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blktaln
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Registered: Nov 1, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 69
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Review Date: May 14, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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build quality, sharp, creamy bokeh, shows nice saturated colors and contrast...
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Cons:
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draws battery, slow focus...
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just received this lens... it's magical. it captures nice colors and contrast, creates nice bokeh, to me... it's worth every penny!
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 May 14, 2009
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alyssajul
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Registered: May 12, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 2
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Review Date: May 12, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,650.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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pops the foreground like no lens i've ever seen. beautiful backgrounds, great in low light.
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Cons:
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steep learning curve, heavy, a little slow, costs a small fortune
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I never leave for a session or wedding without this lens. In spite of its cost I would still buy this lens if its price doubled tomorrow. It really is that amazing. It takes practice, don't get me wrong. The depth of field gets real shallow, real fast as you approach f/1.2, but once you've mastered it, you'll wonder how you ever shot a portrait session without this baby. Just buy it.
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May 12, 2009
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x0SiN0x
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Registered: Jan 10, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 81
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Review Date: Mar 29, 2009
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Recommend? |
Price paid: $1,870.00
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Pros:
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Impressively sharp wide open when focus is dead on
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Cons:
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inconstant focus on two cameras, focus ring is a little awkward
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I originally rated this lens very highly, but after getting very inconstant focus I brought the lens in for testing. I had issues with this lens front and back focusing no matter what was done. I bought this lens to use at almost wide most of the time, so when focus was off at all it was not good. Im going to give this lens another try after some time, im hoping my copy had an issue. Originally thought my camera, but tried in a 20D and rebel with similar results.
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Mar 29, 2009
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kevindar
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Registered: May 6, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 3838
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Review Date: Mar 6, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,600.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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excellent sharpness, great microcontrast, colors, very accurate focusing
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Cons:
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purple fringing, a little slow, price.
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I bought this used on FM, while the Live.com rebates were going on for a final cost of 1400. I already owned 85 1.8, and was not planning to hold on to the 1.2 for long.
The lens quickly became my favorite. for available light portraits, it truly a remarkable lens. I also shot with the 135L, and much prefer the focal length and larger aperture of this lens. PF is a problem but correctable in acr. sharpness is truly remarkable.
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Mar 6, 2009
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x0SiN0x
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Registered: Jan 10, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 81
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Review Date: Mar 5, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,870.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, bokeh is silky smooth, solid build
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Cons:
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Slow AF, Heavy, Price, not impressed with the hood
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Mar 5, 2009
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kobold2
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Registered: Mar 16, 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 21
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Review Date: Feb 3, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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sharp, DOF, colours, contrast, bokeh, overall IQ, build, hood
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Cons:
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price, weight, extending front element
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Most exciting lens I own at the moment (still love my lensbaby tho). It is not just a portrait lens, but to shoot in any - especially low light situation: concerts, plays, functions, street photography. AF is not fast, but it is usable and with a good eye, manual focusing is still a viable option even at f/1.2. With AF servo in motor drive mode I can get a lot of keepers as well, when shooting gigs. Sharper than real life :-) Sharper wide open than my 70-200 @f/5.6-8.0 (at 400%) I think. That is after the micro AF adjustment of -11 on my 50D (the 70-200 was spot on already). I can't tell about the corner sharpness as I shoot w/ a crop camera but I will get a FF partially b/c to be able to see what it can do there. Closed down it is sharp as well until diffraction kicks in at f/8.0 or so on the 50D, but still sharp until f/11 and even further. I don't see much point shooting with a more narrow aperture anyway most of the time. The colours & contrast are better than on the 16-35mm MkI the 50mm f/1.4 or the 70-200mm f/4, which are pretty great already. The build quality is unsurpassed, but I find it hard to handle w/o a portrait grip; with a bg-e2n all is good. Still wish it would be lighter sometimes... B/C of the extending front element I keep the hood on it at all times, so not really a problem. Sometimes it is hird to change from AF to MF w/o looking... Overall a cool lens which I would buy again espeically for the price I got this copy (sheer luck when the aussie dollar collapsed). Go get one!
