Dan Bellyk wrote:
Nice one Fred, how do you find autofocus with lens, ever use it for landscape work?
Thanks Dan
AF is excellent for slow moving subjects. For the portrait above, I had the camera in one hand (using EyeAF) while the other hand was holding a small soft box. I took about 10 images and they were all tack sharp on the eye. The focus motor is not that fast but I find it to be accurate in AF-C.
I never used it for landscapes but tested it at infinity distance. At f/2.8, it's sharp across the entire field with no apparent field curvature. It's optimal starting at f/4, making it a great landscape lens as well -- if you don't mind the weight.
One thing that's held be back from buying the 85 GM is that I'm obsessed with color/microcontrast (above many other attributes), and I get the sense that the 85 GM has less contrast than, say, the 135 GM, or the Loxia 85, which has become my go-to portrait lens (despite MF and f/2.4). I know some prefer a slightly lower-contrast look for portraits, but personally, I really really love the pop I get from the Loxia.
Am I correct in thinking that the 85 GM has a little less pop than the 135 GM or Loxia 85? Or is the difference in that regard too subtle to matter?
I owned all of these lenses. The Loxia 85mm is a superb portrait lens. I also prefer punchy images to smoother ones. The 85mm GM has two looks. It has wonderful smooth rendering wide open and becomes very sharp and contrasty stopped down to f1.8 and smaller. At F2.5, the difference between it and the Loxia is minor. The Loxia has probably nicer color (it's very subjective), but we're splitting hairs here.
MrTMan wrote:
One thing that's held be back from buying the 85 GM is that I'm obsessed with color/microcontrast (above many other attributes), and I get the sense that the 85 GM has less contrast than, say, the 135 GM, or the Loxia 85, which has become my go-to portrait lens (despite MF and f/2.4). I know some prefer a slightly lower-contrast look for portraits, but personally, I really really love the pop I get from the Loxia.
Am I correct in thinking that the 85 GM has a little less pop than the 135 GM or Loxia 85? Or is the difference in that regard too subtle to matter?...Show more →