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hemidesign
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Registered: Mar 2, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 2
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 Jan 25, 2007
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griffitg
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Registered: Aug 12, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 695
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Review Date: Jan 13, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $340.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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This lens is SHARP. It's so sharp that I'm thinking about sending my 70-200 IS and 24-70 in for service to make sure they are calibrated correctly. I mean I can see thread details when photographing fabric at 1/15th at 1.8 and 1600iso. It's that sharp.
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Cons:
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Doesn't come with hood.
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Jan 13, 2007
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Mike Fiction
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Registered: Jan 2, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 86
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Review Date: Jan 2, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $360.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very sharp. Accurate AF. Price is great. Good Bokeh.
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Cons:
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Seperate Hood. Build quality could be a little better.
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Excellent portrait lens on 35mm or full frame - a little long indoors for 1.6x crop digital. Wish it could focus a little closer.
It's a nice heavy hunk of glass for it's size.
I have the same lens in FD mount and the EF is just as sharp if not sharper. It has better color rendition and much better coatings than the FD.
Great lens! Great value for the money.
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Jan 2, 2007
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anthonygh
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Registered: Jan 8, 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1915
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Review Date: Jan 2, 2007
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Recommend? |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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Well constructed, ergonomically sound and super sharp!
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Cons:
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None.
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I have to admit that since gettin a 70 - 200L zoom I use this lens less and less partly as I'm too lazy to keep swapping over. That aside, this lens is so sharp it's almost scary, particularly around f4! Every good thing said about this lens is true from my experience.
The only real reason I tend to use the abovementioned zoom is I do mostly studio work using apertures around F5.6 to f8 and the difference in quality is negligible for my purposes at those settings whereas the zoom has added convenience.
However I do tend to keep it on one of my film bodies and always try and shoot off at least one roll of FP4 per session where the situation might benefit from using this combo! Beautiful results!
This is not a lens I would part with!
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Jan 2, 2007
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anthonygh
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Registered: Jan 8, 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 1915
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Review Date: Dec 31, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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So sharp - no other way to describe it!
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Cons:
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None; it is the perfect portrait lens
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Just fabulous, it is a prime lens but at the 85mm setting it is sharper than my excellent 70 - 200L zoom; in fact for portraiture it is too sharp for model shoots; it picks up skin problems that I don't notice by eye! No it isn't built like an L lens but it is a solid piece of engineering and whether on a full frame or 1.6 crop this is arguably Canon's finest portrait lens in bucks for your dollars. Some lenses might be marginally better ( would be surprised if 99% of viewers could tell the difference) but I doubt if anyone buying this lens will part with it.
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Dec 31, 2006
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Janez Nori
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Registered: Dec 15, 2006
Location: Slovenia
Posts: 377
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Review Date: Dec 16, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp wide open and on all apertures, fast and accurate AF, beautiful bokeh and the built is very good (not L)
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Cons:
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I can't think of one
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Everything has been already said. So I'll just list the most important things. I'm a portrait photographer, I do a lot of min dof portraits. This is an excellent performer, very sharp, my copy also at f1.8, AF is accurate (taht is important for min dof, because if it misses a few mm the sharpness is completely off). Bokeh is excellent too, creamy. I think it's by far the best portrait lens for the money it sells.
Here a 100% crop, taken at f1.8 ISO 200 http://img283.imageshack.us/img283/6817/100sr7.jpg .
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Dec 16, 2006
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seanmclennan
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Registered: Feb 16, 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Dec 15, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Fast AF, Sharp focus (even at 1.8), small/lightweight, low cost
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Cons:
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Not weather sealed, no lens hood...available one isn't too good either, suffers CA in highlight areas and high contrast transitions
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I finally bought this lens. I've wanted to for a while, but needing to buy a 30D...and Canon's double rebate program gave me all the excuse to finally get it.
Right away I was impressed with it's size and weight.
After taking several test shots of fine detailed items...I was especially impressed. I took one shot from the doorway to my kitchen and the oliveoil bottom in the center of the image (16-18ft away) was tack sharp...pixel peeping the image, at 200%, you could see the label's paper texture! Love it.