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Feb 3, 2009
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felipin
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Registered: Dec 1, 2005
Location: Spain
Posts: 84
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Review Date: Jan 28, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Image quality (stunning, unique!), BOKEH
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Cons:
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Still slow AF, not cheap...
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I was very happy with the Mark I version of this lens (apart from some lack of accuracy when focusing wide open and the well known AF slowness), but I had the chance to get a mint Mark II sample at a very sweet price and now I'm even happier, since AF is noticeably faster and I think that also more accurate. I find that image quality is the same for both versions.
This lens is unique, a world apart, specially for using it wide open (I think that from f2.8 or 4 it's hard to say the difference between the L lens and the very good and much cheaper 85 1.8).
I love it!
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Jan 28, 2009
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mzemljic
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Registered: Jan 25, 2009
Location: Croatia
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jan 26, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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The master of diffusion and three dimension image maker
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Cons:
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Slow Focus? Front element!
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85 f/1,2 L II is simply the best portrait lens in my opinion.
It let me close inough to a model for good communication and again it let Your model inough relaxed to get nature sight.
At 1,2 the lens is sharp, and bokeh is so cream and dreamlike...
My best by ever...
(I' am not under any forum influence nor do I' ve owned cheap lenses before so I couldn't be "stoned" by image quality of new lens)
Strongly recomended for portraits, weddings...
Samples:
http://flickr.com/photos/mattassano/3193710077/
http://flickr.com/photos/mattassano/3193634379/
Regards, mzemljic
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Jan 26, 2009
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joezasada
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Registered: Feb 24, 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 3065
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Review Date: Jan 16, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Best portrait lens EVER. Screams of optical quality. Incredible bokeh. If there is only one reason to use Canon EOS, this is it!
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Cons:
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Difficult lens to use. You have to NAIL your focus at wide apertures - a lot more so than most other lenses. Expensive.
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Quickly becoming one of my favorite lenses, the 85L II is an optical force major...
*the AF is fast enough for anything except sports
*the focus is quite precise - a lot more so than most other lenses - but this is needed with the really narrow depth of field at wider apertures
*focus-by-wire takes some getting used to but otherwise works fine
*not a lens for amateurs. you need a lot of skill to get the best results - but when you do, the results are outstanding!
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Jan 16, 2009
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alanwarp
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Registered: Oct 8, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 1005
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Review Date: Jan 5, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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image quality (bokeh, sharpness, compression, colors)
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Cons:
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chromatic aberration and fringing; weight; price; exposed rear element; focus-by-wire;
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There's not much to say that hasn't been said. Basically this lens appears to be designed around image quality, period. In that aspect, it's design is amazing.
In other aspects it's weaker, but obviously that was the design trade-off.
To me, the weight was surprising, but once on a 5D with grip, it feels nicely balanced.
I think if you have good focusing technique, using the '*' button, you will get good results, I was able to get in focus shots at 1.2 right away (no all of them, but promising results), it obviously a knife edge your playing on, but not as hard as some may have made it out to be.
I was really surprised by the sharpness at 1.2 also.
The chromatic aberration and green fringing is a bit annoying, but you can work around that in post processing, the price you pay, I guess, for working at 1.2.
Bokeh is amazing.
I've found focus is somewhat slow, but accurate on my 5D, if you don't have enough light for focusing it is annoying that it takes so long for the lens to hunt from near focus distance to infinity and back, seems like an eternity, but in regular use the focus ring is traveling much less so at least I don't notice it much.
I guess there is a reason for focus by wire, but it's an inconvenience that you need camera power to retract the lens, since it doesn't have internal focus.
Rear element exposure is a bit scary.
That's about it, I love this lens, and can see keeping it for a very long time.
