p.2 #1 · RF 85mm f/2 or EF 85mm f/1.2 II for portraits
Jman13 wrote:
So, I've come back to Canon after being on Nikon for the past bit, and I've rebuilt most of my kit. One thing missing is a portrait prime in the 85-100mm range, and I'm a bit conflicted in this realm. One potentially dumb thing I did is sell my copy of the RF Samyang 85mm f/1.4 a few months ago, and now I wish I had it back, but aside from braving the eBay lottery for one of those, I'm looking at the RF 85mm f/2 and adapting the EF 85mm f/1.2L II.
I don't shoot portraits nearly as much as I did a few years ago, so I really don't want to spend more than $600-$700. I'd likely buy used for both, so we're talking around $500 for the RF 85 vs ~600-700 for the EF 85. I am not going to up the budget here and go for an 85/1.4 VCM or even the EF 85/1.4L, as they're much more than I want to spend.
I've owned the RF 85/2 and enjoyed it quite a bit, and I've also owned the version I of the EF 85L, but that was 17 years ago, and on a 1D Mark II / 1Ds Mark II. I know the 85L will focus much more accurately on R bodies, but for those who own and use it now, is it as reliable on focus as the RF glass is, specifically with shallow depth of field EyeAF? How do you find the CA in real world use? I'm not going to be using it for action photography, so we're talking predominantly static portraits, and the occasional walking type shot, so AF speed I'm not particularly concerned about.
I have seen Gordon Laing's video comparing the two, which made me lean 85L, but I'd still like a few additional data points for those who may have used both on an R body, and I flip flop between having the faster aperture and more unique rendering and the compact size and clean CA control of the RF. The macro capability of the RF is of less primary importance since I also have the RF 100L Macro (which I'm also currently using for portraits, but I'd like something a bit faster).
p.2 #2 · RF 85mm f/2 or EF 85mm f/1.2 II for portraits
That’s not the same lens. The EF 85/1.4 is basically their MF 85/1.4 but with an AF motor. The mirrorless 85/1.4 is an improved design that is notably better at wide apertures. It was only available in RF mount for a few months before Canon shut them down.
p.2 #3 · RF 85mm f/2 or EF 85mm f/1.2 II for portraits
jojib wrote:
Yeah I almost bought the EF 100/2 but picked up the EF 85/1.8 instead. In hindsight I would have preferred the 100 over the 85. That was before I got the 85LII mainly because of the f/1.2.
Is there a rumored RF 100 VCM? Dang that would be tempting. However, I'm already fully stacked with the 85 to 200mm range since I still have the silky bokeh machine----EF 70-200/2.8 L IS Version 1.
There is a rumour, but whether it amounts to anything...
The problem with 100mm and the VCM primes set as it currently stands is that a 100/1.4 would need at least a 72mm filter thread, and that would be pushing it. 100/1.6 or 1.8 would work with 67mm, but Canon has not made an f/1.6 lens that I can recall. But anything other than f/1.4 would also break that aspect of the current VCM prime set. Conforming to the dimensions of those lenses would likely also result in high optical vignetting, meaning more pronounced cat's eye bokeh and potential for background swirl, which I'm not a fan of. I'd like to see Canon make their own set of bokeh-optimized lenses along the lines of the Nikon Plena concept; lenses that are still sharp enough but freed from physical form restrictions that generally negatively affect rendering characteristics.
