Interesting that quite a few people are having inconsistent AF issues. I do notice that it's hard to nail focus with this lens on the 5D Classic, but I mostly attribute that to the dinosaur body. I will go as far as saying that the 35L II hits the nail on the head every single time regardless of body, my hit rate on the 85 1.4L isn't quite as high as the 35L II on the 5D4, but it seems to be within reason. I typically use single point AF for 99% of the stuff I do...but I have been toying around with the face tracking in live view when chasing my kiddo around with pretty good success.
p.7 #2 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
I've had what I thought were inconsistent results with the 85F1.4 (on 5DIII and 1DXII), but it seems to be only when I hand hold the camera. If I put the camera on a tripod and shoot a stationary target, then it hits every time. Not sure what I conclude from this other than your technique neds to be impeccable.
p.7 #4 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
Reading about the inconsistent focus problems here i am wondering whether it's not exactly the same problem i am having with long tele's on the 5DIV (and 1DxII to a lesser degree) when in servo mode wide open. My thought is that canon's AF system is not 100% reliable and that current high-res sensors and superb optics reveal this better than before.
p.7 #5 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
therealthings wrote:
Reading about the inconsistent focus problems here i am wondering whether it's not exactly the same problem i am having with long tele's on the 5DIV (and 1DxII to a lesser degree) when in servo mode wide open. My thought is that canon's AF system is not 100% reliable and that current high-res sensors and superb optics reveal this better than before.
Canon's AF was never 100% reliable IMHO, especially not with fast aperture lenses shot wide open. Also depending on the lighting conditions of course (like strong back light for example). Using outer AF points make it even worse. Why should the 5D4 be any different in this regard?
Zooming in on high res images makes AF "errors" indeed more visible than zooming in on low res images. But the underlying "issue" remains the same IMO.
p.7 #6 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
I’ve used both 85ii and 85IS on 5div and both are very accurate with outer points w/o any MFA adjustments. 85ii is much slower. I ran 85Is through Focal and it confirmed 0 adjustment. 85IS is literally the best lens I’ve ever used and the only lens I’ve ever paid full msrp for. I do not recompose with 5div and almost never use center point for portraits and when shooting full body portraits I often prever DPAF liveview for better exposure and face detect. One thing I noticed about 85IS - its IS seems to be too slow for AI Servo so one shot works better with IS on. If I leave IS on and fire lots of shots in AI Servo, some blurring occurs due to IS not having enough time to stabilize - this is more likely to happen at higher (safe) shutter speeds. This is probably because IS on this lens is insanely strong, I am getting tripod like results in video, incredible.
Daan B wrote:
For those that used both the 85L II and 85 IS, is there a difference in focus accuracy on the 5D4? Center AF point vs outer AF points?
p.7 #8 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
Elijah wrote:
Fellas... I’m having inconsistent issues. The AF on this lens is kind of inconsistent. Within +/- 5 value... tried every possible setting, continuous, single, etc. All shots vary.
Anyone else having these issues?
Elijah, I have noticed that both with single shot and AI Servo this lens seems to focus more consistently with 4 auto assist focus points enabled no matter whether using the center focus point as your main point or one of the peripheral focus points. Good luck!
p.7 #9 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
sparkeee wrote:
Elijah, I have noticed that both with single shot and AI Servo this lens seems to focus more consistently with 4 auto assist focus points enabled no matter whether using the center focus point as your main point or one of the peripheral focus points. Good luck!
Interesting, because my preconceived thought was to use spot focus to be sure I was nailing the precise focus point. I'll try single plus four. Thanks Mike
p.7 #10 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
sparkeee wrote:
Elijah, I have noticed that both with single shot and AI Servo this lens seems to focus more consistently with 4 auto assist focus points enabled no matter whether using the center focus point as your main point or one of the peripheral focus points. Good luck!
Just tried this around the house but I'm not seeing much difference. Have two weddings this weekend and will test it out and report back. This is depressing!
p.7 #12 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
Still can't say that I'm having any issues with the wonky focus issues that others seem to be having. Perhaps I just got lucky with a good copy? Still using Single Point in AI Servo. Compared to the 1.2L, I'm not having near the CA issues. It's still there, but not terrible.
