the actual lens.
For one, when I first placed it on my camera I thought I'd try it out at f/1.8 just for some tests. I shot a few objects about 5 feet away...instantly went to my laptop to view the samples and to my amazement absolutely nothing was in focus...I mean nowhere! I thought, maybe I have a bad copy of this lens which has never happened to me in any of my other lens purchases. So I packed it back up and was ready to take it back today.
Then later in the day I thought I'd give it a second try. I tried the same shots (5 feet away) with varying apertures (f/1.8, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11) and believe it or not there was nothing in acceptable focus until about f/5.6 at that distance. A light bulb went off in my head...at minimum distance from my subject a very small aperture is required to get any acceptable focus at all because of the paper thin DOF this lens creates.
So next I did the same test outside and took shots from 25-50 feet away...and low and behold f/1.8 even produced sharp results at this distance (beware of chromatic aberations though).
So let me tell you that this lens is not for close shooting wide open...if you do, stop it down quite a bit...but at farther distances use it wide open all day. So I figured out that this lens is for low lighting situations when there is a great distance between you and you subject. I'd be better served to use my 50mm f/1.4 at a closer distance.
This might be useful info to other newbies to fast lenses like I am!
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Jul 26, 2006
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dubya
Offline
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Registered: Sep 27, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 54
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Review Date: Jul 20, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $340.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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sharp, fast, great color / contrast...blah blah blah...
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Cons:
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at this price...none...
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there's a saying: "once you go BLACK (a.k.a. black L primes), you never go back..." I, for one, believe this to be true. The experience of shooting w/ the 35L & 135L has made me a believer....
However, in terms of my 85 1.8...i just can't give it up. It has done everything i've ask it to do & has done it exceptionally well.
My copy can do 90% of what the 85L can do and at 1/4 of the cost...the cost-benefit trade-off is not worth it for me...
I am by no means doggin' the 85L - the other 10% is pure magic. But the 85usm stays with me....it's heresy to think otherwise....
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Jul 20, 2006
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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307
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462689
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Feb 14, 2013
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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95% of reviewers
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$349.50
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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8.92
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9.46
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9.4
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