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Jan 5, 2009
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Conrad Tan
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Registered: Dec 8, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 28406
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Review Date: Jan 1, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,600.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Hands down the most beautiful portrait lens I have ever used (if you can get your subject in focus).
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Cons:
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Really having a hard time with the focus-by-wire feature. Its faster than my buddy's Mark I version, but its no 85 f/1.8 with regards to speed.
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The keeper rate with someone of my skill level (been shooting for a year) is very low. I am just not used to the ultra paper thin DOF at f/1.2. And the almost 1 meter minimum focus distance keeps me backing up often to get my shots, but both of these "flaws" are really more of my skill level at using such a lens. My keepers are amazing. Bokeh is so beautiful I cannot help but stare at just how creamy it is. Don't think you can just pick up this lens and it will start producing great pictures. It takes lots and lots of practice! I'm still practicing every day!
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Jan 1, 2009
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trajan
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Registered: Dec 3, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 143
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Review Date: Dec 28, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,800.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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beautiful bokeh, sharpness at all apertures, colors, contrast, best lens for portraits
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Cons:
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bulky, slow to focus, does not focus at very very low light levels, rear element exposed
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In spite of slow focusing, this is my favorite lens, not only for portraits, but also during the day and for low light work. The reason is that the lens is sharp and has a very smooth bokeh. I also like to take portraits.
Here are some pictures taken with this lens:
<a href="http://highaperture.com/m/a/matei_varga/matei_varga-0.html">Pianist</a>
<a href="http://highaperture.com/e/m/emanuela/emanuela-0.html">Headshot (low light)</a>
<a href="http://highaperture.com/c/a/carriages/carriages-0.html">Carriages in Central Park</a>
<a href="http://highaperture.com/c/a/cannon/cannon-0.html">Canon</a>
<a href="http://highaperture.com/o/c/octavian_and_ina/octavian_and_ina-0.html">Couple (black and white with added vignetting for an aged look)</a>
<a href="http://highaperture.com/c/e/cello/cello-0.html">Super low light at a Jazz Concert</a>
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Dec 28, 2008
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ComairCRJ700
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Registered: Mar 14, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Dec 21, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,745.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Magical. Phenomenal image quality in terms of sharpness and out of focus blur. The definitive portait lens.
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Cons:
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Expensive (but worth it), rather heavy and the exposed rear element makes it somewhat awkward and requires special care when handling. Some CA as the aperture is opened at its widest.
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There is something absolutely magical about this lens. This is THE people lens and is well worth the price of admission. Besides the sharp image quality, the boken and out of focus areas are rendered stunningly even when stopped down. My favorite shots are largely from this lens and I am only beginning to explore its magic on the new 5D Mark II. Anytime candid people shots are in order, this is mounted to the camera.
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Dec 21, 2008
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Dawei Ye
Offline
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Registered: Sep 14, 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 3763
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Review Date: Dec 17, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Lovely.
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Cons:
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CA (both lateral and longitudinal), Battery Metering Issues with 40D, Expensive (but not poor value) Dust Magnet, Dust Pump, Exposed Rear Element, Fat (hard to fit into Camera bags/lens slots), Heavy, Not Internally Focusing, Near unusable for AI Servo in poor light conditions and poor AF cameras...but once you see the photos it creates all this becomes irrelevant :)
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[Apologies for the incomplete review from me posted below this one, I accidentally pressed the send button in the middle of typing  I'll make this review especially detailed to make up for the spam caused by my previous erroneous post]
---
Summary:
Overall: 10 (Awesome)
Build: 8 (Solid but a dust Pump and no weather Seal)
Price: 8 (Expensive but not poor value - worth every cent)
Price Paid: $2375 AUD Brand new from Camera Action Camerahouse, Melbourne Australia
---
Note this is a APS-C Review on a Canon 40D and Canon 400D (XTi):
People say this lens was built for the 5D. Well, I haven't used it on a FF camera yet, so I'm sure I'll be in for a treat. I'll post another review when I get a 5D/5D2 or 1Ds/1DsII/1DsIII
Firstly, this lens has MANY problems:
1. Chromatic Aberration. Far out it's bad wide open. It tends to dissipate (is that the right word?) from about f/1.6 to f/1.8 onwards, but it is horrible in high contrast conditions and metal/chrome objects. Having said that though, it is rarely an issue in 99% of photos, and stopping down mitigates it. I can only vaguely remember one or two photos where the CA wrecked the shot, and those photos were test shots anyway where I wasn't properly exposing and composing. Just be careful and don't be afraid to stop down a bit (if you can) in bright high contrast conditions.