Really nice bokeh, fast AF, good length for portraits.
If you've got the big $$$, the 85 1.2 might be for you...otherwise, this is a smart purchase.
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Dec 15, 2006
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j_ambrose
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Registered: Dec 9, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 837
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Review Date: Dec 12, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $320.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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f1.8, price, size and weight, focus speed.
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Cons:
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Nothing to report so far.
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An amazing lens for the money, a little long for indoor shooting on a 1.6 crop but I'll get over it.
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Dec 12, 2006
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Rubber Soul
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Registered: Dec 11, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 636
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Review Date: Dec 11, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Small, compact, lightweight. Excellent build. Very sharp, colors rendition is excellent. It's the perfect portrait lens on FF and 1.6x cameras alike. Price is very reasonable.
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Cons:
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Severe purple fringing when shooting high contrast scenes at apertures wider than f2.8. Also, I had to send my lens back to Canon for recalibration due to backfocus.
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This is a great lens. With an f1.8 aperture, you can get beautifully blurred background to isolate your subject. Colors are nicely saturated. Contrast and sharpness are somewhat mediocre at f1.8, but improve leaps and bounds by stopping down once.
When shooting wide open at f1.8, center sharpness is OK while borders are a bit soft. I was using a cropped sensor. I can only imagine the edge performance on a full frame dSLR would be quite soft when shooting wide open at f1.8.
Fortunately, corner-to-corner sharpness starts to become very impressive by f2.8, and critically sharp around f5.6.
Build quality is as good as it gets for non-L lenses. USM gives quiet and quick focusing. There's Full Time Manual focusing, and also a distance scale. Excellent sharpness, contrast, and color saturation. It has everything you could ever want in a lens, except weather sealing. For less than $350 USD, it's a bargain.
Unfortunately, my lens has a fairly severe backfocus. I had to send it back to Canon for recalibration. It's not an "L" lens, the retail price is very reasonable, and it's under warranty... so I won't hold this temporary setback against the lens rating.
Purple fringing is also fairly severe at any aperture wider than f2.8... especially at f1.8. It can ruin some shots.
All these negatives aside, the EF 85mm f/1.8 is a PERFECT lens for portraiture. On a full frame dSLR, it's great for half-body portraits. On a cropped sensor, it's more suitable for head shots.
A good alternative to this lens is its twin sibling, the EF 100mm f2 lens. Both lenses are virtually identical in build quality and sharpness. However, the EF 100mm reportedly does *not* suffer from the same level of purple fringing at wide apertures. Unfortunately, 100mm isn't nearly as popular a focal length as 85mm.
In conclusion, I heartily recommend the EF 85mm f/1.8 lens, and give it a rating of 9/10.
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Dec 11, 2006
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alfieri
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Registered: Feb 25, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 178
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Review Date: Dec 6, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $350.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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fantastic value; must-have prime on 1.6x crop body; great sharpness and contrast; pretty sharp down to f/1.8; very fast and accurate AF even on 20D/30D; very lightweight
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Cons:
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135mm/f2L is better choice on full-frame 5D (same FOV); 85mm/f1.2L has better colors and blokeh if you're willing to pay $1750 for it
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Dec 6, 2006
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Bowman Digital
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Registered: Dec 4, 2006
Location: Australia
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Dec 4, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Excellent Sharpness, Contrast and Aperture Shape for bokeh effects. Well worth the price, it is well built, has fast AF, and not too bulky.
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Cons:
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None. It's amazing.
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After using this in the past with a 20D, the lens was too long for the portrait shots I required. They did produce however the sharpest photos I'd ever taken. I know also own a Canon 5D and I knew i had to get this lens. It is now my perfect portrait kit, shots come out amazing! Amazing, colour, contrast and sharpness. This definately has to be one of the best prime lenses canon makes that isn't an L series. If you are thinking about getting it, do it now, you will stare at the photos you take with it with awe!