@Elijah how did your wedding go? Did the 85 let you down?
p.7 #13 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
You've never used the 135 f/2L?
artsf wrote:
I’ve used both 85ii and 85IS on 5div and both are very accurate with outer points w/o any MFA adjustments. 85ii is much slower. I ran 85Is through Focal and it confirmed 0 adjustment. 85IS is literally the best lens I’ve ever used and the only lens I’ve ever paid full msrp for.
p.7 #15 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
No arguing that 85 is a highly useful focal length. I would like to find an 85 as good as the 135 to fill the gap ( in primes ) I have between the 35 f/1.4 II and the 135 f/2. The 85 f/18 did fine with 5D II, but it's outclassed on the 5D IV, and I don't want to mess with the 85 f/1.2. Maybe I'll rent the 1/4 IS and see if it has the magic.
p.7 #16 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
I've found this lens to be quite exceptional! For my style of shooting, I've found it best to use AI Servo with all points active, first locking on to an eye, when shooting wide open. When shooting handheld in One Shot mode, I've found that even the slightest movement by myself or the subject will throw the image out of focus. The IS is excellent, and I've been able to shoot handheld down to 1/4" exposures (still life images, not people)...
p.7 #17 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
I've owned all three versions of the 85L and am quite impressed with the 1.4L. I think it's sharper, better contrast and has more vibrant colors than the previous two L's. That said, I still find myself reaching for the 50L more but it's probably because the minimum focus is shorter than the 85L.
p.7 #18 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
In the Canon Spring thread, page 15, Cameron12X has a photo of a girl on a fine horse taken with the 200 f/2L. That's a lens with the magic, like the 135, in good hands. If I should win the lottery . . . Meanwhile, I will try the 85 f/1.4 IS.
p.7 #19 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
Elijah wrote:
Hmmm.... Strange. In some cases, when I use AF-Servo it will back focus.
However, when I switch to AF single shot, it is spot on... Weird. I have many weddings coming up and this is very risky...
That's interesting and maybe I'll try this too.
I'm definitely getting some back focus with mine on a 1DXII and 1DX, set to -3 and -7 MFA respectively. When I first started using it I found it difficult to figure out where it was focusing, because it definitely seemed a bit off out of the box. I think one reason I had trouble was I had the cameras set with sharpening turned off, since I just shoot RAW anyways and fine tune everything in post. But it made it really hard to determine the precise plane of focus when reviewing images on the camera. While the lens is very sharp, particularly around f/2, for me it doesn't seem to quite pop in the plane of focus the way I was expecting. Not that it's a bad thing as I've come to really like the look of the lens now that I've used it more.
Usually I'm doing nearer distance people photos with it and kind of had the feeling that at farther distances it needed different MFA, but I haven't really looked closely into this, yet. That said, I shot some full-length environmental portraits recently in a greenhouse at f/2.2 and the -3 MFA seemed to be pretty consistent. IIRC, I used a slightly off-center AF point and did a bit of focus and recompose anyway. Given these were static poses, I could have used One Shot, but didn't even think about it.
For events I generally use AI Servo with the four-point expansion. I usually stick around the middle in respect to AF points, or try to stick with cross points.
Maybe I'm just paranoid about forgetting to switch it back to AI Servo for when I need it, which happened to me once on an engagement shoot where I shot 75% of the shoot in One Shot before realizing it (still managed to get enough in focus). Maybe I'll finally decide to set one of the Mfn buttons on the camera to switch between One Shot and AI Servo on a single button press...
I recently did a university convocation and one of the shots I tried with the 85 was a bit fiddly with the focus. I found it was not super consistent. When it would hit focus, it would be bang on, but there were maybe 25-35% where it was well off, typically in this case front focused. I don't think it was a MFA issue because the focus was so far off. It might have been a camera/lens/Canon AF quirk/problem, just not liking the type of subject matter and lighting. A bit frustrating. In hindsight, in this situation I maybe could have tried One Shot because each grad came onto the stage and stopped on their mark for a couple seconds. But I've always believed AI Servo would better compensate for all the various movements when shooting non-stationary subjects hand held at narrow apertures....
Here's and example of the kind of shot I was after with the 85L IS at the convocation, shot wide open. I definitely used an off-center AF point, just don't remember now if it was on the first outside column of cross points or not. If it wasn't then it might explain some of the AF problems (was busy shooting and sometimes forget to check this detail).
p.7 #20 · Canon 85mm f1.4 IS L First Images. Show us your Images.
Thanks for the replies guys. Did many many shoots over the last week or two; came to a conclusion of AF inconsistency.
Note, this is not an issue with back focus or front focus situation; its strictly a problem with AF inconsistency.