2. Has Battery Metering issues with 70-80% of Canon EOS 40D's. Canon has acknowledged this issue but as of yet has not been able to solve the problem (or likely just sweeping it under the carpet given the 40D is now obsolete). Basically you will need to flick the off-on switch every 30 shots or so because of the battery will report "empty" incorrectly with this lens. Often a freshly charged battery will report empty before you even take one photo, so you'll have to do a off-on flick. Not all 40D's are affected - you may want to test out the lens on your 40D before buying if you are concerned.
3. Dust Pump. The inside of my rear element is full of fluff and dust after 6 months. Maybe my copy is unique in this regard, but it is an absolute dust magnet, and the extending front focusing design of the lens only contributes to this. Some report that it is easy to get dust off by unscrewing the rear mount and blowing off the dust, but the dust has not yet affected image quality so I think I'll leave it. I've gaffer taped the edges of the lens mount though because I think that's where the dust is going in.
4. AF: Not as slow as others say, but it is noticeably slow, especially if you are used to the blazing fast AF of the 70-200 lenses. This lens focuses nicely in low light on a 40D though, it doesn't tend to hunt that much. But mine hunts like crazy on a 400D in low light though.
Don't even think about using this for AI Servo in low light for a fast moving object, unless you have a Camera with awesome AF and you have good skills and can . AI Servo is usable in good light for something like bike rider, but in low light, the keeper rate is really low. (Doable in a pinch though). Note this is camera dependent too though.
5. Design Issues:
* Exposed Rear Element (basically level with the lens mount) - Although exposed and easily scratched and soiled, it is quite tough to Canon's credit
* Not Internally Focusing (only adds to the dust pump effect). When the lens focuses, the front extends, similar to the 50mm f/1.8 II.
* Focus By Wire (no MF if Camera is off) - what was Canon on when it gave the 85L this feature? It's especially bad for me because the 85L "just" fits in my bag's slot when its retracted, but if I forget to focus to infinity before dismounting the lens, I can't fit it in my bag Partially my fault yes, but I doubt many would miss the focus by wire feature.
* Canon did a Tokina and put the Mounting Indicator (red dot) on the back of the lens rather than the side It's a pain to mount this lens when you're under pressure, especially when you are also careful not to hit the rear element on the camera mount (because the rear element is basically level with the lens mount)
* Focus ring is a bit wobbly
* Canon for Christmas please give me IS (Image Stabilization) on this lens, thank you! :D (Not if it compromises Image Quality though)
6. Some other aspects of this lens that are interesting:
* Focus Ring has a very large range, you will have to do a few twists to cover the entire range. Good and Bad depending on the situation
* If you need a Lowepro Lens Case for it, the Lowepro 4s will fit it with the hood attached. Thanks to Bryan from the-digital-picture.com for this info. It is a good fit, but a teeny bit hard to put in and out because it is a little tight with the hood on. If you don't use the hood, the lens will bounce around inside the case, so you might want a smaller case if you don't use the hood.
* The hood is a clip on, not a Bayonet Mount. The hood looks ugly (its round not petal) and is a bit flimsy compared to the lens.
You know what, despite these issues, this lens still gets a highly recommended 10/10 from me. This lens is legendary, and well deserved.