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Dec 4, 2006
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--Daito--
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Registered: Nov 28, 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Dec 3, 2006
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $400.00
| Rating: 1
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Pros:
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Very Good performer on the paper
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Cons:
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Can not find a good one yet
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I rate this lens very low because I've lost a lot of time in test trying to prove to my dealer how soft my copy was and also trying to get a replacement to the dealer.
Please Canon, increase your insurance quality - this is not the single one which I had insurance quality problem.
Compare to my 50mm it is very soft. @f2.8 the 85mm it is less sharp than the 50mm wide open. Compare to my 70-200mm (set at 85mm) my copy of this prime 85mm @f4 is less sharp than my 70-200mm @f2.8
- what a waste of time -
What keeps me still on the Canon camp is their stuning FF sensor
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Dec 3, 2006
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CarusoPhoto
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Registered: Nov 30, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 54
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Review Date: Dec 1, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharpness, bokeh, color
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Cons:
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none
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This is quite a lovely little lens. Even though it's not designated as an L, the images it produces come quite close. I am quite excited about its sharpness and color. I began my lens collection with zooms, but recently I have begun to explore the wonderful world of primes. Buying this lens started me down that path (which has, incidentally, led me directly to the phenomenal 153 f/2L).
I believe the quality of this lens outstrips the cost. If I had paid more, I would still have been very pleased.
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Dec 1, 2006
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Gaby Jalbert
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Registered: Nov 23, 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Nov 23, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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For the price excellent lens. Great detail, excellent build, fast focus and even in low light will rarely search. Silent.
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Cons:
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Only negative aspect I found so far is intense purple fringing between f1.8 and f2.5. When chrome is involved prepare to see ALOT of purple. Over f3 its excellent. But since this lens is for portraits its not really a problem.
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Nov 23, 2006
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Thomas Ware
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Registered: Nov 17, 2006
Location: Finland
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Nov 17, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharpness, bokeh, AF-speed
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Cons:
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For the price, none
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I have been using this lens just for a couple of months with 20D. However, it is becoming one of my favourite lenses. I am very pleased with the results, pictures are sharp, the AF is quick, bokeh nice and the price is not too bad. Complements well my 50/1.4 in non-flash situations such in indoor events and the like.
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Nov 17, 2006
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john Paul
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Registered: Jul 22, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 150
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Review Date: Nov 9, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $369.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fast glass, great price, well built, very sharp, compact, & offers full time manual focus over-ride, which the L doesn't..
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Cons:
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Hmmm....none really..
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I bought mine in 2000, and have been a very happy owner of it ever since.. I often shoot with this lens at f2.0, to f2.5, and get great results.. It's min. focus distance that I hear some reviewers complain about,...is not an issue for me when ever I use it.. It's made for portraits, right..? Why does someone need to move closer than 2.8 feet to your subject...? Nose shots..? Heck,..if you want to get any closer, it works very well with the Canon extension tubes.. I've even used the 85mm w/ extension tubes instead of my 100mm f2.8 Macro lens for close up work, and have been satisfied with the results..
Mine shows a lot of wear around the front ring,..but that's because I use it an awful lot.. In my studio, I shoot most of my stuff with this lens.. On location, it is a wonderful tool to have in the bag.. It is light weight, performs better than the 70-200mm f2.8 IS L,...it is small and black,...and doesn't stand out as much,.. it is brighter to look through,...it focuses faster than the L version of this lens,..and offers full time manual focusing, which the L doesn't....(neither does the MkII version of the 85mm f1.2 L).. For a portrait L lens, doncha think they would include that very important feature on a lens designated for portrait photography..?
Any ways,...I know many professional photographers who use this lens,..and are very happy with the results.. I might upgrade to the L,.. but I might just hang on to this one regardless.....BTW,...if you use a filter on the end of your lens, ans judge your lens sharpness with that junk on your lens,....don't! I never shoot with protective filters on my lenses.. strangely, I get pretty darn good results.....go figure.. :-p
JP
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Nov 9, 2006
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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320
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537612
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Dec 30, 2022
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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95% of reviewers
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$350.43
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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8.90
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9.43
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9.4
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