Looks like most folks here are using this lens with a 5D. Should I bother thinking about this lens with a 40D or, am I better off going with the 50mm 1.2??
pawlowski6132 wrote:
Looks like most folks here are using this lens with a 5D. Should I bother thinking about this lens with a 40D or, am I better off going with the 50mm 1.2??
Whatever you do, skip the 50/1.2 unless you can absolutely unconditionally return it. Pretty much everyone I know has been disappointed by the lens, and most of them have returned / sold it. I find it the worst lens in my line-up and the most disappointing by a huge margin, at least to me. Do a search for more details, ramblings are abundant. YMMV.
Focus looks a little odd here.... either there is an issue or I am not used to 1.2.
http://www.studio58.com.au/OPF/85.jpg
I'm guessing that you took this shot at about 1m distance, in which case your DOF at f/1.2 was a bit less than a cm and even less for critical focus. That's less than the distance between eyeball and eyebrow. It was just unfortunate that the shape of the bloke's face combined with the angle he was facing has resulted in an unattractive shape for the in-focus region. This ultra thin DOF needs some getting used to if we are to avoid such errors. In this case you'd either have to turn him a little or else use a smaller aperture.
Another lesson I think worth noting in relation to using this lens at or near maximum aperture is that because the DOF is so very thin at maximum aperture there is a good case for using AI Servo focus instead of One Shot AF even for stationary subjects. The slightest wobble by you or the subject will change the apparent focus quite a bit and AI Servo will help to overcome that error. Normally you would probably avoid avoid AI Servo for stationary subjects because it can tend to drift, more so on the non-pro cameras than the pro cameras.
Hardly any of the shots in this thread show much green/purple fringing, by which I mean longitudinal chromatic aberration. I found tons of it in my first couple of shots but a subsequent look at a lens review revealed that it is quite a problem in high-contrast back-lit situations at maximum aperture with both models of the 85L. It disappears as you stop down, which is a good thing because it cannot be fixed readily in software.
I also had a shot that was totally misfocused, and one of the reviews suggested that this is also not exactly rare with this lens model.
So it seems that in future I'll have to avoid the very high contrast situations or else stop down, and use AI Servo with continuous shooting to give me the best chance of getting the results I'm after in at least one of the shots.
How did you get that DOF wide open? (That's not a Legacy Audio speaker, is it?)
Sorry, ignore my wide open statement as that did not pertain to all the photo's I posted, I just love shooting wide open. That speaker shot is not wide open by any means it was shot at F13 shutter 1/60 ISO 50. It is an AV123 ELT525 tower.
This lens is definitely the most challenging I've had the pleasure of using. I'm getting more and more used to it, and shots are improving, but I still feel I have a ways to go.
I just got this lens fairly recently and haven't really put it through it's paces. There is a learning curve with this lens more than almost any lens that I own. It really requires that you pay careful attention to your focus point.
digitalbug30d wrote:
what cameras where you guys using I have a 30d hint my name,would 85 almost be 135 with crop factor,this would mak a great portrait lens yes?
I'm afraid to say that indeed it would make a great portrait lens. 135mm is great for head-shots among a lot of other things.
Be aware of the heavy flaring and internal reflections when shooting strongly backlit subjects with this lens wide open. Wait. THERE ARE NONE! YEAH BABY, YEAH!
YEAH BABY, YEAH!