An often asked question is "Why Canon over Nikon". Many photographers quote a simple word: 85L
The stuff you can do with this lens is just spectacular. Don't expect this lens to substitute for photography knowledge, skill and good light, but if you have these ingredients and you add this lens, then you will be capable of awesome results. If you suck, you will still suck after buying this lens. You have to earn the right to get great images from this lens.
The Bokeh (Boke) is just heavenly. I am not talking about the amount of background blur, I am talking about the quality of the background diffusion. It's just buttery smooth.
Image Quality? No worries from a APS-C perspective. I don't even have to say much here. This lens is sharp wide open. The contrast at a 100% crop level (micro contrast is it called?) is a tad lower than when stopped down, but this is ok because with a bit of sharpening in Photoshop - WOW. This lens sharpens up VERY well. If you are concerned with the sharpness of your copy, carefully take a photo of a flat surface with detail using MF aided by 10X Live View. It should look sharp. If its hazy or blooming, then you either stuffed up the test or your lens is stuffed up.
Seriously, it's sharp wide open, at least on APS-C 10MP sensors. This is coming from a pixel peeper who inspects the 100% view for EVERY photo he takes. Yes it does improve when stopping down though, mostly through improved contrast. From about f/1.6 onwards, not much can touch this lens for sharpness.
The biggest limit on sharpness though is imposed not by the lens resolving power, but by motion blur, low DOF and AF errors and CA.
At the end of the day, I have listed a whole list of nitpicks I have with this lens, but you quickly forget them when reviewing the images you take with this lens
Again, a warning, this lens will not make you into a super photographer. You will need to put in the hard yards in learning and practice, and this lens is a tool that you can use to demonstrate the knowledge and skills you gain. Expect much hardship (dealing with motion blur especially if you are used to IS lenses, dealing with AF issues, inaccuracies, AF calibration) but eventually you'll get better and better with it.
Highly Recommended!
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Dec 17, 2008
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Dawei Ye
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Sep 14, 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 3763
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Review Date: Dec 16, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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Lovely.
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Cons:
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CA (both lateral and longitudinal), Issues with 40D, Expensive, Overpriced, Dust Magnet, Dust Pump, Exposed Rear Element, Fat (hard to fit into Camera bags/lens slots)
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APS-C Review:
People say this lens was built for the 5D. Well, I haven't used it on a FF camera yet, so I'm sure I'll be in for a treat. I'll post another review when I get a 5D/5D2 or 1Ds/1DsII/1DsIII
This lens has many problems:
1. Chromatic Aberration. Far out its bad. It tends to disappear from about f/1.6 to f/1.8 onwards, but it is horrible in high contrast conditions. Sometimes visible on a 17 inch screen without zooming. Having said that though, it is rarely an issue in 99% of photos, and stopping down mitigates it.
2. Has Battery Metering issues with 80-90% of Canon EOS 40D's. Canon has acknowledged this issue but as of yet has not been able to solve the problem (or likely just sweeping it under the carpet given the 40D is now obsolete). Basically you will need to flick the off-on switch every 30 shots or so because of the battery will report "empty" incorrectly with this lens. Often a freshly charged battery will report empty before you even take one photo, so you'll have to do a off-on flick.
3. Dust Pump. Maybe my copy is
4.
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Dec 16, 2008
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robackja
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Jul 14, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Dec 7, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,800.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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f 1.2, bokeh
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Cons:
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AF all the way. The focus is slow. Focus-by-wire
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"focus-by-wire" is complete crap and I hope to never see it again on any other lens. I really do not know what advantage it can provide, but it really makes MF really difficult.
AF is quite slow, not as slow as the cheap 50/1.8II, but pretty close.
That being said, it the nicest lens I've ever worked it. f1.2-1.8 are quite sharp and f2 to f8 are razor sharp. I like the contrast and colors also. Its my favorite lens and is usually on the camera. I don't mind moving to get the picture with this lens.
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Dec 7, 2008
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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185
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329510
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Jul 28, 2021
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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94% of reviewers
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$1,767.29
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.71
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7.95
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9.6
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